Perhaps the boldest and most successful escape was made in 1994 by the Dutch captain and drug smuggler Willem Merk, who was imprisoned by the island authorities after they discovered a huge quantity of illegal drugs on his ship. The drugs were confiscated, and the ship was later sunk near Lemon Valley. There are several rumors about his escape from the island; some say Merk escaped by using soap to make copies of the prison keys, which the guards reportedly forgot when they went to the toilet. (Apparently, he left an audio recording of his snoring in his cell and then set off on a rough wooden boat, which he allegedly paid an islander to make during a long walking break.) Others say he escaped with the help of a friend who had arrived on the island a few days earlier on a yacht. However, it is known that he reached Brazil and, upon landing, contacted the Dutch embassy, which then repatriated him to the Netherlands as a free man.

After reading such stories, it is hard to imagine that Saint Helena Island was once used by Britain as a prison for such famous figures as Emperor Napoleon, Prince Dinuzulu, and the Sultan of Zanzibar. The island was also used to house nearly 5,000 Boer prisoners of war.

The fate of Saint Helena as a prison island was sealed when the Portuguese nobleman Fernando Lopes became a voluntary exile in 1515. Geographically, the island is perfectly suited for use as a prison. There is neither an airport nor a breakwater where ships can easily dock. The sheer cliffs surrounding the interior make Saint Helena almost an impregnable fortress.

The first mention of a prison being built on the island appears in the island records of 1683, when the East India Company gave a series of instructions to Governor John Blackmore to build a prison on the abandoned market square near Fort James. The company appointed Mr. John Seach as the island’s first sheriff and Mr. Thomas Bolton as clerk of the peace. At the same time, the company ordered: “A prison or place for the safe keeping of all offenders against the Law and Good Government shall be appointed and erected in some convenient place in Fort James; soldiers shall be separated from the planters, and a careful marshal or prison keeper shall be appointed with such moderate fees as are usually allowed in such cases.”

Although little is known about the first prison, it is known that it had a dungeon where criminals were held. The conditions in the dungeon were horrific; a record from 1698 states it was a foul-smelling hole underground, capable of suffocating a man no less than the Black Hole of Calcutta. Prisoners in the dungeon were usually kept in shackles and chained to rings. Records indicate that the prison was used for civilians of all classes, although there is no specific indication that they were all kept under the same conditions. This first prison was eventually replaced by another in 1827, which is still in use today. A report on this prison from 1836 states: “Due to the large number of prisoners, the prison is insufficiently capacious to allow any classification, and therefore the most notorious characters are mixed with children and others imprisoned for trivial offenses, and there are no means to introduce solitary confinement to make it effective; no prison warder lives in it, and prisoners after nightfall can commit any crimes against each other or suffer from illnesses without the possibility of being heard—five men are confined in one cell, some only 10 feet long and wide. In summer, the heat is unbearable, and 4 of the 7 underground cells are subject to dampness from a stream of water passing near the prison and finding its way through the ground to the walls.”

Paradoxically, although the island was considered the perfect prison for British political prisoners, since the 17th century there has been a tradition on Saint Helena of sending many of its local prisoners elsewhere to serve their sentences. The ringleaders of a mutiny in October 1684 were exiled to Barbados. In February 1690, Adroall and Bedwell, two men from Madagascar suspected of piracy after a significant amount of gold was found with them, were sent to England. Even in the 20th century, in the 1980s, two men convicted of murder and manslaughter respectively were sent to the UK to serve their prison sentences.

By the 18th century, besides being ideally located as a staging post for British ships bound for India, Saint Helena’s geographic position also proved strategically useful for Britain. In the early 1780s, when British plans to capture the Cape of Good Hope were thwarted by French intervention, many Dutch and French ships were sent to the island as war prizes. These ships often exchanged prisoners for food and water. In the early 19th century, when Britain was at war with France, in late July 1805, 37 English prisoners of war were sent to the island from the Cape of Good Hope.

It is generally believed that Britain first used Saint Helena as a prison in 1815, when the island was chosen as the place of exile for Emperor Napoleon. The period of Napoleon’s exile on the island became the island’s claim to fame, and even today many people know of the island only because of its association with Napoleon. However, records show that Britain attempted to send prisoners to Saint Helena almost a century earlier, in 1720. This was a “European Portuguese,” sent to the island as a prisoner from Bombay for betraying his trust during an action against Cannoji Angria, an enemy of the English in Bombay. However, in this case, the governor (Edward Johnson) refused to accept the man, called the “one-legged Portuguese villain,” and sent him back. The island was used by Britain as a prison for political prisoners at least five more times after Napoleon’s death.

In 1890, after the Zulus were defeated by the English, the Zulu chief Dinuzulu, son of Cetewayo, was sent to Saint Helena along with two of his uncles, Undabuka and Chingana, their wives, and servants. The imprisonment of the Zulus sharply contrasted with the imprisonment of the French exiles 75 years earlier. The Zulu emperor proved much more compliant than the French emperor. He did what he was told, never quarreled with the authorities, and wandered the island making friends with everyone he met. Dinuzulu sought to learn and adopt the customs of his European jailers. He made great progress in his education and soon learned to read and write fluently. He was also very interested in music and learned to play the piano during captivity. Dinuzulu was especially liked by the bishop and clergy of the island and became a fervent adherent of Christianity.

The Zulu prisoners left the island in December 1897. From 1900 to 1902, Saint Helena was to enter a new phase of its role as a British Atlantic prison island, this time as the first overseas camp for prisoners of war. Britain had found it extremely difficult to cope with Napoleon’s captivity 85 years earlier, and the fear that their prisoner might escape from its Atlantic Alcatraz was always present. Now the island faced another challenge: how to “house” nearly 6,000 Boer prisoners of war. In April 1900, the Saint Helena Guardian newspaper published the following announcement: “In a few days, the warship Milwaukee will arrive with prisoners of war accompanied by HMS Niobe. Unauthorized persons are not allowed on the pier during disembarkation. The police will assist, as far as possible, the military acting under orders from the commanding officer in maintaining order. His Excellency the Governor hopes that the inhabitants will treat the prisoners with the courtesy and attention that should be extended to all people who have bravely fought for what they considered the cause of their country, and will help suppress any indecent demonstrations that individuals may exhibit.

Saint Helena, 5 April 1900.”

This news caused great excitement on the island. After the departure of the Zulu prisoners in 1897, the island’s economy had steadily declined, and the news of the Boer prisoners was received with interest; enterprising islanders saw the arrival of the Boers as an opportunity to earn money.

The first batch of prisoners arrived on 10 April 1900. On this occasion, the Milwaukee transported 514 prisoners, including General and Mrs. Cronje. The prisoners traveled in cramped conditions aboard the ship, and there were four prisoners on board who had contracted measles, but by the time the ship arrived, they were recovering. The Boer general, his wife, and their servants disembarked at 11 a.m. on 13 April and were taken to the castle, where they were received by the governor and Mrs. Sterndale. From there, the group proceeded up to Half Tree Hollow to Kent Cottage, where the Cronjes were to stay during their time on the island. The next day (Easter Monday—a public holiday), a huge crowd gathered on the seashore to witness the landing of the remaining Boer prisoners. It took about three hours to disembark all the prisoners, who were then sent to the Deadwood Plain.

They were marched in a guard of honor along Napoleon Street to the camp. The line stretched for several hundred yards and, together with the crowds of spectators lined up along the streets on both sides, presented a spectacle never before seen on Saint Helena by anyone of the current generation and not soon forgotten—a motley crowd of beings of all ages, from boys aged 14 to men aged 60, some clean and decently dressed, others poorly clothed, dirty and untidy, looking ill, each with a dirty backpack, a kettle with water or a bottle, or a string of kettles for drinking and pots, some with bundles of clothes wrapped in blankets.

Another batch of prisoners arrived two weeks later, on 26 April, along with the 4th Battalion of the Gloucestershire Regiment. The Boer officers—34 men—disembarked first and were sent under guard to the camp. They were followed by the “Glosters,” led by their band, and last of all, 360 prisoners disembarked with a hundred guards. This time, since the weather was cooler, no one was harmed during the long march to Deadwood. Upon arrival at the camp, the old and new prisoners applauded and greeted each other, creating a brief commotion.

From April 1900 to February 1902, more than 5,000 Boer prisoners of war arrived on the island. Besides General Cronje, another important Boer general, Ben Viljoen (26 years old), who was ambushed and captured late in the war, was on the island. Viljoen arrived on Saint Helena on 25 February 1902 aboard the Britannic and recorded his first impression of the island: “The rock rose above the ocean, bare and uneven; captivity on it presented a grim prospect. No animals were visible, and foliage was absent.”

By 1902, there were more than five and a half thousand prisoners on the island, guarded by a 1,500-strong garrison. The first arrivals were sent to the Deadwood camp, commanded by Major Marden. Prisoners were housed mainly in canvas tents and huts, which they later built themselves from tin cans. Over time, some prisoners in Deadwood became unruly. Some openly expressed a desire to become British subjects; those fiercely opposed to the British treated these people with great contempt and hostility. To prevent further conflict, the authorities were forced to create a separate camp, located apart from the general camp. Prisoners wishing to become British subjects and subsequently desiring the cessation of hostilities in South Africa were isolated in “Deadwood No. 2” or the “Peace Camp.”

Tensions also arose between “Free Staters and Transvaalers,” and the authorities decided to open another camp in Broad Bottom, a wide shallow valley about five miles from Deadwood. Here, with some exceptions, all prisoners were citizens of the Orange Free State. This camp was opened in early 1901, and the camp commander was Lieutenant Colonel Wright. Some prisoners proved so unruly that the authorities decided to remove them from the other prisoners by confining them in Fort High Knoll.

Saint Helena was torn from its sleepy obscurity and thrust into the international spotlight as the Anglo-Boer War developed.

Among the prisoners was the outstanding artist Erich Mayer, a German volunteer captured at Elandslaagte, near Mafeking, shortly after the war began in 1899 and buried on Saint Helena. His paintings and sketches provide an intriguing insight into the life of Boer prisoners of war. Mayer was responsible for the beautiful illustration of a petition written in small letters, signed by 37 prisoners of war, presented to the pro-nationalist Irish activist and humanitarian Alice Green, who visited Saint Helena.

Although the locals generally cared well for the prisoners and accepted them, there were still those among them who keenly felt the consequences of their imprisonment and as a result plotted and abetted escapes from the island. In February 1901, five prisoners (out of 41) attempted to escape in a boat they had seized from fishermen in Sandy Bay. The fishermen took away the oars, and after a struggle, the prisoners climbed into the boat and tore up the planks of the bottom to make oars. When they found this did not work, they tried to bribe the fishermen, offering them money for the oars. Meanwhile, one of the fishermen reported the incident, and eventually a guard arrived, and the Boers were taken into custody.

This was far from the only escape attempt, and perhaps the most enterprising was that of a young prisoner of war, Andries Smorenburg, who made himself a box labeled “Only Curios” and “sent” himself by mail from Saint Helena on a passing ship. He prepared his box, marking it with a false address in London, then packed it with clothes, matches, food, and water for 20 days. Armed with a crude map of Southampton dock, he climbed inside and was loaded onto a ship heading north. The trip was a nightmare. Although the box was labeled “Handle with care” and “This side up,” it was thrown and turned over on board—proving that a century ago, dockworkers cared about fragile goods just as much as today—and as a result, Smorenburg suffered a concussion and lost most of his water. Meanwhile, his absence was noticed on the island when he failed to appear for roll call. The Saint Helena authorities contacted Ascension Island, and after five days at sea, Smorenburg was recaptured when the ship called at Ascension and returned to Saint Helena.

In early 1902, the garrison on the island was increased by the arrival of the 3rd Middlesex Regiment, numbering 570 men. These troops camped at Francis Plain, where the authorities proposed creating another prisoner of war camp. However, by June of the same year, the possibility of ending the Anglo-Boer War seemed achievable.

The Saint Helena Guardian newspaper of 5 June 1902 published the headline “Peace, Perfect Peace” and expressed hope that the peace would be lasting. It reflected the events of the war and the impact it had on the island. In the camps, the prisoners initially received the news of peace with great excitement, finally seeing an end to their exile. However, a day or two later, some prisoners began to have doubts, while others did not believe the report at all, and still others waited to learn more details.

On Tuesday, 17 June 1902, about three hundred prisoners came to sign the Oath of Allegiance. Although at first some prisoners did not want to sign the Oath, the temptation of their imminent return to South Africa was greater than their pride, and on 26 June 1902, the first batch of prisoners (470 men) left for Cape Town.

By mid-September, the prisoner of war camps had been dismantled, and their contents sold at public auction. The last batch of prisoners left the island on 21 October aboard the ship Golkonda. The Saint Helena Guardian of 23 October 1902 reported on the departure of the prisoners and mentioned the benefits their imprisonment had brought to the island.

In June 1907, the Saint Helena Guardian reported the arrival of 25 Zulu prisoners sent to the island from Natal. These prisoners had participated in the Zulu uprising in Natal earlier that year and included people such as Tilonko, Messeni, Ndlove, son of Siganda, and others identified by the Natal government as ringleaders of the uprising. Initially, the prisoners were to be deported to Mauritius, but due to an outbreak of beriberi there, the British government agreed that instead they should be sent to Saint Helena.

The Zulus arrived on the steamer Inyati on 11 June 1907. The next day they were landed wearing khaki jackets with the letter “L” and various other marks indicating their sentences, which ranged from “life” to 10 years. The prisoners’ ages ranged from 20 to 70 years, and upon arrival, they looked very weak. They appeared half-starved and could barely walk.

The prisoners were escorted under armed local police to the Ladder Hill barracks, which were to become their prison on the island and where the Royal Artillery garrison was based. The Guardian newspaper that week listed the rations the Zulus received in prison:

12 ounces of flour for breakfast and 12 for dinner, and 18 ounces of the same food for supper with salt, and during the week some vegetables and 11 pounds of fresh beef per person per week. The prisoners were also to be supplied with a blanket on which they could lie. The Guardian editor suggested: “Is the transformation of this island, ‘known to the world’ as the ‘Island of Historical Misfortunes,’ into a prison for people such as the Zulus…”

Judging by this comment, the island was beginning to tire of its prison role. The Zulu prisoners were definitely not greeted with the enthusiasm with which the islanders had welcomed the Boer prisoners seven years earlier, and the time spent on the island was not received by the locals with the warmth that Dinuzulu’s captivity in 1890 had been.

The Zulus remained on the island for the next two years and worked mainly on roads or as rock climbers in local quarries. Many years later, a local character named “Chief,” supposedly Dinuzulu’s son by an islander woman, recalled how, when the 25 Zulu prisoners arrived on the island, his mother hid him, fearing he might be taken back to Natal when the prisoners were repatriated there in 1909.

Saint Helena was given a brief respite from its prison role until August 1917, when the Sultan of Zanzibar, Sayyid Khalid bin Bargash al Said, described in the Chronicles as a claimant to the sultanate, arrived with his harem and several others, a total of 25 people. According to the archivist, there is no information in the local archives about the Zanzibar prisoners; all newspapers and other records concerning Khalid during this period were censored. The locals called the prisoners “Zanzibaris.” As with the Zulu prisoners of 1907, very few remember that they were on the island, and the memories of those who do are very vague and sparse. The prisoners were held in Jamestown in a building on the Military Plain. They had little contact with the inhabitants of Saint Helena; some remember that the prisoners were always very elegantly dressed in long flowing silk garments, and the women were described as having beautiful appearances.

In 1921, the sultan and the rest of his group were transferred to the Seychelles, where they remained until 1925, when he was released and allowed to settle in Tanganyika and then Kenya. He died in Mombasa in 1927.

Another thirty-six years passed before Britain again turned to Saint Helena as a prison island, this time to detain three Bahrainis. The three men were prominent members of the Nationalist Committee in Bahrain. They were tried by the ruler of Bahrain for crimes against the state following riots that took place there in early November 1956 and sentenced to 14 years in prison. The ruler of Bahrain appealed to Britain for assistance in relocating them to British territory, and it was subsequently decided to send them to Saint Helena. The British government in this case applied the provisions of the Colonial Prisoners Removal Act of 1869, and after consultation with the government of Saint Helena, the prisoners arrived on the island on 27 January.

The three prisoners were held under guard at the former searchlight station at Munden’s Point, which was specially prepared for this purpose. They were cared for by local male servants and kept very much to themselves. In March 1959, one of the prisoners, Abdul Rahman, applied to the Supreme Court of Saint Helena for a writ of habeas corpus, challenging the governor to show that the imprisonment was lawful.

The success of this application for habeas corpus is interesting, especially considering that there were several attempts by different people to obtain a writ of habeas corpus for Napoleon more than a hundred years earlier. The British government, anticipating such a move, hastily arranged for Napoleon, then aboard the Bellerophon, to be transferred to the Northumberland for his voyage to Saint Helena. This did not prevent Bonapartists from continuing to seek his release, and in 1816 the British Parliament decided to pass a special law regarding Napoleon’s case. To prevent lawyers acting on his behalf from initiating proceedings for his release on the grounds of unlawful detention, Parliament passed a law specifically recognizing the legality of Napoleon’s continued detention despite the end of the Napoleonic Wars, declaring him a “prisoner of war” and thus not entitled to habeas corpus.

Therefore, perhaps the greatest paradox is that the last time Britain had to send prisoners to Saint Helena was also the moment when those same prisoners could effectively challenge its authority. After the successful application of the writ of habeas corpus, events came full circle. Napoleon’s exile in 1815 marked the beginning of Saint Helena’s function as a prison island, and the departure of the Bahraini prisoners in 1961 marked the end of this compulsory role. Saint Helena no longer held strategic importance for Britain; it no longer required the services of its Atlantic Alcatraz.

Sources:

https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/articles/saint-helena-prison-island/