Maritime History
After St Helena was discovered by the Portuguese in 1502 it became an Island of great importance to them and later to the Dutch and British as well. St Helena's long and varied history especially during the East Indian Trade Company's activities in the Far East; the exile of Napoleon in 1815; Britain's involvement to suppress the Africa Slave Trade in 1840; the exile of Prince Dinizulu in 1897 and as a prison for 6000 Boer Prisoners in 1900 saw an enormous increase in ship traffic during these periods. There are a number of interesting artifacts in The Museum and a few ships anchors and other relics in Jamestown. All of these treasures tell of the Island's close unity with the sea.
Today, since the opening of Suez Canal the number of ships calling here has dropped but this is still a great place to stopover for yachts and cruise ships.
