Saint Helena
island in the South Atlantic Ocean
Saint Helena (, US: ; US: ) is a volcanic tropical island located in the South Atlantic Ocean, west of Africa. The nearest countries geographically are Angola and Namibia. The island is about 1,860 km (1,160 mi) west of Angola, 3,280 km (2,040 mi) east of Brazil and South America, and 4,000 km (2,500 mi) east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a British overseas territory.
Saint Helena measures about 16 by 8 km (10 by 5 mi) with a population of 4,439 in the 2021 census. It was named after Saint Helena (c. AD 246/248–330), the mother of the Roman emperor Constantine I. It is one of the most remote major islands in the world and was uninhabited until the 16th century, when discovered by the Portuguese explorers en route around the continent of Africa in 1502. For about the next four centuries, the island was an important stopover for ships between Europe and Asia sailing around the African continent, before the opening of the shortcut Suez Canal in 1869.
The primary method of reaching Saint Helena is by its airport. It is also served by cargo ships.
“Saint Helena” enters the record as island in the South Atlantic Ocean. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Saint, Helena and island can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Saint Helena” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Saint, Helena and island provides the most credible route into that argument.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q34497. The first chronological checks are 2021, 1502 and 1869.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Saint Helena”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Saint Helena primary sources, Saint Helena archive and Saint research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Saint Helena”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Saint Helena” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.