St Helena's anniversary set

This set commemorates the centenary of St Helena becoming a British possession. But the British had owned the island for far longer than that. It was most probably discovered by the Portuguese Joao da Novo on the Feast of St Helen in May 1502 and was visited by Vasco da Gama a year later on his return from his second Indian voyage. The island was tiny – but impossible to miss. After rounding the Cape, the trade winds took you straight there.

Like Ascension and Tristan de Cunha, it was uninhabited – but had fresh water and land for cultivation. The Portuguese realised it was the perfect refuelling stop for their India fleets; they stocked the island with goats, planted food