As related in the Leisure Hour, it was 'a land where there are no bankers, no lawyers, and no crime where all gratuities are strictly forbidden, the landladies are all honest and the boatmen take no tips', while the English Illustrated Magazine provided a description the most glowing terms: 'No one should go there who cannot be content with the charms of brilliant light, of ever-changing atmospheric effects, of a land free from the countless discomforts of a large and busy population, and of an air that tastes like draughts of life itself.' Britain gave up the islands to Germany in 1890 in the. More vitally it was a refuge for revolutionaries of the 1830s and the. The island attracted artists and writers, especially from Germany and Austria who apparently enjoyed the comparatively liberal atmosphere, including and. In 1826, Heligoland became a seaside spa and soon it turned into a popular tourist resort for the European upper-class. In the event no effort was made during the period of British administration to make use of the islands for naval purposes, partly for financial reasons but principally because the Royal Navy considered Heligoland to be too exposed as a forward base. The prime reason at the time for Britain's retention of a small and seemingly worthless acquisition was to restrict any future French naval aggression against the Scandinavian or German states. The British annexation of Heligoland was ratified by the signed on, as part of a number of territorial reallocations following on the abdication of Napoleon as Emperor of the French. Thousands of Germans came to Britain and joined the via Heligoland. Denmark then ceded Heligoland to by the (14 January 1814).
Heligoland became a centre of smuggling and espionage against Napoleon. On 11 September 1807, during the, brought to the the despatches from Admiral announcing Heligoland's capitulation to the British. From 1875 its postage stamps were denominated in both and. Postage stamp showing and denominated in schillings.