The Last Bastions of The British Empire

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For several hundred years Great Britain was a major player in the World economy due to it’s vast Empire.  Nowadays Britain’s has lost it’s manufacturing capacity and survives mainly on its service industry choosing to import many of the goods that were either produced here, or imported from its vassals, no longer able to rely on the vast wealth generated from far off shores perhaps it’s time we dropped the ‘Great’ and just stuck to Britain. Today only a few nations consider themselves part of Britain.  Here are the last bastions of the British Empire:

Ascension, Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha

Located in the South Atlantic Ocean with a population of 7637 Ascension is primarily a site for British and American military, satellite tracking, and communication activities. It is the only island of the three (St. Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha) with an airport and regularly receives military planes from England, the United States, the Falkland Islands, and Recife, Brazil. 

Ascension Island

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In 1659, Saint Helena was permanently settled by the English East India Company. Prior to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, St. Helena was an important stop for water and refit for ships sailing in the South Atlantic.  Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to Saint Helena in 1815 and remained there until his death. The British had garrisoned the island back in the 17th century, but quickly took over the neighbouring islands Ascension and Tristan da Cunha to prevent any attempt to rescue Napoleon.

Saint Helena

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Tristan da Cunha, often called the world’s loneliest island, was brought to the world’s attention as recently as 1961 when smoke began pouring out of a volcano near Edinburgh, the island’s only village . Ships were diverted to the island for emergency evacuation of the 300 islanders. 

Tristan da Cunha

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Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Located at a peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus with a population of 15,700 which are mainly Military personnel.  Prior to 1960 Cyprus was a British Colony, after that Cyprus became and Independent Sovereign State, but Britain retained sovereignty of Akrotiri and Dhekelia as Military bases.