Editing Saint Helena (section)

== History ==
{{Main|History of Saint Helena}}

===Discovery===
[[File:Joao da Nova.jpg|thumb|left|[[João da Nova]], a Galician navigator serving the [[Portuguese Empire]], was the first person to sight Saint Helena.]]
According to long-established tradition, the island was sighted on 21 May 1502 by the four ships of the [[3rd Portuguese India Armada (Nova, 1501)|3rd Portuguese Armada]], commanded by [[João da Nova]], a [[Kingdom of Galicia|Galician]] navigator in the service of Portugal, during his return voyage to Lisbon, who named it Santa Helena after [[Saint Helena of Constantinople]]. This tradition was reviewed by a 2022 paper<ref>Bruce, Ian. 'The Discovery of St Helena'. Wirebird: The Journal of the Friends of St Helena 51 (2022): 26–43. [http://sainthelenaisland.info/thediscoveryofsthelena_ianbruce.pdf]</ref> which concluded that the Portuguese chronicles<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25017190 | jstor=25017190 | title=The Idea of History in the Portuguese Chroniclers of the Age of Discovery | last1=Cardozo | first1=Manoel | journal=The Catholic Historical Review | date=1963 | volume=49 | issue=1 | pages=1–19 }}</ref> published at least fifty years after the sighting are the sole primary source for the discovery. Although contradictory in describing other events, these chronicles almost unanimously claim that João da Nova found Saint Helena sometime in 1502, although none of them gives a precise date.<ref>João de Barros, Manoel Severim de Faria, and João Baptista Lavanha, Da Asia de João de Barros e de Diogo de Couto, vol. I, book V, chapter X (Lisbon: Regia Officina Typografica, 1778), 477; [https://books.google.com/books?id=Epo2AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA477]</ref><ref>Luiz de Figueiredo Falcão, Livro em que se contém toda a fazenda e real patrimonio dos reinos de Portugal, India, e ilhas adjacentes e outras particularidades (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1859), 138; [https://books.google.com/books?id=OzdJAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA138]</ref><ref>Damião de Góis, Chronica do serenissimo senhor rei D. Manoel (Lisbon: Na officina de M. Manescal da Costa, 1749), 85; [https://books.google.com/books?id=0vTmAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA85]</ref><ref>Barros, Faria, and Lavanha, Da Asia de João de Barro, I, book V, chapter X:118; [https://books.google.com/books?id=yqM2AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA118]</ref><ref>Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Asia Portuguesa, vol. 1 (En La Officina de Henrique Valente de Oliueira, 1666), 50; [https://books.google.com/books?id=WHo25-BfGO0C&pg=PA50]</ref><ref>Melchior Estacio Do Amaral, Tratado das batalhas e sucessos do Galeão Sanctiago com os Olandeses na Ilha de Sancta Elena: e da náo Chagas com os Vngleses antre as Ilhas dos Açores, 1604, 20; [https://books.google.com/books?id=XIWI6WIIGi4C&pg=PA18]</ref>

However, there are several reasons to doubt that da Nova made this discovery:

#Given that da Nova returned either on 11 September<ref>Barros, Faria, and Lavanha, Da Asia de João de Barro, I, book V, chapter X:477; Góis, Chronica do serenis-simo, 477</ref> or on 13 September 1502<ref>Marino Sanuto, I Diarii di Marino Sanuto, ed. Nicolò Barozzi, vol. 4 (Venice: F. Visentini, 1880), 486 [https://books.google.com/books?id=nfNRAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA485]</ref> it is usually assumed that the [[Cantino planisphere]], completed by the following November,<ref>Guglielmo Berchet, Fonti italiane per la storia della scoperta del Nuovo mondo, vol. 1, part III (Rome: Ministero della pubblica istruzione, 1892), 152 [https://books.google.com/books?id=14gyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA152]</ref> includes his discovery of [[Ascension Island]] (shown as an [[archipelago]], with one of six islands marked as "ilha achada e chamada Ascenssam"), yet this map fails to show Saint Helena.<ref>Duarte Leite, História da colonização portuguesa do Brasil, Chapter IX, O mais antigo mapa do Brasil, ed. Carlos Malheiro Dias, vol. 2 (Porto: Litografia Nacional, 1922), 251, [https://archive.org/details/histriadacoloniz1922sous/page/n13/mode/2up]</ref><ref>Harold Livermore, 'Santa Helena, A Forgotten Portuguese Discovery'', Estudos Em HOmenagem a Louis Antonio de Oliveira Ramos, 2004, 623–31, [http://ler.letras.up.pt/uploads/ficheiros/4999.pdf?iframe=true&width=80%&height=80%]''
</ref>
#When a section of the [[4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)|Fourth Armada]] under the command of [[Estêvão da Gama (c. 1470)|Estêvão da Gama]] sighted and landed at Saint Helena the following year on 30 July 1503, its [[captain's clerk|scrivener]] [[Thomé Lopes]] regarded it as an unknown island, yet named Ascension as one of five reference points for the new island's location. On 12 July 1503, nearly three weeks before reaching Saint Helena, Lopes described how Estêvão da Gama's ships met up with a section of the [[5th Portuguese India Armada (Albuquerque, 1503)|Fifth Armada]] led by [[Afonso de Albuquerque]] off the [[Cape of Good Hope]]. The latter had left Lisbon about six months after João da Nova's return, so Albuquerque and his captains should all have known whether João da Nova had indeed found St Helena. An anonymous Flemish traveler on one of da Gama's ships reported that bread and victuals were running short by the time they reached the Cape, so from da Gama's perspective there was a pressing need that he be told that water and meat could be found at Saint Helena.<ref>Jean Philibert Berjeau, trans., Calcoen. A Dutch Narrative of the Second Voyage of Vasco Da Gama to Calicut, Printed at Antwerp circa 1504 (London: Basil Montague Pickering, 1874), 37, [https://archive.org/details/calcoenadutchna00berjgoog/page/n38/mode/2up]</ref> But nothing seems to have been said about the island, and Lopes regarded the island as unknown. This again implies that da Nova found Ascension but not St Helena.

The 2022 paper also reviews cartographic evidence that Saint Helena and Ascension were known to the Spanish in 1500, before either João da Nova or Estêvão da Gama sailed for India. The suggestion that da Nova discovered Tristan da Cunha and named it Saint Helena is discounted.<ref>George E. Nunn, The Mappemonde of Juan de La Cosa: A Critical Investigation of Its Date (Jenkintown: George H. Beans library, 1934</ref><ref>Edzer Roukema, 'Brazil in the Cantino Map', Imago Mundi 17 (1963): 15.</ref>

A 2015 paper notes that 21 May is the feast day of St Helena in the Eastern Orthodox and most [[Protestant]] churches, but the Roman Catholic one is in August, and the day and the month were first quoted in 1596 by [[Jan Huyghen van Linschoten]], who was probably mistaken, because the island was discovered several decades before the [[Reformation]] and the start of Linschoten's Protestant faith.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.goarch.org/en/special/listen_learn_share/constantineandhelen/learn/ |title=May 21: Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helen, Equal to the Apostles |publisher=Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107082709/http://www.goarch.org/en/special/listen_learn_share/constantineandhelen/learn/ |archive-date=7 November 2007 |access-date=2008-03-28 |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>Ian Bruce, 'St Helena Day', Wirebird The Journal of the Friends of St Helena, no. 44 (2015): 32–46.[http://sainthelenaisland.info/sthelenadayarticleianbruce.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016033235/http://sainthelenaisland.info/sthelenadayarticleianbruce.pdf|date=16 October 2015}}</ref><ref>Jan Huyghen van Linschoten, Itinerario, voyage ofte schipvaert van Jan Huygen Van Linschoten naer Oost ofte Portugaels Indien, inhoudende een corte beschryvinghe der selver landen ende zee-custen... waer by ghevoecht zijn niet alleen die conterfeytsels van de habyten, drachten ende wesen, so van de Portugesen aldaer residerende als van de ingeboornen Indianen. (C. Claesz, 1596)[https://web.archive.org/web/20180502140054/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UbVOAAAAcAAJ].</ref><ref>Jan Huygen van Linschoten, John Huighen Van Linschoten, His Discours of Voyages into Ye Easte [and] West Indies: Divided into Foure Bookes (London: John Wolfe, 1598).[https://books.google.com/books?id=nRN-HgO3tREC&pg=PA172]</ref> An alternative discovery date of 3 May is suggested as being historically more credible; it is the Catholic feast day of the finding of the [[True Cross]] by Saint Helena in [[Jerusalem]], and cited by Odoardo Duarte Lopes<ref>Duarte Lopes and Filippo Pigafetta, Relatione del Reame di Congo et delle circonvicine contrade tratta dalli scritti & ragionamenti di Odoardo Lope[S] Portoghese / per Filipo Pigafetta con disegni vari di geografiadi pianti, d'habiti d'animali, & altro. (Rome: BGrassi, 1591).[https://web.archive.org/web/20180502064521/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=-aurfsHGclwC]</ref> and [[Sir Thomas Herbert, 1st Baronet|Sir Thomas Herbert]].<ref>Thomas Herbert, Some Yeares Travels into Africa et Asia the Great: Especially Describing the Famous Empires of Persia and Industant as Also Divers Other Kingdoms in the Orientall Indies and I'les Adjacent (Jacob Blome & Richard Bishop, 1638), [https://books.google.com/books?id=mlJBAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA353 353].</ref>

When Linschoten arrived at the island on 12 May 1589, he reported seeing carvings made by visiting seamen on a fig tree that were dated as early as 1510.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Linschoten |first1=Jan Huygen van |first2=Arthur Coke |last2=Burnell |first3=Pieter Anton |last3=Tiele |title=The voyage of John Huyghen van Linschoten to the East Indies : from the old English translation of 1598 : the first book, containing his description of the East |location=London|publisher=Hakluyt Society |date=1885 |url=https://archive.org/details/voyagejohnhuygh02tielgoog/page/n279 |via=The Internet Archive}}</ref> The Portuguese probably planted saplings rather than mature trees, and for these to be sufficiently large by 1510 to carry carvings suggests the plants were shipped to the island and planted there some years earlier, possibly within a few years of discovery.

A third discovery story, told by 16th-century historian [[Gaspar Correia]], holds that the island was found by Portuguese nobleman and warrior Dom [[Garcia de Noronha]], who sighted the island on his way to India in late 1511 or early 1512. His pilots entered the island onto their charts, and this event likely led to the island being used as a regular stopover for rest and replenishment for ships en route from India to Europe, from that date until well into the 17th century.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Portuguese in India and other studies, 1500–1700 (Ch. XVII – The Portuguese and Saint Helena)|last=Disney|first=A.R.|publisher=Routledge|year=2016|isbn=978-1-138-49378-0|pages=217–219}}</ref> An analysis has been published of the Portuguese ships arriving at Saint Helena in the period 1502–1613.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Rowlands |first=Beau W. |title=Ships at St Helena, 1502-1613 |journal=Wirebird: The Journal of the Friends of St Helena |issue=28 |date=Spring 2004 |pages=5–10 |url=https://www.friendsofsthelena.com/upload/files/Ships_at_St_Helena,_1502-1613.pdf}}</ref>

===Exploitation of the island===
The Portuguese found the island uninhabited, with an abundance of trees and fresh water. They imported livestock, fruit trees, and vegetables, and built a chapel and one or two houses. The long tradition that João da Nova built a chapel from one of his wrecked [[carrack]]s has been shown to be based on a misreading of the records.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Schulenburg |first=Alexander H. |title=Joao Da Nova and the Lost Carrack |journal=Wirebird: The Journal of the Friends of St Helena |issue=16 |date=Autumn 1997 |pages=19–23 |url=https://www.friendsofsthelena.com/upload/files/Joao_da_Nova_and_the_Lost_Carrack.pdf}}</ref> They formed no permanent settlement, but the island was an important rendezvous point and source of food for ships travelling by the [[Cape Route]] from Asia to Europe, and frequently sick mariners were left on the island to recover before taking passage on the next ship to call at the island.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Knowlson |first=James R. |title=A Note on Bishop Godwin's "Man in the Moone:" The East Indies Trade Route and a 'Language' of Musical Notes |journal=[[Modern Philology]] |year=1968 |volume=65 |issue=4 |pages=357–91 |jstor=435786 |doi=10.1086/390001 |s2cid=161387367}}</ref>

Visits by British explorers followed and, once Saint Helena's location was more widely known, British ships of war began to lie in wait in the area to attack Portuguese India carracks on their way home.<ref name="E. A. B. 494">{{cite journal |last1=E. A. B. |date=July 1940 |title=Review |journal=[[The English Historical Review]] |volume=55 |issue=219 |pages=494 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |jstor=554169 |first1=E. A.}}</ref>

In developing their Far East trade, the [[Dutch Republic|Dutch]] also began to frequent the island. The Portuguese and Spanish soon gave up regularly calling at the island, partly because they used ports along the [[West Africa]]n coast, but also because of attacks on their shipping, the desecration of their chapel and religious icons, killings of their livestock, and destruction of their [[plantation]]s by Dutch pirates.<ref name="E. A. B. 494"/>

The [[Dutch Republic]] formally claimed Saint Helena in 1633, although no evidence indicates they ever occupied it. The Dutch lost interest in the island after establishing [[Dutch Cape Colony|their colony]] at the [[Cape of Good Hope]].<ref name="E. A. B. 494"/>

===East India Company (1658–1815)===
{{Main|East India Company}}
[[File:Thornton, St Helena.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|left|''A View of the Town and Island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean belonging to the [[East India Company|British East India Company]]'', engraving, {{Circa|1790}}]]

In 1657, [[Oliver Cromwell]] granted the [[East India Company]] (EIC) a charter to govern Saint&nbsp;Helena. The following year, the company decided to fortify the island and settle it with planters.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sthelena.se/history/cron.txt|title=Historical Chronology |publisher=St. Helena Foundation|access-date=21 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716231341/http://www.sthelena.se/history/cron.txt |archive-date=16 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A theory, which had its origins in the early 20th century, that the early settlers included many who had lost their homes in the 1666 [[Great Fire of London]], was shown to be a myth in 1999.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schulenburg |first1=Alexander |title=Myths of Settlement – St Helena and the Great Fire of London |url=https://www.friendsofsthelena.com/upload/files/St_Helena_and_the_Great_Fire_of_London.pdf |publisher=Friends of St Helena |access-date=8 January 2021 |date=1999}}</ref>

The first governor, Captain John Dutton, arrived in 1659, making Saint&nbsp;Helena one of Britain's earliest colonies outside Europe, North America and the Caribbean. A fort and houses were built: Jamestown had been founded, "in the narrow valley between steep cliffs".<ref name="smithsonianmag.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/journey-st-helen-home-napoleon-last-days-180971638/|title=A Journey to St. Helena, Home of Napoleon's Last Days|access-date=18 March 2021}}</ref>

After the [[Stuart Restoration|Restoration]] of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of [[England]], [[Scotland]] and [[Ireland]] in 1660, the EIC received a [[royal charter]], giving it the sole right to fortify and colonise the island. The fort was renamed James Fort and the town was called [[Jamestown, Saint Helena|Jamestown]], in honour of the [[Duke of York]], later [[King James II]].<ref name="E. A. B. 494"/>

Between January and May 1673, the [[Dutch East India Company]] seized the island, but British reinforcements restored EIC control. The island was fortified with about 230 gun turrets.<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/>

The British government sent some settlers and gave them land that they could farm,<ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> but the company found it hard to attract enough settlers, despite advertisements in London and free tracts of land. By 1670, the population was only 66, including slaves.<ref name="A BRIEF HISTORY">{{cite web|url=http://sainthelenaisland.info/briefhistory.htm|title=A Brief History |publisher=Saint Helena Island |access-date=18 March 2021}}</ref> Also unrest and rebellion occurred among the inhabitants. Ecological problems, such as deforestation, soil erosion, vermin, and drought, led Governor Isaac Pyke to suggest in 1715 that the population be moved to [[Mauritius]], but that was not acted upon. The company continued to subsidise the community because of the island's strategic location. A census in 1723 recorded 1,110 inhabitants, including 610 slaves.<ref name="A BRIEF HISTORY"/>
 
In the peak era, about 1,000 ships per year stopped there, leaving the governor to try to police the numerous visitors and to limit the consumption of [[arrack]], a distilled alcoholic drink made from potatoes. There were two mutinies, perhaps fueled by alcohol. Because Jamestown was "too raucous with its taverns and brothels", St Paul's Cathedral was built outside the town.<ref name="theculturetrip.com">{{cite web|url=https://theculturetrip.com/africa/articles/a-visit-to-st-helena-one-of-the-worlds-remotest-islands/ |title=A Visit to St Helena, One of the World's Remotest Islands |date=18 December 2019 |access-date=18 March 2021}}</ref>

Eighteenth-century governors tried to tackle the island's problems by planting trees, improving fortifications, eliminating corruption, building a hospital, tackling the neglect of crops and livestock, controlling the consumption of alcohol, and introducing legal reforms. The island enjoyed a lengthy period of prosperity from about 1770. Captain [[James Cook]] visited the island in 1775 on the final leg of his second circumnavigation of the world. [[Saint James' Church, Jamestown|St. James' Church]] was built in Jamestown in 1774, and [[Plantation House, Saint Helena|Plantation House]] in 1791–92; the latter has since been the official residence of the governor.

[[Edmond Halley]] visited Saint Helena on leaving the [[University of Oxford]] in 1676, and set up an astronomical [[observatory]] with a {{convert|7.3|m|ft|adj=mid|-long}} [[aerial telescope]], intending to study the stars of the [[Southern Hemisphere]].<ref>[http://www.g4g4.com/pMyCD5/HISTORY/GAZ2.DOC Gazetteer – p. 7. Monuments in France – page 338] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716083646/http://www.g4g4.com/pMyCD5/HISTORY/GAZ2.DOC |date=16 July 2011}}</ref> The site of this telescope is near [[Saint Matthew, Hutt's Gate|Saint Mathew's Church]] at Hutt's Gate in the [[Longwood, Saint Helena|Longwood]] district. The {{convert|680|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} hill there is called Halley's Mount.

Throughout that period, Saint Helena was an important [[List of ports of call of the British East India Company|port of call of the EIC]]. [[East Indiaman|East Indiamen]] would stop there on the return leg of their voyages to British India and China. At Saint Helena, ships could replenish supplies of water and provisions and, during wartime, form convoys that would sail under the protection of vessels of the [[Royal Navy]].

[[James Cook]]’s ship {{HMS|Endeavour}} anchored and resupplied off the coast of Saint Helena in May 1771 on its return from the European discovery of the east coast of Australia and the rediscovery of New Zealand.<ref>{{cite book |title =The Journals of Captain James Cook on His Voyages of Discovery, vol. I:The Voyage of the Endeavour 1768–1771|editor-last=Beaglehole | editor-first=J.C. | editor-link=John Beaglehole | page = 468| year =1968 | publisher =Cambridge University Press | oclc=223185477}}</ref>

The British brought an estimated 25,000 slaves from west Africa to the island, in addition to the 3,000,000 they transported to the New World.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Neel |first=Annina van |date=2024-03-27 |title=Scraping away generations of forgetting: my fight to honour the Africans buried on St Helena |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/27/scraping-away-generations-of-forgetting-my-fight-to-honour-the-africans-buried-on-st-helena |access-date=2024-07-19 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The importation of slaves was made illegal in 1792, but the horrific conditions of slavery on St Helena were not abolished until 27 May 1839, when the 'Ordinance For the Abolition of Slavery in the Island of St Helena' was enacted.<ref>{{cite web |title=SLAVERY ON ST HELENA |url=http://sainthelenaisland.info/slavery.htm#:~: |website=sainthelenaisland.info}}</ref> Rupert's Valley was the embarkation area for slaves; in 2008, when the road to the airport was being built, over 9,000 skeletal remains of slaves were uncovered in a mass burial area. They were reburied en masse in 2022 without ceremony of any kind.<ref>PBS POV S36 Ep2 "The Story of Bones" 2023</ref> Governor Robert Patton (1802–1807) recommended that the company import workers from China to supplement the rural workforce. Many were allowed to stay, and their descendants became integrated into the population. In 1810, Chinese labourers began arriving, and by 1818, there were 650 in St Helena.<ref name="A BRIEF HISTORY"/> An 1814 census recorded 3,507 people on the island. Many of the labourers were allowed to stay, though the need for their services had reduced by 1836.

===British rule (1815–1821) and Napoleon's exile===
[[File:Napoleon sainthelene.jpg|right|thumb|''Napoléon à Sainte-Hélène'' by François-Joseph Sandmann]]
[[File:Longwood House (16311222817).jpg|thumb|Longwood House in September 2014]]
{{main|Napoleon I's exile to St. Helena}}

In 1815, the British government selected Saint Helena as the place of exile for [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] (1769–1821), former General of the [[French Army]], [[First Consul]] of the [[First French Republic]] and later proclaimed [[Emperor of the French]], after the pivotal [[Battle of Waterloo]] in June 1815, his subsequent second [[abdication]] (on 22 June 1815) and his final surrender, to Captain [[Frederick Lewis Maitland|Frederick Maitland]] (1777–1839), of the [[United Kingdom|British]] [[Royal Navy]], on {{HMS|Bellerophon|1786|6}} (15 July 1815).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Napoleon on St Helena: how exile became the French emperor's last battle |url=https://www.historyextra.com/period/georgian/napoleon-where-exile-why-st-helena-death-murder/ |access-date=2 November 2020 |website=HistoryExtra}}</ref> He was taken to the island in October 1815. Napoleon stayed at the [[Briars, Saint Helena|Briars pavilion]], on the grounds of the [[Betsy Balcombe|Balcombe family]]'s home, until his permanent residence at [[Longwood House]] was completed in December 1815. He died there five and half years later on 5 May 1821.<ref>{{cite book |last = Roberts |first = Andrew |title = Napoleon : A Life |publisher = Viking |location = New York |year = 2014 |isbn = 978-0-670-02532-9 |pages= 778, 781–82, 784, 801}}</ref>

===British East India Company (1821–1834)===
Following Napoleon's death, the soldiers and other temporary residents linked to his presence on the island were withdrawn and the EIC resumed full control of Saint Helena. Between 1815 and 1830, the EIC made available to the government of the island the [[packet boat|packet]] [[schooner]] {{ship||St Helena|1814 ship|2}}, which made multiple trips per year between the island and the Cape, carrying passengers both ways and supplies of wine and provisions back to the island. Napoleon praised Saint Helena's coffee during his exile on the island, and the product enjoyed a brief popularity in [[Paris]] in the years after his death.{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

The importation of slaves to Saint Helena was banned in 1792. In 1818, the governor freed children born of slaves on the island.<ref name="smithsonianmag.com" /> The phased emancipation of over 800 resident slaves took place in 1827, some six years before the British parliament passed legislation to abolish slavery in the colonies.<ref name="smithsonianmag.com" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://sthelena.uk.net |title=Friends of St Helena |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130506123722/http://sthelena.uk.net/ |archive-date=6 May 2013 |quote=the island became a temporary refuge for more than 26,000 Africans liberated by the Royal Navy from slave ships.}}{{unreliable source?|date=September 2021}}</ref>

Between 1791 and 1833, Saint Helena became the site of a series of experiments in conservation, reforestation, and attempts to boost rainfall artificially.<ref name="Grove">[[Richard Grove]], ''Green Imperialism: Colonial Expansion, Tropical Island Edens and the Origins of Environmentalism, 1600–1860'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 309–379</ref> This environmental intervention was closely linked to the conceptualisation of the processes of environmental change and helped establish the roots of environmentalism.<ref name="Grove"/>

===Crown colony (1834–1981)===
{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2017}}<!--only first paragraph has a citation-->
Under the provisions of the 1833 India Act, control of Saint&nbsp;Helena passed from the EIC to the British Crown, and it became a [[crown colony]].<ref name="crown colony">[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/1751/schedule/made The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511202653/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/1751/schedule/made |date=11 May 2011 }} "...the transfer of rule of the island to His Majesty's Government on 22 April 1834 under the Government of India Act 1833, now called the Saint Helena Act 1833" (Schedule Preamble)</ref> Subsequent administrative cost-cutting triggered a long-term population decline; those who could afford to do so tended to leave the island for better opportunities elsewhere. The latter half of the 19th century saw the advent of steamships not reliant on [[trade winds]], as well as the diversion of Far East trade away from the traditional [[South Atlantic]] shipping lanes to a route via the [[Red Sea]] (which, prior to the building of the [[Suez Canal]], involved a short overland section).<ref name="E. A. B. 494"/>

In 1840, a British naval station established to suppress the [[Atlantic slave trade]] was based on the island, and between 1840 and 1849, over 15,000 freed slaves, known as "Liberated Africans", were landed there.<ref name="E. A. B. 494"/>

In 1858, French emperor Napoleon III purchased, in the name of the French government, [[Longwood House]] and the lands around it, the last residence of Napoleon I (who died there in 1821; his remains had been returned to France in 1840.)<ref name="smithsonianmag.com" /> It is still French property, administered by a French representative and under the authority of the French [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (France)|Ministry of Foreign Affairs]].

A 2020 report states that the island's prosperity ended after 1869 when "the Suez Canal shifted trade routes north". A 2019 report explained that "ships no longer needed a stopping point on a longer journey to Europe".<ref name="theculturetrip.com"/><ref name="smithsonianmag.com"/> The number of ships calling at the island fell from 1,100 in 1855 to only 288 in 1889.<ref name="E. A. B. 494"/>

On 11 April 1898, American [[Joshua Slocum]], on his solo round-the-world voyage, arrived at Jamestown. He departed on 20 April 1898 for the final leg of his circumnavigation, having been extended hospitality by the governor, [[R. A. Sterndale]]. He presented two lectures on his voyage and was invited to Longwood by the French consular agent.<ref>Geoffrey Wolff, ''The Hard Way Around: The Passages of Joshua Slocum'', p 11</ref>
[[File:Review of reviews and world's work (1890) (14761208986).jpg|thumb|300px|Boer prisoners of war, 1900]]

By the end of 1899, St Helena was connected to London by undersea cable; this allowed for telegraph communication. In 1900 and 1901, over 6,000 [[Boer]] prisoners were held on the island, during the [[Second Anglo-Boer War]]. A 2019 report stated, "no traces remain of the two POW camps", but added, "the Boer Cemetery is a poignant spot".<ref name="theculturetrip.com"/> Among the notables were [[Piet Cronjé]] and his wife after their defeat at the [[Battle of Paardeberg]].<ref>Royle, Stephen A. 'Alexander The Rat – F. W. Alexander, Chief Censor, Deadwood Camp, St Helena'. Wirebird: The Journal of the Friends of St Helena 15 (Spring 1997): 17–21.[https://www.friendsofsthelena.com/upload/files/Alexander_the_Rat.pdf Full Paper]</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Knight|first=Ian|title=Boer Commando 1876–1902|year=2004|publisher=Osprey Publishing|page=56|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BgUqvgAACAAJ|isbn=978-1-84176-648-5}}</ref> The resulting population reached an all-time high of 9,850 in 1901. By 1911, however, that had declined to 3,520 people. In 1906, the British government withdrew the garrison; the island's economy suffered when spending by the soldiers stopped.<ref name="A BRIEF HISTORY"/>

A local industry manufacturing fibre from [[New Zealand flax]] was successfully re-established in 1907 and generated considerable income during the [[First World War]]. Ascension Island was made a dependency of Saint&nbsp;Helena in 1922, and Tristan da Cunha followed in 1938. During the [[Second World War]], the United States built [[RAF Ascension Island|Wideawake Airport]] on Ascension in 1942, but no military use was made of Saint&nbsp;Helena except maintenance of its defences.<ref>Clements, Bill. 'Second World War Defences on St Helena'. Wirebird: The Journal of the Friends of St Helena 33 (Autumn 2006): 11–15. [https://www.friendsofsthelena.com/upload/files/Second_World_War_Defences_on_St_Helena.pdf Full Paper]</ref>

Attendance at school became mandatory in 1942, for ages 5 to 15 in 1941, and the government took over control of the education system. The first secondary school opened in 1946. The American construction of Wideawake Airfield generated numerous jobs for St Helena; the sale of flax for rope also generated revenue for the island.<ref name="A BRIEF HISTORY"/> However, the industry declined after 1951 because of transport costs and competition from synthetic fibres. The decision in 1965 by the British [[General Post Office|Post Office]] to use synthetic fibres for its mailbags was a further blow, contributing to the closure of the island's flax mills in 1965.

From 1958, the [[Union-Castle Line|Union-Castle]] shipping line gradually reduced its service calls to the island. Curnow Shipping, based in [[Avonmouth]], replaced the Union-Castle Line mailship service in 1977, using the [[Royal Mail Ship|RMS]] ''St&nbsp;Helena'', which was introduced in 1989.

===1981 to present===
[[File:1984, Jamestown, St Helena Island. New Governor.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|[[Francis Eustace Baker]], wearing full dress tropical uniform, is sworn in as Governor of Saint Helena in 1984.]]

The [[British Nationality Act 1981]] reclassified Saint Helena and the other [[crown colonies]] as [[British Dependent Territory|British Dependent Territories]].<ref name="A BRIEF HISTORY" /> For the next 20 years, many could find only low-paid work with the island government, and the only available employment outside Saint Helena was on the [[Falkland Islands]] and [[Ascension Island]]. The Development and Economic Planning Department (which still operates) was formed in 1988 to contribute to raising the living standards of the people of Saint Helena.

The Commission on Citizenship was established in 1992, restoring the islanders' rights including the right of abode. In 2002, the right to British citizenship was restored.<ref name="A BRIEF HISTORY" />

In 1989, [[Prince Andrew, Duke of York|Prince Andrew]] launched the replacement [[RMS St Helena (1989)|RMS ''St&nbsp;Helena'']] to serve the island; the vessel was specially built for the [[Cardiff]]–[[Cape Town]] route and featured a mixed cargo/passenger layout.

The Saint Helena Constitution took effect in 1989, and provided that the island would be governed by a governor, a commander-in-chief, and an elected executive and legislative council. In 2002, the [[British Overseas Territories Act 2002]] granted full British citizenship to the islanders and renamed the dependent territories (including Saint Helena) the British Overseas Territories. In 2009, [[The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009]] gave all three equal status; the British Overseas Territory was renamed [[Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tristandc.com/newsgovconsistution.php|title=Enhanced status and Bill of Rights in Tristan's new constitution|accessdate=18 March 2021}}</ref>

In 2021, a ministerial system was introduced in Saint Helena after UK's approval of a constitutional amendment.<ref>{{cite web |title=The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution (Amendment) Order 2021 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/895/made |website=www.legislation.gov.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The New Ministerial System |url=https://www.sainthelena.gov.sh/2021/press-releases/the-new-ministerial-system/ |website=St Helena Government |date=18 August 2021 |access-date=27 October 2021}}</ref>

In January 2024, [[Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh]] visited the island. "Prince Edward is the first royal trip to the island since [[Anne, Princess Royal|Princess Anne]], the Princess Royal visited in 2002. Other royal guests include [[George VI|King George VI]], [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]], [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh|Prince Philip]], [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon|Princess Margaret]] and [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|The Queen Mother]]."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Delaney |first=Evie |date=2024-01-25 |title=Prince Edward sets sail for St Helena and reunites with a very old family friend |url=https://www.tatler.com/article/prince-edward-sets-sail-for-st-helena-and-reunites-with-a-very-old-family-friend |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=Tatler |language=en-GB}}</ref> While there, he visited Jonathan, a 191-year old tortoise, confirmed by the [[Guinness World Records]] to be the oldest living land animal.<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Donoghue |first=Saskia |date=2024-03-21 |title=Love exploring less-travelled places? St Helena is an island paradise |url=https://www.euronews.com/travel/2024/03/21/want-to-meet-jonathan-the-worlds-oldest-tortoise-st-helena-island-is-opening-up-to-tourist |access-date=2024-07-19 |website=[[Euronews]] |language=en}}</ref> He toured the island, met residents, ceremonially opened the island's [[Saint Helena Airport|airport]], and gave an address in the island's capital, Jamestown.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Elston |first=Laura |date=2024-01-22 |title=Duke of Edinburgh to meet Jonathan the tortoise on remote South Atlantic island |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/st-helena-edinburgh-the-king-prince-edward-south-atlantic-b2482626.html |access-date=2024-07-19 |work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref>