Ascension Island – supplying the garrison

Ascension Island lies near the equator in the very center of the Atlantic Ocean surely too far from anywhere to be of interest to people yet in the 18th and 19th centuries it was an important military base for Britain and it still is today it's an air base serving both the Royal Air Force and the US Air Force resupplied by regular flights from RAF Bri Norton which is the quickest way to get there at the other end of the 9-hour flight is a different world but how on Earth did this Barren volcanic island becomes so important it was garrisoned by the British in 1815 at first to guard against a rescue attempt on Napoleon bonapart after his defeat at watero he was imprisoned on St helina well over a th000 km to the southeast of Ascension but when Napoleon died the Navy realized that sitting close to the equator it would make the perfect place to resupply ships struggling to cross the windless zones of the doldrums storehouses were built and stocked with vital supplies including one in particular that could make or break these round the world voyages these bottles contained a miracle cure for scurvy and it was realized that the vitamin C in citrus fruits could cure the dreaded disease scurvy that killed more Sailors than anything else out on the open ocean in bottles such as this one here made during the middle of the 19 century there was a special lure made from oranges limes and lemons and this contained enough vitamin C to completely cure the dreaded disease and rid the sailors of the terrible symptoms but as the Garrison based here grew the Island's aridity became more of a problem the troops were running short of water there is plenty of water here in the form of moisture Laden clouds that blow over the higher Peaks the question was how to harvest it two well-known naturalists came up with a bold idea one of those people was no other than Charles Darwin when Charles Darwin came to Ascension Island he know noticed how incredibly dry the landscape is a few years later his close friend the great and Intrepid botanist Joseph Hooker also came and he similarly noted that the aridity of the landscape was causing the military Garrison to suffer because the soldiers just had nothing to drink so the two men devised an elaborate experiment their plan was to import plants and grow them on the higher slopes where they would the two men hoped ring moisture from the clouds and trap it as precious Water by the 1850s the plants had started to arrive they came from the Botanic Gardens at Q in England and also Botanic Gardens all across Europe as far field as South Africa and Argentina by the 1870s the vegetation had taken hold the dry volcanic desert had been changed into a lush artificial rainforest the vegetation was so luxurious that the peak had to be renamed was called Green [Music] Mountain the most incredible thing about this experiment isn't just that it works but that it works so incredibly quickly and with plants taken from different corners of the world all just thrown together here and somehow in in no time at all they all balanced out and found their own niches and assembled as this completely fully functioning artificial man-made ecosystem the plants arranged themselves in different zones up the slopes of the mountain just as happens in nature the island was also planted with Norfolk Island Pines that have grown into magnificent specimens these we're introduced for another reason ship's masts a ship with a broken Mast is a bit like an airplane without an engine will drift out on the open ocean for kilometers until being wrecked ashore in some distant Coastline these trees are the only trees for thousands of kilometers all the way from South America right down to Africa that could be used as masks it's extraordinary that such a Barren Rock in the middle of the ocean has played such a pivotal role in history and that it still does [Music] today the Britain's Treasure Islands book explores the unique Wildlife cultures and history of all of the UK overseas territories visit Britain treasure islands.com for details in sincere thanks to Lord ashr for funding the donation of one copy of the Britain's Treasure Islands book to every Secondary School across the UK and her overseas territories thanks also to all Kickstarter backers and all sponsors and partners for making the 40 mini documentaries possible e

Channel: Redfern Natural History Productions

Views: 231,945

Keywords: Stewart McPherson, UK Overseas Territories, Britain's Treasure Islands, Great Britain, United Kingdom, Ascension, Charles Darwin, Darwin, Joseph Hooker, Green Mountain, artificial rainforest, artificial rain forest, manmade rainforest, man made rainforest, rainforest, artificial, manmade, man, made, jungle, experiment, terraform, desert, drinking water, garrison, castle, fort, fortification, wildlife

Id: 8BUDEUwx0hE

Length: 7min 4sec (424 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 08 2016