The Middle of Nowhere, the Center of Empire
The surprising history of St. Helena
Jonathan the tortoise didn’t get his name until he was almost a century old. He was anonymous until the 1930s, when the governor of his island decided that he should henceforth be called by one of the most common English names.
By the time he received his name, Jonathan had lived more than 4,000 miles from home for half a century. In reality, his birthdate is unknown, but he was estimated to be at least 50 when he was taken from his birthplace in the Seychelles Islands in the Indian Ocean in 1882 and transported more than 4,000 miles as the crow flies — in reality, much farther, because his route took him around southern Africa — to his new home on the island of St. Helena. Here he is (on the left) in a photo taken close to the turn of the 20th century:
Why was Jonathan taken from one of the world’s most remote island chains to an even more remote island? Well, it seems that tortoises were commonly taken from their homes and spirited around the world in the Victorian era. S…
