Saint Helena is a volcanic tropical island in the South Atlantic Ocean, part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. It is one of the most remote islands in the world and was uninhabited when discovered by the Portuguese in 1502. From 1659 it has been a British possession, apart from a short Dutch interlude in 1673, and was an important stopover for ships sailing to Europe from Asia and South Africa for centuries.
