Bermuda History

The internally self-governing island of Bermuda is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom, situated in the Atlantic Ocean while the exact discovery date is unknown. It is believed to probably have been discovered as early as the 1503, taking its name from Juan de Bermudez, an Spanish Navigator credited by Spanish historian Gonzalo Hernández de Oviedo y Valdés with exploration of Bermuda early in the 16th century, who anchored his ship, La Garza, close to land and was able to thread his way through the reefs in 1515.

However, Bermuda appears on a Peter Martyr’s map published in 1515 by Legatio Babylonica, so the theory is that Bermudez might have been a return visitor. In fact Hernández de Oviedo describes that Bermudez voyage in 1915 was caused by foul weather preventing the original planned landing. One way or another, the island's isolation kept the island outposted for many years of 17th century British civilization.

Another expedition came years after, including a group of Portuguese sailors in 1543, and Henry May in 1593, but also the first settlements resulting from shipwrecks on the treacherous reefs surrounding the (until then) uninhabited Bermuda, in fact the first was one in 1609 by shipwrecked English colonists who were originally headed for Virginia.

Virginia Company of London Seal The London Company, also known as the Virginia Company of London, was an English joint stock company established by royal charter by James I on April 10, 1606 with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.

A fleet of nine ships owned by the Virginia Company of London set sail from Plymouth, England, commanded by Admiral Sir George Somers on board the flagship, the Sea Venture, and with fresh supplies and additional colonists for the new British settlement at Jamestown. The Sea Venture strayed from the rest of the fleet striking the island's reefs during a fierce storm.

Experienced Admiral Somers managed to land all 150 crew and colonists on the uninhabited island of Bermuda without the loss of a single life, but left them stranding on the islands for 10 months while they built 2 new ships to replace the Sea Venture. By 1610, Somers had constructed the Deliverance and the Patience, and set sail from Bermuda for Jamestown.

After Admiral Somers eventually reached Virginia, leaving behind three men who had elected to stay in Bermuda, his reports aroused great interest about the islands in England and later in 1612, the Virginia Company of London laid claim to Bermuda and sent a party of 60 settlers to the island. The island's first governor was Sir Thomas Moore, and under his command, the town of St. George was founded commencing its construction.

Originally, Bermuda was divided equally into one public territory and 8 "tribes" today known as St. George and the "parishes", respectively. The usage of the word "tribes" is unique to Bermuda referring to the areas of land partitioned off to the investors of the Company, Hamilton, Devonshire, Pembroke, Paget, Sandys, Smith, Southampton and Warwick.

In the early days, the colony grew tobacco as its only crop; however it was of particularly low quality at the point that the Virginia Company was frequently forced to burn the supply that arrived back in England, and advised repeatedly the risks involved in a single-crop economy, especially having tobacco as the main form of currency.

Unlike in the well-known plantation-style slavery, slaves from Africa were taken to Bermuda soon after the colony was established for specialized labor, such as pearl diving and shipbuilding. Economy was extended to Bermuda juniper trees for shipbuilding, and the salt trade. The slave trade would be outlawed in Bermuda in 1807, the port of Hamilton was founded in 1790, becoming the seat of government in 1815, and all slaves were freed in 1834.

Tourism to the island was first developed in Victorian times, then in the early 20th century Bermuda’s tourism industry began to develop as modern communication and transportation systems were developed, striving as a popular destination for wealthy American, Canadian, and British tourists. During World War II, Bermuda became important as a military base because of its location in the Atlantic Ocean.

After the war, Bermuda prospered economically developing into a highly successful offshore financial center with tourism remaining as the second in importance after international business, economically speaking. Today, about 60% of Bermuda’s population is of African ascendants and internal self-government was bolstered by the establishment of a formal constitution in 1968.

Debate about independence has ensued; with a 1995 independence referendum was soundly defeated. Effective September 1, 1995, US, British and Canadian military bases on the island closed, although unresolved issues concerning the withdrawal delayed the formal return of the base lands to the Government of Bermuda. The United States formally returned the base lands in 2002.