St Helena, The Atlantic Ocean
St Helena: the busy crossroads of the Atlantic. Surely he writes in jest. St Helena is one of the most out-of-the-way places in the world, miles removed from anywhere. It took us four days at sea to come here from Tristan da Cunha, and it will be another two-day crossing to Ascension Island. Many of us have come here for the thrill of visiting such an isolated Atlantic outpost. Ah, but the list of luminaries of science, exploration, and history who have visited St Helena is an impressive one. There was a time, in the age of sail, when virtually every ship headed back to Europe after rounding the Cape of Good Hope and probably putting in at Capetown, made St Helena their next destination. Why? Fresh water and fresh supplies to fight off the scurvy, the great curse of travel by sail.
We touched on much of this in our day’s exploration of St. Helena. We were shown Observatory Hill where, between 1676 and 1678, the brilliant young astronomer/mathematician Edmund Halley erected his telescope to make a catalog of the southern stars (No – not to find a comet.) The great explorer/geographer James Cook visited St. Helena on the homeward leg of his first (May, 1771, aboard an earlier Endeavour) and second voyages around the world. He found twelve ships of the East Indies Company in the now-quiet harbor where our ship was anchored. No doubt he passed under the very same arch that marks entry into Jamestown on his way to lodgings ashore. Perhaps he even had lunch at Anne’s in the Island’s principal settlement of Jamestown … well, maybe not.
In 1815 St Helena acquired its most famous resident when the exiled Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte took up enforced residence at Longwood House. It was there that he died and near there, in a wooded glade of his own choosing, that he was buried… at least for a while.
Fifteen years after the death of Napoleon, in 1836 H.M.S. Beagle stopped at St Helena as it neared completion of its five-year around-the-world voyage. Its young Naturalist, Charles Darwin, left the ship, as was his custom whenever possible (he suffered acutely of seasickness) and took temporary lodgings in the Rose and Crown Inn in the hills above Jamestown. We stopped briefly to photograph the Hutt’s Gate Store, which is believed to occupy the building that was once the Rose and Crown. In his published journal on the Voyage of the Beagle Darwin commented on the friendly and hospitable nature of the Saints, as the residents of St Helena call themselves. After our visit to their island, we certainly agree.
So what happened? How did this crossroads island come to be forgotten? There are two main reasons: steam power replaced wind and sails in the second half of the 1800s, and, in 1914, the Panama Canal provided an alternative route to the Pacific. We are among the fortunate few of our generation to visit this forgotten Island of the Atlantic.
St Helena: the busy crossroads of the Atlantic. Surely he writes in jest. St Helena is one of the most out-of-the-way places in the world, miles removed from anywhere. It took us four days at sea to come here from Tristan da Cunha, and it will be another two-day crossing to Ascension Island. Many of us have come here for the thrill of visiting such an isolated Atlantic outpost. Ah, but the list of luminaries of science, exploration, and history who have visited St Helena is an impressive one. There was a time, in the age of sail, when virtually every ship headed back to Europe after rounding the Cape of Good Hope and probably putting in at Capetown, made St Helena their next destination. Why? Fresh water and fresh supplies to fight off the scurvy, the great curse of travel by sail.
We touched on much of this in our day’s exploration of St. Helena. We were shown Observatory Hill where, between 1676 and 1678, the brilliant young astronomer/mathematician Edmund Halley erected his telescope to make a catalog of the southern stars (No – not to find a comet.) The great explorer/geographer James Cook visited St. Helena on the homeward leg of his first (May, 1771, aboard an earlier Endeavour) and second voyages around the world. He found twelve ships of the East Indies Company in the now-quiet harbor where our ship was anchored. No doubt he passed under the very same arch that marks entry into Jamestown on his way to lodgings ashore. Perhaps he even had lunch at Anne’s in the Island’s principal settlement of Jamestown … well, maybe not.
In 1815 St Helena acquired its most famous resident when the exiled Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte took up enforced residence at Longwood House. It was there that he died and near there, in a wooded glade of his own choosing, that he was buried… at least for a while.
Fifteen years after the death of Napoleon, in 1836 H.M.S. Beagle stopped at St Helena as it neared completion of its five-year around-the-world voyage. Its young Naturalist, Charles Darwin, left the ship, as was his custom whenever possible (he suffered acutely of seasickness) and took temporary lodgings in the Rose and Crown Inn in the hills above Jamestown. We stopped briefly to photograph the Hutt’s Gate Store, which is believed to occupy the building that was once the Rose and Crown. In his published journal on the Voyage of the Beagle Darwin commented on the friendly and hospitable nature of the Saints, as the residents of St Helena call themselves. After our visit to their island, we certainly agree.
So what happened? How did this crossroads island come to be forgotten? There are two main reasons: steam power replaced wind and sails in the second half of the 1800s, and, in 1914, the Panama Canal provided an alternative route to the Pacific. We are among the fortunate few of our generation to visit this forgotten Island of the Atlantic.