Saint Helena

:For alternate uses, see Saint Helena (disambiguation).

History

See main article History of Saint Helena.

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St. Helena was discovered May 21, 1502, by the Portuguese navigator João da Nova. The island was uninhabited when it was discovered by the Portuguese explorers. It was settled about 1645 by the Dutch. In 1651, it passed to the British East India Company, but was retaken by the Dutch several times.

Related Topics:
May 21 - 1502 - Portuguese - João da Nova - 1645 - Dutch - 1651 - British East India Company

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Like every remote island in the age of sail, it was a crucial resource for sailing ships that ventured into its waters. (The important ships among these were of naval and commercial nature.) Its position on the only practical route, until construction of the Suez Canal, between Western Europe to the Indian Ocean enhanced that general role. It became a British military garrison for those reasons.

Related Topics:
Age of sail - Resource for sailing ships - Suez Canal - Western Europe - Indian Ocean

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Napoleon Bonaparte lived in exile there from 1815 to 1821. He died on May 5, 1821. His archenemy, Wellington, had spent a short time there in 1805, on his way home from India; he was delighted with the climate. Prominent Anglo-Boer War prisoners, including General Piet Cronje, were also detained on St. Helena.

Related Topics:
Napoleon Bonaparte - Wellington - Boer War - Piet Cronje

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:Consult J. C. Melliss, St. Helena: A Physical, Historical, and Topographical Description of the Island, (London, 1875); E. L. Jackson, St. Helena The Historic Island from its Discovery to the Present Day, (London, 1909).

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