ABSTRACT
Articles about the British Empire, 1832-1867, focused frequently on a dependency. Less prevalent, but usually more analytic, were essays on subjects of broad imperial significance. Of these topics, the most popular during the era was the retention of the empire. In the 1830s, authors were about evenly divided on the merits of keeping the overseas possessions. During the 1830s, articles were already urging the government to oversee conditions of passage and land distribution on arrival. Magazines published few sentences about St. Helena in the 1830s and 1840s. Essays stressed, logically for a defense outpost, the troops' ability to stall aggression aimed at the Eastern possessions. To do the routine work vital to the upkeep of a fort, the press asked for Chinese and Indians, sure to be lured by high wages. Presumably this condition contributed to the dearth of narratives about St. Helena.
