The remote yet historically rich Jamestown
Few places as far from mainland civilization can boast a history half as compelling as Jamestown. Founded in 1659 by colonists in the British East India Company, Jamestown is known for its wealth of Georgian architecture, its association with Napoleon Bonaparte, and its function as a British port vital in the rescue of slaves trafficked between Africa and the Americas.
Georgian design, Napoleon’s exile, and slave rescue
The stately Georgian style, common between the early eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries, is in few places more concentrated than in Jamestown. In fact, the city features the Southern Hemisphere’s oldest Anglican church, built in 1772, as well as a 699-step stairway known as Jacob’s Ladder, built in 1829.
Jamestown also served as the second exile site of Napoleon, who lived in Longwood House from 1815 until his death in 1821. Most happily, Jamestown was an important port for the British interception of slaves, saving an estimated 25,000 African prisoners before being closed in the 1870s.
