Bermuda (/bərˈmjuːdə/;historically known as the Bermudas or Somers Isles) is a British OverseasTerritory in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Bermuda archipelago consists of 181islands with a total land area of 54 km2 (21 sq mi). The closest land outsidethe territory is in the US state of North Carolina, approximately 1,035 km (643mi) to the west-northwest.

Bermuda isnamed after Spanish explorer Juan de Bermúdez, who discovered the archipelagoin 1505. The islands have been permanently inhabited since 1612, and, formingpart of British America, became a crown colony in 1684. The first Africanslaves arrived in 1616, but as the slave trade ceased by the end of the 17thcentury, the colony developed into a base for merchants, privateers, and theRoyal Navy. More recently, tourism has been a significant contributor toBermuda's economy. After World War II the territory became a prominent offshorefinancial centre and tax haven.

As of July2018, Bermuda had a population of around 70,000 people, making it the mostpopulous of the British overseas territories.[1] Black Bermudians, primarilydescended from African slaves, make up around 50% of the population, whileWhite Bermudians, primarily of British, Irish and Portuguese descent, accountfor 30%.

Etymology[edit]

Bermuda isnamed after the Spanish sailor Juan de Bermúdez, who discovered the islands in1505,[1] while sailing for Spain from a provisioning voyage to Hispaniola inthe ship La Garça. (The name ultimately is therefore from the Visigothic name"Bermund" or "Veremund".)

History[edit]

Bermuda wasdiscovered in the early 1500s by Spanish explorer Juan de Bermúdez.[5][6]Bermuda had no indigenous population when it was discovered, nor during initialBritish settlement a century later.[7] It was mentioned in Legatio Babylonica,published in 1511 by historian Pedro Mártir de Anglería, and was included onSpanish charts of that year.[8] Both Spanish and Portuguese ships used theislands as a replenishment spot to take on fresh meat and water. ShipwreckedPortuguese mariners are now thought to have been responsible for the 1543inscription on Portuguese Rock, previously called Spanish Rock.[9] Legendsarose of spirits and devils, now thought to have stemmed from the calls ofraucous birds (most likely the Bermuda petrel, or cahow)[10] and loud nocturnalnoises from wild hogs.[11] With its frequent storm-wracked conditions anddangerous reefs, the archipelago became known as the "Isle ofDevils".[12] Neither Spain nor Portugal attempted to settle it.

Settlementby the English[edit]

For the nextcentury, the island was frequently visited but not settled. The English beganto focus on the New World, initially settling in Virginia, starting Britishcolonization in North America, establishing a colony at Jamestown, Virginia in1607. Two years later, a flotilla of seven ships left England with severalhundred settlers, food, and supplies to relieve the Jamestown colony.[13]However, the flotilla was broken up by a storm and the flagship, the SeaVenture, drove the ship onto Bermuda's reef to prevent her sinking, resultingin the survival of all her passengers and crew.[14][5] The settlers wereunwilling to move on, having now heard about the true conditions in Jamestownfrom the sailors, and made multiple attempts to rebel and stay in Bermuda. Theyargued that they had a right to stay and establish their own government. Thenew settlement became a prison labour camp, and built two ships, theDeliverance,[15] and the Patience. Bermuda was now claimed for the EnglishCrown.[citation needed]

In 1612, theEnglish began settlement of the archipelago, officially named Virgineola,[16]with arrival of the ship the Plough. New London (renamed St. George's Town) wassettled that year and designated as the colony's first capital.[17][8] It isthe oldest continually inhabited English town in the New World.[17]

In 1615, thecolony, which had been renamed the Somers Isles in commemoration of Sir GeorgeSomers, was passed on to the Somers Isles Company.[18][19] As Bermudianssettled the Carolina Colony and contributed to establishing other Englishcolonies in the Americas, several other locations were named after thearchipelago. During this period the first slaves were held and trafficked tothe islands. These were a mixture of native Africans who were trafficked to theAmericas via the African slave trade and Native Americans who were enslavedfrom the Thirteen Colonies.[5]

Thearchipelago's limited land area and resources led to the creation of what maybe the earliest conservation laws of the New World. In 1616 and 1620 acts werepassed banning the hunting of certain birds and young tortoises.[20]

CivilWar[edit]

In 1649, theEnglish Civil War was taking place and King Charles I was beheaded inWhitehall, London. The conflict spilled over into Bermuda, where most of thecolonists developed a strong sense of devotion to the Crown. The royalistsousted the Somers Isles Company's Governor, and elected John Trimingham astheir leader (see Governor of Bermuda). Bermuda's civil war was ended by militias,and dissenters were pushed to settle The Bahamas under William Sayle.[21]

Therebellious royalist colonies of Bermuda, Virginia, Barbados and Antigua, werethe subjects of an Act of the Rump Parliament of England.[22] The royalistcolonies were also threatened with invasion. The Government of Bermudaeventually reached an agreement with the Parliament of England which retainedthe status quo in Bermuda.

Later 17thcentury[edit]

In the 17thcentury, the Somers Isles Company suppressed shipbuilding, as it neededBermudians to farm in order to generate income from the land. The Virginiacolony, however, far surpassed Bermuda in both quality and quantity of tobaccoproduced. Bermudians began to turn to maritime trades relatively early in the17th century, but the Somers Isles Company used all its authority to suppressturning away from agriculture. This interference led to islanders demanding,and receiving, revocation of the company's charter in 1684, and the company wasdissolved.[5]

Bermudiansrapidly abandoned agriculture for shipbuilding, replanting farmland with thenative juniper trees (Juniperus bermudiana, called Bermuda cedar). Establishingeffective control over the Turks Islands, Bermudians deforested their landscapeto begin the salt trade. It became the world's largest and remained thecornerstone of Bermuda's economy for the next century. Bermudians alsovigorously pursued whaling, privateering, and the merchant trade.

The AmericanWar of Independence[edit]

Bermuda'sambivalence towards the American rebellion changed in September 1774, when theContinental Congress resolved to ban trade with Great Britain, Ireland, and theWest Indies after 10 September 1775. Such an embargo would mean the collapse oftheir inter-colonial commerce, famine and civil unrest. Lacking politicalchannels with Great Britain, the Tucker Family met in May 1775 with eight otherparishioners, and resolved to send delegates to the Continental Congress inJuly, aiming for an exemption from the ban. Henry Tucker noted a clause in theban which allowed the exchange of American goods for military supplies. Theclause was confirmed by Benjamin Franklin when Tucker met with the PennsylvaniaCommittee of Safety. Independently, others confirmed this business arrangementwith Peyton Randolph, the Charlestown Committee of Safety, and GeorgeWashington.[23]

ThreeAmerican boats, operating from Charlestown, Philadelphia and Newport, sailed toBermuda, and on 14 August 1775, 100 barrels of gunpowder were taken from theBermudian magazine while Governor George James Bruere slept, and loaded ontothese boats. As a consequence, on 2 October the Continental Congress exemptedBermuda from their trade ban, and Bermuda acquired a reputation for disloyalty.Later that year, the British Parliament passed the Prohibitory Act to prohibittrade with the American rebelling colonies, and sent HMS Scorpion to keep watchover the island. The island's forts were stripped of cannons. Yet, wartimetrade of contraband continued along well-established family connections. With120 boats by 1775, Bermuda continued to trade with St. Eustatius until 1781,and provided salt to North American ports.[23]: 389–415 

In June1776, HMS Nautilus secured the island, followed by HMS Galatea in September.Yet, the two British captains seemed more intent on capturing prize money,causing a severe food shortage on the island until the departure of Nautilus inOctober. After France's entry into the war in 1778, Henry Clinton refortifiedthe island under the command of Major William Sutherland. As a result, 91French and American ships were captured in the winter of 1778–1779, bringingthe population once again to the brink of starvation. Bermudian trade wasseverely hampered by the combined efforts of the Royal Navy, the British garrisonand loyalist privateers, such that famine struck the island in1779.[23]: 416–427 

Upon thedeath of George Bruere in 1780, the governorship passed to his son, George Jr.,an active loyalist. Under his leadership, smuggling was stopped, and the Bermudiancolonial government was populated with like-minded loyalists. Even Henry Tuckerabandoned trading with the United States, because of the presence of manyprivateers.[23]: 428–433 

The BermudaGazette, Bermuda's first newspaper, began publishing in 1784.[24][25][26] Theeditor, Joseph Stockdale, had been given financial incentive to move to Bermudawith his family and establish the newspaper. He also provided other printingservices and operated Bermuda's first local postal service. The Bermuda Gazettewas sold by subscription and delivered to subscribers, with Stockdale'semployee also delivering mail for a fee.[27]

19thcentury[edit]

After theAmerican Revolution, the Royal Navy began improving the harbours on theBermudas. In 1811, work began on the large Royal Naval Dockyard on IrelandIsland, which was to serve as the islands' principal naval base guarding thewestern Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes. To guard the dockyard, the British Armybuilt the Bermuda Garrison, and heavily fortified the archipelago.

During theWar of 1812 between Britain and the United States, the British attacks onWashington, D.C. and the Chesapeake were planned and launched from Bermuda,where the headquarters of the Royal Navy's North American Station had recentlybeen moved from Halifax, Nova Scotia.[28]

In 1816,James Arnold, the son of Benedict Arnold, fortified Bermuda's Royal NavalDockyard against possible US attacks.[29] Today, the National Museum ofBermuda, which incorporates Bermuda's Maritime Museum, occupies the Keep of theRoyal Naval Dockyard.

Due to itsproximity to the southeastern US coast, Bermuda was frequently used during theAmerican Civil War as a stopping point base for the Confederate States'blockade runners on their runs to and from the Southern states, and England, toevade Union naval vessels on blockade patrol.[8][5] The blockade runners werethen able to transport essential war goods from England and deliver valuablecotton back to England. The old Globe Hotel in St. George's, which was a centreof intrigue for Confederate agents, is preserved as a public museum.

Anglo-BoerWar[edit]

During theAnglo-Boer War (1899–1902), 5,000 Boer prisoners of war were housed on fiveislands of Bermuda. They were located according to their views of the war."Bitterenders" (Afrikaans: Bittereinders), who refused to pledgeallegiance to the British Crown, were interned on Darrell's Island and closelyguarded. Other islands such as Morgan's Island held 884 men, including 27officers; Tucker's Island held 809 Boer prisoners, Burt's Island 607, andPort's Island held 35. Hinson's Island housed underage prisoners. The campcemetery is on Long Island.[30]

The New YorkTimes reported an attempted mutiny by Boer prisoners of war en route to Bermudaand that martial law was enacted on Darrell's Island.[31]

The mostfamous escapee was the Boer prisoner of war Captain Fritz Joubert Duquesne, whowas serving a life sentence for "conspiracy against the British governmentand on (the charge of) espionage".[32] On the night of 25 June 1902,Duquesne slipped out of his tent, worked his way over a barbed-wire fence, swam1.5 miles (2.4 km) past patrol boats and bright spotlights, throughstorm-wracked waters, using the distant Gibbs Hill Lighthouse for navigationuntil he arrived ashore on the main island.[33] He settled in the US and laterbecame a spy for Germany in both World Wars. In 1942, Col. Duquesne wasarrested by the FBI for leading the Duquesne Spy Ring, which to this dayremains the largest espionage case in the history of the United States.[34]

20th and21st centuries[edit]

In the early20th century Bermuda became a popular destination for American, Canadian andBritish tourists arriving by sea. The US Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, whichenacted protectionist trade tariffs on goods imported into the US, led to thedemise of Bermuda's once-thriving agricultural export trade to America andencouraged development of tourism as an alternative source of income. Theisland was one of the centres for illegal alcohol smuggling during the era ofProhibition in the United States (1920–1933).[8][5]

A rail linewas constructed in Bermuda in the 1920s, opening in 1931 as the BermudaRailway, which was abandoned in 1948.[35] The right of way is now the BermudaRailway Trail.[36]

In 1930,after several failed attempts, a Stinson Detroiter seaplane flew to Bermudafrom New York City, the first aeroplane ever to reach the islands. In 1936,Luft Hansa began to experiment with seaplane flights from Berlin via the Azoreswith continuation flights to New York City.[37]

In 1937,Imperial Airways and Pan American Airways began operating scheduled flying boatairline services from New York and Baltimore to Darrell's Island, Bermuda. InWorld War II, the Hamilton Princess Hotel became a censorship centre. All mail,radio and telegraphic traffic bound for Europe, the US and the Far East wasintercepted and analysed by 1,200 censors, of British Imperial Censorship, partof British Security Coordination (BSC), before being routed to theirdestination.[38][39] With BSC working closely with the FBI, the censors wereresponsible for the discovery and arrest of a number of Axis spies operating inthe US, including the Joe K ring.[40]

In 1948, aregularly scheduled commercial airline service began to operate, usingland-based aeroplanes landing at Kindley Field (now L.F. Wade InternationalAirport), helping tourism to reach a peak in the 1960s and 1970s. By the end ofthe 1970s, however, international business had supplanted tourism as thedominant sector of Bermuda's economy.

The RoyalNaval Dockyard and its attendant military garrison remained important toBermuda's economy until the mid-20th century. In addition to considerablebuilding work, the armed forces needed to source food and other materials fromlocal vendors. Beginning in World War II, US military installations were alsolocated in Bermuda, including a naval air station and submarine base. TheAmerican military presence lasted until 1995.[41]

Universaladult suffrage and development of a two-party political system took place inthe 1960s.[5] Universal suffrage was adopted as part of Bermuda's Constitutionin 1967; voting had previously been dependent on a certain level of propertyownership.

On 10 March1973, the governor of Bermuda, Richard Sharples, was assassinated by localBlack Power militants during a period of civil unrest.[5] Some moves were madetowards possible independence for the islands, however, this was decisivelyrejected in a referendum in 1995.[5]

At the 2020Summer Olympics, Bermuda became the smallest overseas territory to earn a goldmedal, as Flora Duffy won Bermuda´s first ever olympic gold medal in thewomen's triathlon.[42]

Geography[edit]

Bermuda is agroup of low-forming volcanoes in the Atlantic Ocean, in the west of theSargasso Sea, roughly 578 nmi (1,070 km; 665 mi) (1,035 km or 643 miles)east-southeast of Cape Hatteras[43] on the Outer Banks of North Carolina,United States which is the nearest landmass.[1][44] Its next nearest Canadianneighbor is Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia Canada, which is 1,236 km (768 mi)north of Bermuda. It is also located 1,759 km (1,093 mi) north-northeast ofHavana, Cuba, 1,538 km (956 mi) north of the British Virgin Islands, and1537.17 km (955.15 miles) north of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Theterritory consists of 181 islands, with a total area of 53.3 km2 (20.6 sqmi).[45] The largest island is Main Island (also called Bermuda). Eight largerand populated islands are connected by bridges.[45] The territory's tallestpeak is Town Hill on Main Island at 79 metres tall (260').[1][46] The territory'scoastline is 103 km (64 mi).[1]

Bermudagives its name to the Bermuda Triangle, a region of sea in which, according tolegend, a number of aircraft and boats have disappeared under unexplained ormysterious circumstances.[47]

Mainsights[edit]

Bermuda's pinksand beaches and clear, cerulean blue ocean waters are popular withtourists.[48] Many of Bermuda's hotels are located along the south shore of theisland. In addition to its beaches, there are a number of sightseeingattractions. Historic St. George's is a designated World Heritage Site. Scubadivers can explore numerous wrecks and coral reefs in relatively shallow water(typically 30–40 ft or 9–12 m in depth), with virtually unlimited visibility.Many nearby reefs are readily accessible from shore by snorkellers, especiallyat Church Bay.

Bermuda'smost popular visitor attraction is the Royal Naval Dockyard, which includes theNational Museum of Bermuda.[49] Other attractions include the Bermuda Aquarium,Museum and Zoo,[50] Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, the BotanicalGardens and Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, lighthouses, and the CrystalCaves with stalactites and underground saltwater pools.

Non-residentsare prohibited from driving cars on the island.[51] Public transport and taxisare available or visitors can hire scooters for use as private transport.[45]

Geology[edit]

Bermudaconsists of over 150 limestone islands, but especially five main islands, alongthe southern margin of the Bermuda Platform, one of three topographic highs foundon the Bermuda Pedestal. This Bermuda Pedestal sits atop the Bermuda Rise, amid-basin swell surrounded by abyssal plains. The Bermuda Pedestal is one offour topographic highs aligned roughly from North-East to South-West. Theothers, all submerged, being Bowditch Seamount to the North-East, andChallenger Bank and Argus Bank to the South-West.[52] Initial uplift of thisrise occurred in the Middle to Late Eocene and concluded by the Late Oligocene,when it subsided below sea level. The volcanic rocks associated with this riseare tholeiitic lavas and intrusive lamprophyre sheets, which form a volcanicbasement, on average, 50 m (160 ft) below the island carbonate surface.[53]

Thelimestones of Bermuda consist of biocalcarenites with minor conglomerates. Theportion of Bermuda above sea level consists of rocks deposited by aeolianprocesses, with a karst terrain. These eolianites are actually the typelocality, and formed during interglaciations (i.e., the upper levels of thelimestone cap, formed primarily by calcium-secreting algae, was broken downinto sand by wave action during interglaciation when the seamount wassubmerged, and during glaciation, when the top of the seamount was above sealevel, that sand was blown into dunes and fused together into a limestonesandstone), and are laced by red paleosols, also referred to as geosols orterra rossas, indicative of Saharan atmospheric dust and forming during glacialstages. The stratigraphic column starts with the Walsingham Formation, overlainby the Castle Harbour Geosol, the Lower and Upper Town Hill Formationsseparated by the Harbour Road Geosol, the Ord Road Geosol, the BelmontFormation, the Shore Hills Geosol, the Rocky Bay Formation, and the SouthamptonFormation.[53]

The oldereolianite ridges (Older Bermuda) are more rounded and subdued compared to theouter coastline (Younger Bermuda). Thus, post deposition morphology includeschemical erosion, with inshore water bodies demonstrating that much of Bermudais partially drowned Pleistocene karst. The Walsingham Formation is a clearexample, constituting the cave district around Castle Harbour. The Upper TownHill Formation forms the core of the Main Island, and prominent hills such asTown Hill, Knapton Hill, and St. David's Lighthouse, while the highest hills,Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, are due to the Southampton Formation.[53]

Bermuda hastwo major aquifers, the Langton Aquifer located within the Southampton, RockyBay and Belmont Formations, and the Brighton Aquifer located within the TownHill Formation. Four freshwater lenses occur in Bermuda, with the Central Lensbeing the largest on Main Island, containing an area of 7.2 km2 (1,800 acres)and a thickness greater than 10 m (33 ft).[53]

Climate[edit]Bermudahas a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification: Af),bordering very closely on a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climateclassification: Cfa). It is also an oceanic climate, common to many oceanicislands and to the western coasts of continents in the Northern Hemisphere (resultingin a more moderate climate on the western coast of Europe than on the easterncoast of North America), characterised by high relative humidity that moderatestemperature, ensuring generally mild winters and summers.

Bermuda iswarmed by the nearby Gulf Stream, and low latitude. The islands may experiencemodestly cooler temperatures in January, February, and March [average 18 °C (64°F)].[54] There has never been snow, a frost or freeze on record inBermuda.[55] The hardiness zone is 11b/12a. In other words, the coldest thatthe annual minimum temperature may be expected to be is around 50 °F (10 °C.)This is very high for such a latitude and is a half-zone higher than theFlorida Keys.

Summertimeheat index in Bermuda can be high, although mid-August temperatures rarelyexceed 30 °C (86 °F). The highest recorded temperature was 34 °C (93 °F) inAugust 1989.[56] The average annual temperature of the Atlantic Ocean aroundBermuda is 22.8 °C (73.0 °F), from 18.6 °C (65.5 °F) in February to 28.2 °C (82.8°F) in August.[57]

Bermuda isin the hurricane belt.[1] Along the Gulf Stream, it is often directly in thepath of hurricanes recurving in the westerlies, although they usually begin toweaken as they approach Bermuda, whose small size means that direct landfallsof hurricanes are rare. Hurricane Emily was the first to do so in three decadeswhen it struck Bermuda without warning in 1987. The most recent hurricanes tocause significant damage to Bermuda were category 2 Hurricane Gonzalo on 18October 2014 and category 3 Hurricane Nicole on 14 October 2016, both of whichstruck the island directly. Hurricane Paulette directly hit the island in 2020.Before that, Hurricane Fabian on 5 September 2003 was the last major hurricaneto hit Bermuda directly.

With norivers or freshwater lakes, the only source of fresh water is rainfall, whichis collected on roofs and catchments (or drawn from underground lenses) andstored in tanks.[1] Each dwelling usually has at least one of these tanksforming part of its foundation. The law requires that each household collectrainwater that is piped down from the roof of each house. Average monthlyrainfall is highest in October, at over 6 in (150 mm), and lowest in April andMay.

Access tobiocapacity in Bermuda is much lower than world average. In 2016, Bermuda had0.14 global hectares [58] of biocapacity per person within its territory, farlower than the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person.[59] In 2016Bermuda used 7.5 global hectares of biocapacity per person—their ecologicalfootprint of consumption. This means they use much more biocapacity thanBermuda contains. As a result, Bermuda runs a biocapacity deficit.[58] Floraand fauna[edit]

Mainarticle: Wildlife of Bermuda

Whendiscovered, Bermuda was uninhabited by humans and mostly dominated by forestsof Bermuda cedar, with mangrove marshes along its shores.[61] Only 165 of theisland's current 1,000 vascular plant species are considered native; fifteen ofthose, including the eponymous cedar, are endemic.[62] The subtropical climateof Bermuda allowed settlers to introduce many species of trees and plants tothe island. Today, many types of palm trees, fruit trees, and bananas grow onBermuda, though the cultivated coconut palms are considered non-native and maybe removed.[clarification needed] The country contains the Bermuda subtropicalconifer forests terrestrial ecoregion.[63]

The onlyindigenous mammals of Bermuda are five species of bat, all of which are alsofound in the eastern United States: Lasionycteris noctivagans, Lasiurusborealis, Lasiurus cinereus, Lasiurus seminolus and Perimyotis subflavus.[64]Other commonly known fauna of Bermuda include its national bird, the Bermudapetrel or cahow, which was rediscovered in 1951 after having been thoughtextinct since the 1620s.[65] The cahow is important as an example of a Lazarusspecies, hence the government has a programme to protect it, includingrestoration of its habitat areas. Another well-known species includes thewhite-tailed tropicbird, locally known as the Longtail. These birds come inlandto breed around February to March and are Bermudians' first sign of incomingspring.[66]

The Bermudarock lizard (or Bermuda rock skink) was long thought to have been the onlyindigenous land vertebrate of Bermuda, discounting the marine turtles that laytheir eggs on its beaches. However, scientists have recently discovered throughgenetic DNA studies that a species of turtle, the diamondback terrapin,previously thought to have been introduced to the archipelago, actuallypre-dated the arrival of humans.[67]

Demographics[edit]

 Bermuda's 2016 Census put its population at63,779 and, with an area of 53.2 km2 (20.5 sq mi), it has a calculatedpopulation density of 1,201/km2 (3,111/mi2).[2] As of July 2018, the populationis estimated to be 71,176.[1]

The racialmakeup of Bermuda as recorded by the 2016 census, was 52% Black, 31% White, 9%multiracial, 4% Asian, and 4% other races, these numbers being based onself-identification. The majority of those who answered "Black" mayhave any mixture of black, white or other ancestry. Native-born Bermudians madeup 70% of the population, compared to 30% non-natives.[2]

The islandexperienced large-scale immigration over the 20th century, especially afterWorld War II. Bermuda has a diverse population including both those withrelatively deep roots in Bermuda that extend back for centuries, and newercommunities whose ancestry results from recent immigration, especially fromBritain, North America, the West Indies, and the Portuguese Atlantic islands(especially the Azores and Madeira), although these groups are steadilymerging. About 64% of the population identified themselves with Bermudianancestry in 2010, which was an increase from the 51% who did so in the 2000census. Those identifying with British ancestry dropped by 1% to 11% (althoughthose born in Britain remain the largest non-native group at 3,942 people). Thenumber of people born in Canada declined by 13%. Those who reported West Indianancestry were 13%. The number of people born in the West Indies actuallyincreased by 538. A significant segment of the population is of Portugueseancestry (25%), the result of immigration over the past 160 years,[68] of whom79% have residency status. In June 2018, Premier Edward David Burt announcedthat 4 November 2019 "will be declared a public holiday to mark the 170thanniversary of the arrival of the first Portuguese immigrants in Bermuda"due to the significant impact that Portuguese immigration has had on theterritory.[69] Those first immigrants arrived from Madeira aboard the vesselthe Golden Rule on 4 November 1849.[70]

There arealso several thousand expatriate workers, principally from Britain, Canada, theWest Indies, South Africa and the United States, who reside in Bermuda. Theyare primarily engaged in specialised professions such as accounting, finance,and insurance. Others are employed in various trades, such as hotels,restaurants, construction, and landscaping services. The availability of jobsin these industries make Bermuda a popular place to work. Despite the high costof living, the high salaries offer expatriates several benefits by moving toBermuda and working for a period of time.[71] However, several laws indicatethat workers outside of the country are required to obtain a work permit beforeentering and are not entitled to citizenship.[72] Of the total workforce of38,947 people in 2005, government employment figures stated that 11,223 (29%)were non-Bermudians.[73]

Languages[edit]

Thepredominant language on Bermuda is Bermudian English.[1] It exhibitscharacteristics of English as spoken on the Atlantic Seaboard of the UnitedStates of America (especially in the region around Virginia), in the CanadianMaritimes, southern England, and parts of the British West Indies. There hasbeen noticeable variation in Bermudian English depending on the part of Bermudaand the demographic of the speaker. Much of the population adoptedtrans-Atlantic English over the latter decades of the twentieth century, whileimmigration has affected certain areas more than others. Many West Indianworkers immigrated to Bermuda in the twentieth century, starting with hundredsof labourers brought in to expand the Royal Naval Dockyard at the West End atthe start of the century. Many others immigrated later in the century, settlingmostly in Pembroke Parish and western Devonshire Parish, north of the City ofHamilton, and the "back of town" (of Hamilton) dialect and the Englishspoken by many Blacks at the West End consequently reflects this. The West Endalso absorbed large numbers of civilian shipwrights and other British workerswho were employed at the dockyard until it was reduced to a base in 1951. Thecentral parishes also absorbed considerable numbers of white immigrants fromBritain and elsewhere, especially in the years after World War II (when thelocal government loosened immigration laws to encourage white immigration tocounter Black immigration from the West Indies), speaking various varieties ofSouthern England English, Northern England English, and Scots, et cetera. Thecentral parishes were also where most immigrants from Portuguese territorieshave settled since the 1840s, and many Bermudians in this area especially speaka Portuguese-influenced Bermudian English as a badge of pride. The East End ofBermuda, which became increasingly cut off from investment and developmentafter the capital moved from St. George's to Hamilton in 1815, has seen theleast immigration over the twentieth century, with the least effect how Englishis spoken there, though the introduction of motor vehicles in 1948 has led toconsiderable spread of previously more isolated populations throughout Bermuda.The English of the St. David's Islanders, while often derided, is generallyperceived as the most authentic form of Bermudian English.[original research?]

BritishEnglish spellings and conventions are used in print media and formal writtencommunications.[74] Portuguese is also spoken by migrants from the Azores,Madeira, and the Cape Verde Islands and their descendants.[1][75]

Religion[edit]

Christianityis the largest religion on Bermuda.[1] Various Protestant denominations aredominant at 46.2% (including Anglican 15.8%, African Methodist Episcopal 8.6%,Seventh-day Adventist 6.7%, Pentecostal 3.5%, Methodist 2.7%, Presbyterian2.0%, Church of God 1.6%, Baptist 1.2%, Salvation Army 1.1%, Brethren 1.0%,other Protestant 2.0%).[1] Roman Catholics form 14.5%, Jehovah's Witnesses1.3%, and other Christians 9.1%.[1] The balance of the population are Muslim1%, other 3.9%, none 17.8%, or unspecified 6.2% (2010 est.).[1]

The AnglicanChurch of Bermuda, an Anglican Communion diocese separate from the Church ofEngland, operates the oldest non-Catholic parish in the New World, St. Peter'sChurch. Catholics are served by a single Latin diocese, the Diocese of Hamiltonin Bermuda.

Politics[edit]

Bermuda isan Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, and the Government of the UnitedKingdom is the sovereign government.[1] Executive authority in Bermuda isvested in the British monarch (currently Charles III) and is exercised on hisbehalf by the governor of Bermuda.[1] The governor is appointed by the king onthe advice of the British Government. Since December 2020, the governor is RenaLalgie; she was sworn in on 14 December 2020.[77] There is also a deputygovernor (currently Alison Crocket).[77] Defence and foreign affairs are theresponsibility of the United Kingdom, which also retains responsibility to ensuregood government and must approve any changes to the Constitution of Bermuda.Bermuda is Britain's oldest overseas territory. Although the UK Parliamentretains ultimate legislative authority over the territory, in 1620, a RoyalProclamation granted Bermuda limited self-governance; delegating to the Houseof Assembly of the Parliament of Bermuda the internal legislation of thecolony. The Parliament of Bermuda is the fifth oldest legislature in the world,behind the Parliament of England, the Tynwald of the Isle of Man, the Althingof Iceland, and the Sejm of Poland.[78]

TheConstitution of Bermuda came into force in 1968 and has been amended severaltimes since then.[1] The head of government is the premier of Bermuda; acabinet is nominated by the premier and appointed officially by thegovernor.[1] The legislative branch consists of a bicameral parliament modelledon the Westminster system.[1] The Senate is the upper house, consisting of 11members appointed by the governor on the advice of the premier and the leaderof the opposition. The House of Assembly, or lower house, has 36 members,elected by the eligible voting populace in secret ballot to representgeographically defined constituencies.[1]

Electionsfor the Parliament of Bermuda must be called at no more than five-yearintervals. The most recent took place on 1 October 2020. Following thiselection, the Progressive Labour Party held onto power, with Edward David Burtsworn in as Premier for the second time.[79][80][81]

There arefew accredited diplomats in Bermuda. The United States maintains the largestdiplomatic mission in Bermuda, comprising both the United States Consulate andthe US Customs and Border Protection Services at the L.F. Wade InternationalAirport.[82] The United States is Bermuda's largest trading partner (providingover 71% of total imports, 85% of tourist visitors, and an estimated $163billion of US capital in the Bermuda insurance/re-insurance industry).According to the 2016 Bermuda census 5.6% of Bermuda residents were born in theUS, representing over 18% of all foreign-born people.[83]

Nationalityand citizenship[edit]

Historically,English (later British) colonials shared the same citizenship as those bornwithin that part of the sovereign territory of the Kingdom of England(including the Principality of Wales) that lay within the Island of Britain(although the Magna Carta had effectively created English citizenship,[84]citizens were still termed 'subjects of the King of England' or 'Englishsubjects'. With the 1707 union of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, thiswas replaced with 'British Subject', which encompassed citizens throughout thesovereign territory of the British Government, including its colonies, thoughnot the British protectorates). With no representation at the sovereign ornational level of government, British colonials were therefore not consulted,or required to give their consent, to a series of Acts passed by the Parliamentof the United Kingdom between 1968 and 1982, which were to limit their rightsand ultimately change their citizenship.[85]

When severalcolonies had been elevated before the Second World War to Dominion status,collectively forming the old British Commonwealth (as distinct from the UnitedKingdom and its dependent colonies), their citizens remained British Subjects,and in theory, any British Subject born anywhere in the World had the samebasic right to enter, reside, and work in the United Kingdom as a BritishSubject born in the United Kingdom whose parents were also both BritishSubjects born in the United Kingdom (although many governmental policies andpractices acted to thwart the free exercise of these right by various groups ofcolonials, including Greek Cypriots).[86]

When theDominions and an increasing number of colonies began choosing completeindependence from the United Kingdom after the Second World War, theCommonwealth was transformed into a community of independent nations, orCommonwealth Realms, each recognising the British monarch as its own head ofstate (creating separate monarchies with the same person occupying all of theseparate Thrones; the exception being republican India).[87][88][89][90]

'BritishSubject' was replaced by the British Nationality Act 1948 with 'Citizen of theUnited Kingdom and Colonies' for the residents of the United Kingdom and itscolonies, as well as for the Crown Dependencies. However, as it was desired toretain free movement for all Commonwealth Citizens throughout the Commonwealth,'British Subject' was retained as a blanket nationality shared by Citizens ofthe United Kingdom and Colonies (the 'British realm') as well as the citizensof the various other Commonwealth realms.[91][92][93] The inflow of people ofcolour to the United Kingdom in the 1940s and 1950s from both the remainingcolonies and newly independent Commonwealth nations was responded to with abacklash that led to the passing of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, whichrestricted the rights of Commonwealth nationals to enter, reside and work inthe United Kingdom.[94] This Act also allowed certain colonials (primarilyethnic-Indians in African colonies) to retain Citizenship of the United Kingdomand Colonies if their colonies became independent, which was intended as ameasure to ensure these people did not become stateless if they were denied thecitizenship of their newly independent nation.[95]

Manyethnic-Indians from former African colonies (notably Kenya) subsequentlyrelocated to the United Kingdom, in response to which the CommonwealthImmigrants Act 1968 was rapidly passed, stripping all British Subjects(including Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies) who were not born inthe United Kingdom, and who did not have a Citizen of the United Kingdom andColonies parent or grandparent born in the United Kingdom or some otherqualification (such as existing residence status), of the rights to freelyenter, reside and work in the United Kingdom.[96][97][98][99][100]

Although the1968 Act was intended primarily to bar immigration of specific British passportholders from Commonwealth countries in Africa, it amended the wording of theCommonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 in such a way as to apply to all Citizens ofthe United Kingdom and Colonies who were not specifically excepted, includingmost colonials. By comparison:

CommonwealthImmigrants Act 1962:

PART I

CONTROL OFIMMIGRATION

1.-(1) Theprovisions of this Part of this Act shall have effect for controlling theimmigration into the United Kingdom of Commonwealth citizens to whom thissection applies.

•  (2) This section applies to any Commonwealthcitizen not being-

o  (a) a person born in the United Kingdom :

o  (b) a person who holds a United Kingdompassport and is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, or who holds sucha passport issued in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland ; or (c) aperson included in the passport of another person who is excepted underparagraph (a) or paragraph (b) of this subsection.

(3) In thissection "passport" means a current passport ; and "UnitedKingdom passport" means a passport issued to the holder by the Governmentof the United Kingdom, not being a passport so issued on behalf of theGovernment of any part of the Commonwealth outside the United Kingdom.

(4) ThisPart of this Act applies to British protected persons and citizens of theRepublic of Ireland as it applies to Commonwealth citizens, and referencestherein to Commonwealth citizens, and to Commonwealth citizens to whom thissection applies, shall be construed accordingly.

CommonwealthImmigrants Act 1968:

1. Insection 1 of the principal Act (application of Part I), in subsection (2)(b)after the words "citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies" thereshall be inserted the words "and fulfils the condition specified insubsection (2A) of this section", and after subsection (2) there shall beinserted the following subsection:-

•  "(2A) The condition referred to insubsection (2)(b) of this section, in relation to a person, is that he, or atleast one of his parents or grandparents,-

o  (a) was born in the United Kingdom, or

o  (b) is or was a person naturalised in theUnited Kingdom, or

o  (c) became a citizen of the United Kingdom andcolonies by virtue of being adopted in the United Kingdom, or

o  (d) became such a citizen by being registeredunder Part II of the British Nationality Act 1948 or under the BritishNationality Act 1964, either in the United kingdom or in a country which, onthe date on which he was so registered, was one of the countries mentioned insection 1(3) of the said Act of 1948 as it had effect on that date".

This wasfollowed by the Immigration Act 1971, which effectively divided Citizens of theUnited Kingdom and Colonies into two types, although their citizenship remainedthe same: Patrials, who were those from (or with a specified qualifyingconnection to) the United Kingdom itself, who retained the rights of freeentry, abode, and work in the United Kingdom; and those born in the colonies(or in foreign countries to British Colonial parents), from whom those rightswere denied.[101][102]

The BritishNationality Act 1981, which entered into force on 1 January 1983,[103]abolished British Subject status, and stripped colonials of their full BritishCitizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies, replacing it with BritishDependent Territories Citizenship, which entailed no right of abode or to workanywhere. This left Bermudians and most other erstwhile British colonials asBritish nationals without the rights of British citizenship.[104][105]

Theexceptions were the Gibraltarians (permitted to retain British Citizenship inorder to also retain Citizenship of the European Union) and the FalklandIslanders, who were permitted to retain the same new British Citizenship thatbecame the default citizenship for those from the United Kingdom and the CrownDependencies.

Thestripping of birth rights from Bermudians by the British Government in 1968 and1971, and the change of their citizenship in 1983, actually violated the rightsgranted them by Royal Charters at the founding of the colony. Bermuda (fullyThe Somers Isles or Islands of Bermuda) had been settled by the London Company(which had been in occupation of the archipelago since the 1609 wreck of theSea Venture) in 1612, when it received its Third Royal Charter from King JamesI, amending the boundaries of the First Colony of Virginia far enough acrossthe Atlantic to include Bermuda. The citizenship rights guaranteed to settlersby King James I in the original Royal Charter of 10 April 1606, thereby appliedto Bermudians:[106][107][108][109]

Alsoe weedoe, for us, our heires and successors, declare by theise presentes that alland everie the parsons being our subjects which shall dwell and inhabit withineverie or anie of the saide severall Colonies and plantacions and everie oftheire children which shall happen to be borne within the limitts and precinctsof the said severall Colonies and plantacions shall have and enjoy allliberties, franchises and immunites within anie of our other dominions to allintents and purposes as if they had been abiding and borne within this ourrealme of Englande or anie other of our saide dominions.

[110]

These rightswere confirmed in the Royal Charter granted to the London Company's spin-off,the Company of the City of London for the Plantacion of The Somers Isles, in1615 on Bermuda being separated from Virginia:

And wee doefor vs our heires and successors declare by these Pnts, that all and euerypersons being our subjects which shall goe and inhabite wthin the said SomerIlandes and every of their children and posterity which shall happen to beeborne within the limits thereof shall haue and enjoy all libertyes franchesiesand immunities of free denizens and natural subjectes within any of ourdominions to all intents and purposes, as if they had beene abiding and bornewthin this our Kingdome of England or in any other of our Dominions

[111]

Bermuda isnot the only territory whose citizenship rights were laid down in a RoyalCharter. In regards to St. Helena, Lord Beaumont of Whitley in the House ofLords debate on the British Overseas Territories Bill on 10 July 2001,[112]stated:

Citizenshipwas granted irrevocably by Charles I. It was taken away by Parliament becauseof growing opposition to immigration at the time.

SomeConservative Party backbenchers stated that it was the unpublished intention ofthe Conservative British Government to return to a single citizenship for theUnited Kingdom and all of the remaining territories once Hong Kong had beenhanded over to China. Whether this was so will never be known as by 1997 theLabour Party was in Government. The Labour Party had declared prior to theelection that the colonies had been ill-treated by the British Nationality Act1981, and it had made a pledge to return to a single citizenship for the UnitedKingdom and the remaining territories part of its election manifesto. Othermatters took precedence, however, and this commitment was not acted upon duringLabour's first term in Government. The House of Lords, in which many formercolonial Governors sat (including former Governor of Bermuda Lord Waddington),lost patience and tabled and passed its own bill, then handed it down to theHouse of Commons to confirm in 2001. As a result, the British DependentTerritories were renamed the British Overseas Territories in 2002 (the term'dependent territory' had caused much ire in the former colonies, especiallywell-heeled and self-reliant Bermuda, as it implied not only that BritishDependent Territories Citizens were 'other than British', but that theirrelationship to Britain and to 'real British people' was both inferior and parasitic).[113][114][115]

At the sametime, although Labour had promised a return to a single citizenship for theUnited Kingdom, Crown dependencies, and all remaining territories, BritishDependent Territories Citizenship, renamed British Overseas TerritoriesCitizenship, remained the default citizenship for the territories, other thanthe Falkland Islands and Gibraltar (for which British Citizenship is still thedefault citizenship). The bars to residence and work in the United Kingdom thathad been raised against holders of British Dependent Territories Citizenship byThe British Nationality Act 1981 were, however, removed, and BritishCitizenship was made attainable by simply obtaining a second British passportwith the citizenship recorded as British Citizen (requiring a change topassport legislation as prior to 2002, it had been illegal to possess twoBritish Passports).[116]

In March2021, the government implemented a new visa policy towards foreigners, throughwhich residency can be obtained by way of investing at least $2.5 million in"real estate, Bermuda government bonds, a contribution to the island'sdebt relief fund or the Bermuda Trust Fund, and charity", among otheroptions. According to the Labour Minister, Jason Hayward, this step had to be takento relieve some of the country's debt resulting from the Covid pandemic.[117]

Administrativedivisions[edit]

Bermuda isdivided into nine parishes and two incorporated municipalities.[1]

Bermuda'snine parishes are:

•  Devonshire

•  Hamilton

•  Paget

•  Pembroke

•  Sandys

•  Smith's

•  Southampton

•  St George's

•  Warwick

Bermuda'stwo incorporated municipalities are:

•  Hamilton (city)

•  St George's (town)

Bermuda'stwo informal villages are:

•  Flatts Village

•  Somerset Village

JonesVillage in Warwick, Cashew City (St. George's), Claytown (Hamilton), MiddleTown (Pembroke), and Tucker's Town (St. George's) are neighbourhoods (theoriginal settlement at Tucker's Town was replaced with a golf course in the1920s and the few houses in the area today are mostly on the water's edge ofCastle Harbour or the adjacent peninsula); Dandy Town and North Village aresports clubs, and Harbour View Village is a small public housing development.

Internationalrelations[edit]

As a BritishOverseas Territory, Bermuda does not have a seat in the United Nations; it isrepresented by Britain in matters of foreign affairs.[1] To promote its economicinterests abroad, Bermuda maintains representative offices in London[118] andWashington, D.C.[119] Only the United States and Portugal have full-timediplomatic representation in Bermuda (the U.S. maintains a Consulate-General,and Portugal maintains a Consulate), while 17 countries maintain honoraryconsuls in Bermuda.[120]

Bermuda'sproximity to the US had made it attractive as the site for summit conferencesbetween British prime ministers and US presidents. The first summit was held inDecember 1953, at the insistence of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, todiscuss relations with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Participantsincluded Churchill, US president Dwight D. Eisenhower and French premier JosephLaniel.[121]

In 1957 asecond summit conference was held. The British prime minister, HaroldMacmillan, arrived earlier than President Eisenhower, to demonstrate they weremeeting on British territory, as tensions were still high regarding theprevious year's conflict over the Suez Canal. Macmillan returned in 1961 forthe third summit with President John F. Kennedy. The meeting was called todiscuss Cold War tensions arising from construction of the Berlin Wall.[122]

The mostrecent summit conference in Bermuda between the two powers occurred in 1990,when British prime minister Margaret Thatcher met US president George H. W.Bush.[122]

Directmeetings between the president of the United States and the premier of Bermudahave been rare. The most recent meeting was on 23 June 2008, between PremierEwart Brown and President George W. Bush. Prior to this, the leaders of Bermudaand the United States had not met at the White House since a 1996 meetingbetween Premier David Saul and President Bill Clinton.[123]

Bermuda hasalso joined several other jurisdictions in efforts to protect the SargassoSea.[124]

In 2013 and2017 Bermuda chaired the United Kingdom Overseas TerritoriesAssociation.[125][126]

Asylum offerto four former Guantánamo detainees[edit]

On 11 June2009, four Uyghurs who had been held in the United States Guantánamo Baydetention camp, in Cuba, were transferred to Bermuda.[127][128][129][130] Thefour men were among 22 Uyghurs who claimed to be refugees who were captured in2001 in Pakistan after fleeing the American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan.They were accused of training to assist the Taliban's military. They werecleared as safe for release from Guantánamo in 2005 or 2006, but US domesticlaw prohibited deporting them back to China, their country of citizenship,because the US government determined that China was likely to violate theirhuman rights.

In September2008, the men were cleared of all suspicion and Judge Ricardo Urbina inWashington ordered their release. Congressional opposition to their admittanceto the United States was very strong[127] and the US failed to find a home forthem until Bermuda and Palau agreed to accept the 22 men in June 2009.

The secretbilateral discussions that led to prisoner transfers between the US and thedevolved Bermuda government sparked diplomatic ire from the United Kingdom,which was not consulted on the move despite Bermuda being a British territory.The British Foreign Office issued the following statement:

We'veunderlined to the Bermuda Government that they should have consulted with theUnited Kingdom as to whether this falls within their competence or is asecurity issue, for which the Bermuda Government do not have delegatedresponsibility. We have made clear to the Bermuda Government the need for asecurity assessment, which we are now helping them to carry out, and we willdecide on further steps as appropriate.[131]

In August2018, the four Uyghurs were granted limited citizenship in Bermuda. The men nowhave the same rights as Bermudians except the right to vote.[132]

BritishNorth America, British West Indies and the Caribbean Community[edit]

The BritishGovernment originally grouped Bermuda with North America (given its proximity,and Bermuda having been established as an extension of the Colony of Virginia,and with Carolina Colony, the nearest landfall, having been settled fromBermuda). After the acknowledgement by the British Government of the independenceof thirteen continental colonies (including Virginia and the Carolinas) in1783, Bermuda was generally grouped regionally by the British Government withThe Maritimes and Newfoundland and Labrador (and more widely, with BritishNorth America), substantially nearer to Bermuda than the Caribbean.