The island was defended in 1800 by four batteries, that of the south-east, that of the south, and the high and low battery on the north. The two first were directed to the landing place for large vessels, and the other two against the current between the islands. They mounted 19 can non, and 4 howitzers, with 56 regular troops. The light house serves to direct all vessels that wish to enter the Hever, the Ryder, the Elbe, the Weser, and the Jade.
There arc no fewer than 342 houses on the high ground, and 78 on the low ground, Making in all 420. The church, the magazine, and the public buildings, are erected on the high ground. . Those on the low ground are merely the huts of the fishermen. A building has been erected on the sandy island, for the accommodation of those who may be shipwrecked upon it. The population was 2200 in the year 1800. In the same .year there were 11 sniggs (small vessels) on the island, 97 chaloupes, and 80 yoles.
The natives of Heligoland are descended from the Frisians, and have preserved their language and their principal customs. They are chiefly employed in fish ing and piloting vessels up the Elbe, the Weser, and the Eyder. They live in hilts, and lie upon planks pla ced one above another, though some of the houses on the high ground are clean and well The women plough and sow the ground, thrash the grain, and grind it for food. They have neither carts nor horses. They obtain from Nordhovet in Eyderstedt, forage for their cattle in winter, and their fuel is got from the ports on the Elbe.
This island is supposed by Malthe Brun to he the Alokiai islands of Ptolemy. It appears also to have been
the Fosetisland, Fosielund, or Phosteland, which appears in the history of the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries to have been the seat of a peculiar worship paid to the idol Fosetes, is supposed by some to he the Vesta, or Festa, of the Romans, and the Hertha of the Scandinavians. The altars of this were, however, overturned in A. D. 366, and his temple changed into a monastery. In 1403 and 1417, two famous pirates endeavoured to establish themselves on this island, in consequence of which it was put into a state of defence in 1539. The town of Hamburgh was afterwards anxious to obtain possession of it, but the Dukes of Holstein and Gottorp claimed with success this ancient dependency of Denmark, and it passed with the duchy of Slcswick into the possession of the Danes in 1714. The Danish government, however, neglected the great advantages of this position, and did not put it into a state of defence till the canal of Holstein was opened.
In September 1807, a small English squadron under Admiral Russel blockaded the island, which surrendered a few days afterwards, for the want of provisions. Thirty two pieces of cannon, besides field-pieces and mortars, and a large stock of ammunition, were found on the island. By the arrangements in the treaties of Paris in 1814 and 1815, Heligoland has been transferred to Great Britain. East Lung. of the lighthouse 7° 53' 13", North Lat. 54° I l' 39". See Malthe Brun's Annales des Voyages ; Carr's Northern Summer ; and the Geological Transactions, vol. i. p. 322.