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Saint Helena

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: African Countries;
Countries

   CAPTION: Saint Helena


   Flag of Saint Helena Coat of Arms of {{{common_name}}}
   Flag                 Coat of Arms
   Motto: Loyal and Unshakeable
   Anthem: God Save the Queen
   My Saint Helena Island (unofficial)
   Location of {{{common_name}}}
   Capital              Jamestown
   Status               British Overseas Territory
   Official language(s) English
   Governor             Michael Clancy
   Area                 410 km² (all islands)
   Population
    •2005 estimate
    •Density
                        4,918
                        18/km²
   Currency             Saint Helenian pound (SHP) at parity with the UK Pound
                        Sterling (GBP)
   Time zone            UTC +0
   Internet TLD         .sh
   Calling Code         290

   Saint Helena is an island of volcanic origin and an overseas territory
   of the United Kingdom in the South Atlantic Ocean. The territory
   consists of the island of Saint Helena, as well as the dependencies of
   Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha.

   Saint Helena is famous for being the place of exile of Napoleon
   Bonaparte between 1815 and his death in 1821. Longwood House, where
   Napoleon stayed, and Sane Valley, where he was buried, are owned by the
   French government, since the British government gave them to the
   French, in 1858.

   Saint Helena is a member of the International Island Games Association.

History

   Longwood House, St Helena: site of Napoleon's captivity
   Enlarge
   Longwood House, St Helena: site of Napoleon's captivity

   The island was discovered on 21 May 1502 by the Portuguese navigator
   João da Nova and named after Helena of Constantinople. The Portuguese
   found it uninhabited, and over time built a chapel and some houses,
   although no permanent settlement was founded. The Portuguese introduced
   goats as a source of meat for future ship crews.

   Thomas Cavendish became the first Englishman to visit the island, on
   his ill-fated expedition of 1591.

   From about 1600 the island was well-known by captains from Portugal,
   England, France and Holland. The island was used for collecting food
   and as a rendez-vous point but at homebound voyages from Asia only.
   Sometimes ships waited near the island, when their captains were hoping
   to pirate hostile richly-loaded ships.

   The Dutch claimed the island between 1645 and 1659, when it was settled
   by the English East India Company under a charter granted by Richard
   Cromwell.

   The Dutch retook the Island in 1673, but were ejected by the English
   Navy after two months occupation, and the island was re-granted to the
   East India Company by Charles II. The English East India Company used
   the Island as a stop off on the long voyage to India via the Cape of
   Good Hope. A permanent settlement - of British colonists and black
   slaves - was founded at Jamestown, named after James, Duke of York
   (later King James II).

   In 1815 the British government selected Saint Helena as the place of
   detention of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was brought to the island in
   October of that year and lodged at The Briars, outside Jamestown. In
   December he was moved to Longwood where he died in May 1821. During
   this period the island was strongly garrisoned by regular troops, and
   the governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, was nominated by the Crown. The British
   also took control of Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha at this
   time, to prevent any French attempts to free Napoleon from being
   launched from these nearby territories. After Napoleon's death the East
   India Company resumed full control of Saint Helena until April 22 1834,
   on which date it was, in virtue of an act passed in 1833, vested in the
   British Crown. Napoleon's body was returned to France in 1840.

   During the Second Boer War (1899-1902), the British military, fearing
   that Boer prisoners of war might be freed by sympathizers in South
   Africa, detained around 5,000 POWs on the island.

   As a port of call on the long route to the Cape Colonies and India, the
   Island enjoyed an increased prosperity, until the construction of the
   Suez Canal reduced the need for long voyages via the Cape of Good Hope.
   During World War II, Ascension Island was leased to the United States,
   where a large airbase was constructed.

   After World War II, the prosperity of the Island and its dependencies
   decreased. A visit by the Duke of Edinburgh to Ascension, Saint Helena
   and Tristan da Cunha for a time raised the profile of the islands. A
   volcanic eruption on Tristan da Cunha in 1961 forced the evacuation of
   the entire population to the UK, although they were able to return in
   1963.

   In more recent times, the British Government has announced plans to
   construct an airport on Saint Helena to bolster the Island's economy,
   and reduce the dependence on boats to supply the Island.

Demographics

   Jamestown, the capital of Saint Helena.
   Enlarge
   Jamestown, the capital of Saint Helena.

   Saint Helena has a small population of several thousand inhabitants,
   mainly descended from people from the British Isles, Scandinavia and
   Western and Southern Africa. In recent decades, many have migrated to
   the Falkland Islands or to the United Kingdom. According to the
   statistics in the 2005 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, Saint Helena
   has the largest proportion of members of that religious organization of
   any country or territory in the world; one person in twenty-nine is a
   Jehovah's Witness (roughly equaling a total of 250 people).

   Tristan da Cunha has a population of about 300 inhabitants of mainly
   British descent. Christianity is the main religion, with the largest
   denominations being Anglican and Roman Catholic.

   Ascension Island has no native inhabitants officially. A transient
   population of approximately 3,000 live on the Island, made up mainly of
   members of the American and British militaries, supporting civilian
   contractors who serve on the joint Anglo-American airbase, and members
   of their families (a few of whom were born on the island).

   The citizens of Saint Helena and its Dependencies hold British Overseas
   Territories citizenship. On 21 May 2002 they were granted access to
   full British citizenship by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002.
   Also see British nationality law.

Economy

   The island had a monocrop economy until 1966, based on the cultivation
   and processing of New Zealand flax for rope and string. St Helena's
   economy is now very weak, and the island is almost entirely sustained
   by aid from London.

   The Saint Helena tourist industry is heavily based around the promotion
   of Napoleon's imprisonment. A golf course also exists and the
   possibility for sportfishing tourism is great.

   Saint Helena also produces what is said to be the most expensive coffee
   in the world.

   Ascension Island, Tristan da Cunha and Saint Helena all issue their own
   postage stamps which provide a significant income.

   The Saint Helenian pound is the local currency, and is on a par with
   the Pound Sterling. The government of Saint Helena produces its own
   coinage and banknotes.

   The territory has its own bank, the Bank of St. Helena which has two
   branches in Jamestown on Saint Helena, and Georgetown, Ascension
   Island.

Geography

   Map of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha
   Enlarge
   Map of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha
   The geological differences between the lush central forest and the
   barren rocky cliffs on Saint Helena
   Enlarge
   The geological differences between the lush central forest and the
   barren rocky cliffs on Saint Helena

   Saint Helena has a total area of 410 km², and consists of three island
   groups: Saint Helena itself, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha.
   Each Island group has its own distinct geography.

   Saint Helena has a rugged, volcanic terrain. There are several rocks
   and islets off the coast, including: Castle Rock, Speery Island, The
   Needle, Lower Black Rock, Upper Black Rock (South), Bird Island
   (Southwest), Black Rock, Thompson's Valley Island, Peaked Island, Egg
   Island, Lady's Chair, Lighter Rock (West), Long Ledge (Northwest),
   Shore Island, George Island, Rough Rock Island, Flat Rock (East), The
   Buoys, Sandy Bay Island, The Chimney, White Bird Island and Frightus
   Rock (Southeast), all of which are within one kilometre of the shore.
   The centre of Saint Helena is covered by forest, of which some have
   been planted, including the new Millenium Forest Project. The
   temperature is also 2-3 degrees cooler in the highlands, and it has a
   few inches a year more rainfall than the rest of the island. It is more
   tropical in nature, and contains most of the island's endemic flora,
   fauna, insects and birds. The coastal areas are barren, covered in
   volcanic rock and are warmer and drier than the centre of the island.

   When the island was discovered it was covered with unique (indigenous)
   vegetation, including the remarkable cabbage tree species of St Helena.
   The flora of St Helena contains a high proportion of endemic species,
   i.e. those found nowhere else. The island's interior must have been a
   dense subtropical forest but the coastal areas were probably quite
   green as well. The modern landscape is very different, with a lot of
   naked rock in the lower areas, and a high interior that is green - but
   mainly of imported vegetation. The dramatic change in landscape must be
   attributed to the introduction of goats and the introduction of new
   vegetation. As a result, the string tree ( Acalypha rubrinervis) and
   the St Helena olive ( Nesiota elliptica) are now extinct, and many of
   the other endemic plants are threatened with extinction.

   Ascension Island includes the main island and several uninhabited tiny
   satellite islands and rocks such as Boatswain Bird Island, Boatswain
   Bird Rock (East), White Rocks (South), and Tartar Rock. The main island
   has an area of approximately 35 square miles and is formed by volcanic
   peak rising from just west of the mid-Atlantic Ridge known as Green
   Mountain. Most of the island is a moonscape of rugged black lava flows
   and red windwhipped cinder cones. Where lava has penetrated to the
   ocean a striking seashore is dotted with white sand. The climate is
   subtropical, with temperatures at the coast ranging from about 68 to 88
   degrees Fahrenheit (20 - 31 Celsius).

   Tristan da Cunha includes the main Tristan da Cunha Island, the world's
   most remote inhabited island and several other uninhabited islands:
   Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands.
   The islands are all mountainous and volcanic. Queen Mary's Peak on
   Tristan da Cunha at 2,060 m is the highest peak.

   Saint Helena is one of the most isolated places in the world, located
   more than 2000km (nearly 1,000 miles) from the nearest major landmass.
   As there is currently has no airport on Saint Helena, travel to the
   island is by ship only. The RMS Saint Helena berths in James Bay
   approximately 30 times per year. The ship calls on such other ports as
   Capetown, Ascension Island, Tenerife, Vigo, and Walvis Bay.

Administrative divisions

   Administratively, the territory is divided into three areas:
                Group                Area Population           Capital
  Saint Helena (administrative area)  122       5157 Jamestown
  Ascension (dependency)               88       1122 Georgetown
  Tristan da Cunha (dependency)       200        284 Edinburgh of the Seven Seas
  SAINT HELENA
  Overseas Territory                  410       6563 Jamestown

   Saint Helena is also divided into the following districts:
         District        Area (km^2) Population 1998
   Alarm Forest                  5.9             279
   Blue Hill                    36.5             175
   Half Tree Hollow              1.6            1126
   Jamestown                     3.6             864
   Levelwood                    14.0             373
   Longwood                     33.4             951
   Sandy Bay                    15.3             254
   Saint Paul's                 11.4             893
   SAINT HELENA (Island)       121.7            4915

Politics

   Map of the island.
   Enlarge
   Map of the island.

   Executive authority in Saint Helena is invested in Queen Elizabeth II
   and is exercised on her behalf by the Governor of Saint Helena. The
   Governor is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the British
   Government. Defence and Foreign Affairs remain the responsibility of
   the United Kingdom.

   There are 15 seats in the Legislative Council, a unicameral
   legislature. 12 of the 15 members are elected in elections held every
   four years. The other three members are the Governor and two ex officio
   officers. The Executive Council consists of the Governor, two ex
   officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council
   appointed by the Governor. There is no elected Chief Minister, and the
   Governor acts as the head of government. The current Governor is
   Michael Clancy (since October 2004).

   Both Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha have an Administrator
   appointed to represent the Governor of Saint Helena.

Transport

   Saint Helena and its dependencies are among some of the most remote
   islands in the world. Although a large airfield is based in Ascension
   Island, with weekly flights to London, Saint Helena and Tristan da
   Cunha can only be reached by boat. The RMS Saint Helena runs between
   the United Kingdom, Ascension, St Helena and Cape Town. It no longer
   calls at Tristan da Cunha.

   The British Government announced plans to construct an airport in Saint
   Helena in March 2005. The airport is expected to be completed by 2010.

   There is also a bus, really a van, that goes around the island and down
   to Jamestown to pick up people from the major neighborhoods, mostly
   Half Tree Hollow.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Helena"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
