3-078-267 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Heligoland, the island to be ceded to Germany, 1890. 'The view which may reasonably be entertained with regard to the proper natural destination of this...tiny islet...which is scarcely a mile long and a quarter of a mile wide, with a mere village population of foreign race, either fishermen or lodging-house keepers maintained by German summer visitors, has been considerably altered by the changes of European dominion in 1864 and 1866. For Schleswig and Holstein, which were formerly Duchies held by the King of Denmark as a member of the old Germanic Confederation, are now integral parts of the Kingdom of Prussia...in 1807... Heligoland was captured without any fighting by the squadron of Admiral Russell, since [when], though it has been a possession of the British Crown, not one Englishman in a million has visited the isle...The people, numbering about two thousand, are an odd fragment of the Frisian race...It is stipulated that those now living, of adult age, shall not be compelled to serve in the German army or navy, or be liable to increased taxation, and they may remain British subjects, individually, if they choose... we really cannot believe that the Heligolanders will lose much by the change, or that their feelings will be deeply hurt'. From "Illustrated London News", 1890.