Saint Helena: how do you live on the most confined of the British Isles?

The island was discovered by Portuguese sailors on May 21, 1502, the day of Saint Helena then came under the control of the British who made it a supply port. Under the administration of the English East India Company, it saw at its peak, in the 18th century, more than 1,000 ships per year and fascinated explorers and poets who stopped there: James Cook explored its coasts, Charles Darwin studied its fauna, Edmund Halley scanned his stars there, William Makepeace Thackeray drew inspiration from its lunar atmosphere for his prose.

Its landscapes gave, it is true, material for daydreaming: moor with Scottish accents, tropical vegetation, volcanic reliefs… a miniature planet and a geographical crossroads situation which earned it the nickname of "inn of the ocean", a status which 'she lost after the inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869. What was the use, then, of venturing so far from everything? Since then, the island has lived in isolation, trying to find its place, at the mercy of salty winds and diplomatic vagaries.

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Project beyond the UKAn unexpected observer was able to witness this development from the front row. His name is Jonathan, is turning 188 and casually chews the greasy grass in the governor's gardens. This male tortoise, originally from Seychelles, has resided in Saint Helena since 1882 and has seen twenty British governors succeed one another at Plantation House. At this early hour, the immaculate Georgian building, surrounded by eucalyptus, bamboo, cypress, is still shrouded in mist.

Philip Rushbrook is the latest to arrive (in 2019). And the first by air. This phlegmatic senior official thus completed a rich career, in turn emissary of the queen in Darfur, Cyprus or even the Turks and Caicos Islands, in the Caribbean. "Saint Helena is Lilliput! he remarks from his office with pastel blue walls. It is the size of a village but must perform all the functions of a country. »In the official agenda of the representative of Her Majesty Elizabeth II, certain local obligations, such as attending a performance of the musical Mamma Mia! by a troupe from Jamestown - at Rosie's restaurant, for lack of an auditorium.

But also the management of the prerogatives of London, namely Defense, security, international relations, and accessibility, the rest of the day-to-day affairs falling to a local Legislative Council, composed of twelve elected members. "Saint Helena developed in a bubble preserving its cultural identity," notes Her Excellency. But now it has to look beyond the United Kingdom: the island must use the airport as a springboard to the rest of the world. "

Jamestown, pocket capitalJamestown, set between two cliffs, stretches along Main Street, its main street, a handful of shops, and essential administrative services, housed in pretty white buildings adorned with wrought iron. Here, no supermarket, no cash machine, no traffic jams. It is as if transported to a small British town from another time.

In Saint Helena, the designation "most remote of the world" ("the most isolated in the world") - although usurped (Tristan da Cunha is even more so) - has become a label. The nine-hole golf course, the cricket ground, but also the Anglican Church or the post office, all "most remote", can boast of being without competition 2000 kilometers around. City side or countryside side floats the same atmosphere of drifting England.

On the flagpole, the cross of Saint George, emblem of the distant mother country, rustles in the squalls of the eighth south parallel. In pubs, we froth the lager and brown the fish and chips. Television screens broadcast all matches for Liverpool, Manchester or Arsenal. This culture made in England is just seasoned with a few local traditions: folk music with country accents, cuisine spicier than in Windsor, local tales and stories from the oral tradition or even the practice of rifle shooting while lying down ( one of the few sports where Saints can claim medals in international competitions).

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