General
The small island of Ascension (93kb Topographic Map) lies in the South Atlantic (7 56'S, 14 22'W) some 750 miles Northwest of the Island of Saint Helena and covers an area of 35 square miles.
It was discovered by the Portuguese seafarer Joao da Nova Castelia in 1501, (although this visit apparently went unrecorded) and "found again" two years later on Ascension Day by Alphonse d'Albuquerque, who gave the island its name. Being dry and barren it was of little use to the East Indies fleets. So it remained uninhabited until Emperor Napoleon I was incarcerated on St Helena in 1815 when a small British naval garrison was stationed on Ascension to deny it to the French. The island was designated "HMS Ascension", a "Stone sloop of War of the smaller class".
By Napoleon's death in 1821 Ascension had become a victualling station and sanatorium for ships engaged in the suppression of the slave trade around the West African coast. In 1823 the island was taken over by the Royal Marines. It remained under the supervision of the British Board of Admiralty until 1922, when it was made a Dependency of St Helena by Royal Letters Patent.
From 1922 until 1964 the island was managed by the Eastern Telegraph Company (renamed Cable and Wireless in 1934).
In 1964, in view of plans to establish BBC and Composite Signal Organisation (CSO) stations, an Administrator was appointed.
Geographical
Ascension is a rocky peak of purely volcanic origin (44 distinct craters - all "dormant", i.e. not "extinct") with its base just west of the mid-Atlantic ridge. Much of the island is covered by basalt lava flows and cinder cones. The last major volcanic eruption took place about 600 years ago. The highest point (Green Mountain) at some 2817 ft is covered with lush vegetation which, with each rainy season is increasingly spreading throughout the island. There is a small farm near the peak which used to produce vegetables and pork but has now sadly fell into disrepair. The climate on Ascension Island is subtropical.
Climate
Temperatures at sea level are 68-88F and about 10F less on Green Mountain. Showers occur throughout the year with slightly heavier rains in the January-April period.
Population
There is no indigenous population. The inhabitants of the island comprise the employees and families of the organisations working on the island. The population is about 1,100 - mostly Saint Helenians but with 200 United Kingdom and 150 US citizens.
Settlements
There are five settlements on the Island. Georgetown the administrative "capital" and port; Two Boats village about three miles inland and situated at 600 feet is a residential area; Traveller's Hill is where the RAF garrison lives; Cat Hill is the US Base area and there is the Residency, the farm and some cottages on Green Mountain. There is an Anglican church, St Mary's, a small Roman Catholic church, the "Grotto", and the remains of a mosque (which served Moslems from West Africa in the early days of occupation).
