the crown colonies - Memorial University's Digital Archives Initiative

156 THE CROWN COLONIES
generally, a race of lean men and fat women. One of
the sights of Jamestown is Ja cob's Ladder. This is a
great stairway of 699 steps which run s from sea-level up
a cliff face 600 feet high.
St. Helena is, of course, chiefly famou s as the place
of exile of the great Napoleon. He lived and died at
Longwood, which is about 31 miles from Jamestown,
and delightfully situated 2,000 feet above the sea. He
was buri ed here on 1Ia y 5th , 1821, and a slab marks
the spot where his body first rested. In 1840 his remains
were transferred to Paris. Eighteen years later Queen
Victoria presented the house he occupied to his nephew,
Emperor Napoleon III, who had it restored, but left it
unfurnished.
Joao de Nova Castella, the Portuguese discoverer of
Ascension Island, has St. Helena also to his credit. The
date was St. Helen a' s Da y, 1502, and so determined the
island's name. Portugal stocked it as a por t of call for
her ships going to India, but the only permanent resident
was a Portuguese traitor, Fern ando Lopez, who
was mutilated for his crime, and lived there in isolation
from 15I 3 to 1546. The first English visitor was
Thoma s Cavendish, who touched there in 1588. In
1633 the Dutch ann exed it, but aband oned it when
they founded Cape Town.
Several English Captains had called at St. Helena
from time to time, and in 1659 the East India Company
took possession of it. Their occup ation was confirmed
by charter, and they built a fort , calling it Fort James
after the then Duke of York. In 1673 the Dutch
returned and held St. Helena for a few months befor e
the Company retook it. Charles II issued a new
charter, and the Company remained in possession ' right
up until 1833 with the exception of a break of six years.