Ascensao

Ascension is an isolated volcanic island in the South Atlantic, near eight degrees south of the Equator. Africa lies about 960 miles to the east and South America roughly 1,400 miles to the west. Its dry lava fields, cinder cones and sparse vegetation contrast with the green summit of Green Mountain, where orographic cloud and springs support the island’s densest plant growth.

Portuguese navigator João da Nova sighted the island in 1501, and Afonso de Albuquerque named it on Ascension Day two years later. Portuguese ships left goats and rats, but the island remained without a permanent population. English vessels used it as a stopping place; the wreck of HMS Roebuck in 1701 illustrated the hazards of its exposed anchorages. Turtles, seabirds and fish made the surrounding waters a provisioning ground.

Britain garrisoned Ascension in October 1815 after Napoleon was sent to Saint Helena. Marines and sailors built a road, cisterns and gardens around Green Mountain, while the Royal Navy used the island to supply ships, including vessels policing the slave trade. Royal Navy ships also used the remote anchorage as a victualling station. Charles Darwin visited in 1836 and found the dry coast transformed near the springs by deliberate cultivation and water conservation.