Heligoland is the astounding story of a mysterious British colony in the North Sea that the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, swapped for Zanzibar in 1890. After years of having a UK-style flag, postage stamps, taxation system and currency, Heligolanders were soon experiencing the crushing of their culture, and were forced into learning German. The unscrupulous transference of the island to Germany, in defiance of the islanders' wishes, sparked a public controversy; the explorer Stanley famously commented that Britain had obtained a waistcoat in exchange for a trouser button. The sacrifice of the enigmatic Heligoland became a strategic blunder during the two World Wars, when the island was made into a weaponry fortress by the Germans. After the Second World War there was a plot to cover up the mistake when Britain planned to destroy Heligoland with an A-bomb strength explosion. Implicated in the epic scandal are many key personalities; among them Queen Victoria, Kaiser Wilhelm, Arthur Balfour, and The Riddle of the Sands author Erskine Childers. Heligoland goes beyond an amazing story of intrigue, high adventure and national ambition. It highlights Britain's relations with continental Europe; the conduct of the British Empire; even the shape and identity of the British Isles. Using techniques of biography, popular history and narrative, this book unravels for the first time the true story of the island Britain gave away.

George Drower is an expert on overseas territories and author of the widely acclaimed Britain's Dependent Territories and The Overseas Territories Handbook (HMSO, Feb 98). He has also written a number of political biographies