An Island Remote and Small

THE adjectives most frequently used to describe the island of St. Helena are “remote” and “small.” That is fitting, for this island, ten and a half miles [17 km] long and six and a half miles [10 km] wide, is 1,200 miles [1,950 km] from the nearest land, the southwest coast of Africa. It was here that Napoléon Bonaparte was sent in 1815 to live out his last years as a defeated exile.

From the ocean the island looks like a formidable fortress. It is actually an extinct volcano rising steeply from the Atlantic with sheer cliffs reaching 1,600 to 2,300 feet [500 to 700 m] high. At its center, Mt. Actaeon, at 2,685 feet [818 m], dominates the entire island. On account of the cool South Atlantic trade wind and ocean current, the island has a generally mild and pleasant climate. But from the low-lying coastline to the mountainous interior, there is a great variety of weather conditions and vegetation.

St. Helena has been a British possession since the late 17th century. The small population of some 5,000 is a mixture of people of European, Asian, and African origins. English is used throughout the island, but it is spoken with a distinctive accent. There is no airport here; the only tie with the outside world is by ship, with regular passage to South Africa and England. In fact, broadcast television became available only in the mid-1990’s, thanks to a satellite hookup.

In the early 1930’s, the good news of God’s Kingdom reached these shores for the first time. (Matthew 24:14) Through the years, many islanders have taken hold of this treasure that makes material riches insignificant. (Matthew 6:19, 20) Today, St. Helena enjoys the distinction of having a Witness-to-population ratio of 1 to 31, the best in the world!

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St. Helena

JAMESTOWN

Levelwood

AFRICA

ATLANTIC OCEAN

St. Helena