History of Saint Helena

The island was discovered in May 1502 by João da Nova, a Spanish navigator in the service of Portugal. The exact date of the discovery traditionally has been given as May 21, which in the Eastern Orthodox Church is the feast day of St. Helena, Roman empress and mother of the emperor Constantine. Other evidence suggests, however, that it was May 3, the Roman Catholic feast day of the True Cross, of which St. Helena was the reputed discoverer. The existence of the island was known only to the Portuguese until 1588, when the English navigator Captain Thomas Cavendish visited St. Helena on his return from a voyage around the world. The island soon became a port of call for ships en route between Europe and the East Indies (present-day Indonesia).

The Dutch may have occupied St. Helena about 1645–51, but in 1659 the English East India Company took possession of the island. After a brief Dutch occupation in 1673, the East India Company was confirmed in its ownership. By 1673 nearly half of the inhabitants were imported slaves, but between 1826 and 1836 all slaves were freed. The remoteness of St. Helena made it attractive to the powers of Europe as a place of exile for Napoleon I, and he was confined at Longwood House on the island from October 1815 until his death in May 1821. During that period the island was placed under the jurisdiction of the British crown. Subsequently the East India Company resumed control until 1834, when the authority of the crown was restored. St. Helena remained reasonably prosperous as a busy port of call until about 1870; thereafter steam started replacing sail in seafaring, and the Suez Canal opened (1869), changing the pattern of sea routes.

In the early 1960s a telecommunications centre was developed on the island of Ascension, and employment there of workers from St. Helena restored a degree of prosperity. St. Helena was given some measure of self-rule through an Order in Council and Royal Instructions in 1966 (effective January 1967) that provided for local executive and legislative councils; this order was replaced by a new constitution that became effective in January 1989. The territory’s relationship with Great Britain continued to evolve, and in July 2009 both parties approved a new constitution that came into effect on September 1. It included a bill of rights and limited some of the powers of the governor while giving more authority to members of the elected councils.