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History
One of the three British island colonies on the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge.
It was uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese
in 1502. The English first visited it in 1588. The Dutch occupied
it from 1645-51. The English East India Company took it over
in 1659 as a port of call for water and provisions on the route
to India. Slaves were brought there from Africa.
Famous for being the place of exile and death of Napoleon
Bonaparte, St. Helena was chosen by the British government as
it was thought impossible for Napoleon to escape from. His previous
exile had been on the island of Elba, just off the coast of Naples
but he had easily escaped to the mainland, which led to a new
war ending in Waterloo. The British Royal Navy controlled the
Atlantic. He died there in 1821.
Since then the islanders have lived on their agriculture and
on decreasingly frequent ships calling there. Sociologists will
be interested to study the introduction of television in 1994.
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