Bermuda is anarchipelago consisting of181 islands, although the most significant islands are connected by bridges and appear to form one landmass. It has a land area of 54 square kilometres (21 sq mi). Bermuda has a tropical climate, with warm winters and hot summers. Its climate also exhibitsoceanic features similar to other coastal areas in theNorthern Hemisphere with warm, moist air from the ocean ensuring relatively high humidity and stabilising temperatures. Bermuda is prone to severe weather fromrecurvingtropical cyclones; however, it receives some protection from a coral reef and its position north of theMain Development Region, which limits the direction and severity of approaching storms.
Bermuda is named after Spanish explorerJuan de Bermúdez, who discovered the archipelago in 1505. The islands have been permanently inhabited since 1612 when anEnglish settlement was established atSt. George's, which is also the territory's largest settlement. Forming part ofBritish America, Bermuda was governed underRoyal charter by theSomers Isles Company until 1684, when it became acrown colony. The firstenslaved Africans were taken to Bermuda in 1616. The Somers Isles Company ensured a steady flow of free butindentured servants until 1684, and most tobacco farms owned by overseasadventurers were sold to the tenants or other occupants after Bermuda-grown tobacco became steadily less profitable following the 1620s, becoming family farms that switched from growing tobacco for export to producing food (initially for local consumption).[5] Consequently, aplantation economy did not develop and the slave trade largely ceased by the end of the 17th century.[6] The economy instead became maritime-focused, with the colony serving as a base for merchants,privateers and theRoyal Navy, giving its name to theBermuda rig andBermuda sloop. It became animperial fortress, the most important British naval and military base in the western hemisphere with vast funds lavished on itsRoyal Naval Dockyard andmilitary defenses until the 1950s. Tourism has beena significant contributor to Bermuda's economy since the 19th century and after World War II, the territory became a prominentoffshore financial centre andtax haven.
Divided intonine parishes, Bermuda is a self-governingparliamentary democracy with abicameral parliament located in the capitalHamilton. TheHouse of Assembly dates from 1620, making it one of the world's oldest legislatures. Thepremier is the head of government and is formally appointed by thegovernor, who is nominated by the British government as the representative of theKing. The United Kingdom is responsible for foreign affairs and defence. Anindependence referendum was held in1995 with a large majority voting against independence. As of 2019, Bermuda had a population of around 64,000 people, making it the second-most populous of the British Overseas Territories.Black Bermudians, a diverse population primarily of any mixture of African, European, and Native American ancestry,[7][8] make up around 50% of the population, whileWhite Bermudians, primarily ofBritish, Irish andPortuguese descent, make up 30% of the population. There are smaller groups from other races or identifying as mixed race and about 30% of the population is not Bermudian by birth. The last remaining colony in the formerBritish North America (following the 1867Confederation of Canada and theColony of Newfoundland becoming theDominion of Newfoundland in 1907), Bermuda hasa distinct dialect of English and has historically had strong ties with other English-speaking countries in the Americas, including the United States, Canada, and theCommonwealth Caribbean. It is an associate member of theCaribbean Community.
Bermuda is named after the Spanish sailorJuan de Bermúdez, who discovered the islands in 1505,[1] while sailing for Spain from a provisioning voyage toHispaniola in the shipLa Garça.
Bermuda was discovered in the early 1500s by Spanish explorer Juan de Bermúdez.[9][10][page needed] Bermuda had noIndigenous population when it was discovered, nor during initial British settlement a century later.[11] It was mentioned inLegatio Babylonica, published in 1511 by historianPedro Mártir de Anglería, and was included on Spanish charts of that year.[12] Both Spanish and Portuguese ships used the islands as a replenishment spot to take on fresh meat and water. Shipwrecked Portuguese mariners are now thought to have been responsible for the 1543 inscription onPortuguese Rock, previously called Spanish Rock.[13] Legends arose of spirits and devils, now thought to have stemmed from the calls of raucous birds (most likely theBermuda petrel, orcahow)[14] and loud nocturnal noises from introduced wild hogs.[15] With its frequent storm-racked conditions and dangerous reefs, the archipelago became known as the "Isle of Devils".[16] Neither Spain nor Portugal attempted to settle it.
For the next century, the island was frequently visited but not settled. The English began to focus on the New World, initially settling inVirginia, starting British colonization in North America, establishing a colony atJamestown, Virginia in 1607. Two years later, aflotilla of seven ships left England with several hundred settlers, food, and supplies to relieve the Jamestown colony.[17] However, the flotilla was broken up by a storm and the flagship, theSea Venture, drove onto Bermuda's reef to prevent her sinking, resulting in the survival of all her passengers and crew.[18][9] The settlers were unwilling to move on, having now heard about the true conditions in Jamestown from the sailors, and made multiple attempts to rebel and stay in Bermuda. They argued that they had a right to stay and establish their own government. The new settlement became a prison labour camp, and built two ships, theDeliverance and thePatience.[19]
In 1612, the English began settlement of the archipelago, officially named Virgineola,[20] with arrival of the ship thePlough. New London (renamed St. George's Town) was settled that year and designated as the colony's first capital.[21][12] It is the oldest continuously inhabited English town in theNew World.[21] In 1616 and 1620 acts were passed banning the hunting of certain birds and youngtortoises.[22] The archipelago's limited land area and resources led to the creation of what may be the earliest conservation laws of theNew World.
In 1615, the colony, which had been renamed the Somers Isles in commemoration of SirGeorge Somers, was passed on to theSomers Isles Company.[23][24] As Bermudians settled theCarolina Colony and contributed to establishing otherEnglish colonies in the Americas, several other locations were named after the archipelago. During this period the firstslaves were held and trafficked to the islands. These were a mixture of nativeAfricans who were trafficked to the Americas via theAfrican slave trade andNative Americans who were enslaved from the new world colonies.[9] The first two slaves arrived in Bermuda in 1616, not from Africa but from the West Indies, one being Black and the other Native American, after Bermuda Governor Tucker had sent the ship "Edwin"to the West Indies to find slaves to dive for pearls in Bermuda.[25] There proved to be no pearls to dive for. More black slaves were later trafficked to the island in large numbers, originating from America and the Caribbean.[26]
As the black population grew, so did the fear of insurrection among the white settlers. In 1623, a law to restrain the insolence of the Negroes was passed in Bermuda. It forbade blacks to buy or sell, barter or exchange tobacco or any other produce for goods without the consent of their master. Unrest among the slaves predictably erupted several times over the next decades. Major rebellions occurred in 1656, 1661, 1673, 1682, 1730 and 1761. In 1761 a conspiracy was discovered that involved the majority of the blacks on the island. Six slaves were executed and all black celebrations were prohibited.[27][28]
In 1649, theEnglish Civil War was taking place and KingCharles I was beheaded inWhitehall, London. The conflict spilled over into Bermuda, where most of the colonists developed a strong sense of devotion to the Crown. The royalists ousted the Somers Isles Company's Governor and elected John Trimingham as their leader (seeGovernor of Bermuda). Bermuda's civil war was ended by militias, and dissenters were pushed to settleThe Bahamas underWilliam Sayle.[29]
The rebelliousroyalist colonies of Bermuda, Virginia,Barbados andAntigua, were the subjects ofan Act of the Rump Parliament of England.[30] The royalist colonies were also threatened with invasion. The Government of Bermuda eventually reached an agreement with the Parliament of England which retained the status quo in Bermuda. In 1655 fifty-four Bermudians became the first English subjects to permanently settle on the Island ofJamaica, followed by a further (200) Bermudians in 1658, followingCromwell'sInvasion of Jamaica.[31][32][33]
Bermuda Gazette of 12 November 1796, calling forprivateering against Spain and its allies; it has advertisements for crew for two privateer vessels.
In the 17th century, the Somers Isles Company suppressed shipbuilding, as it needed Bermudians to farm to generate income from the land. The Virginia colony, however, far surpassed Bermuda in quality and quantity of tobacco produced. Bermudians began to turn to maritime trades relatively early in the 17th century, but the Somers Isles Company used all its authority to suppress turning away from agriculture. This interference led to islanders demanding, and receiving, revocation of the company's charter in 1684, and the company was dissolved.[9]
Bermudians rapidly abandoned agriculture for shipbuilding, replanting farmland with the native juniper trees (Juniperus bermudiana, called Bermuda cedar). Establishing effective control over theTurks Islands, Bermudians deforested their landscape to begin the salt trade. It became the world's largest and remained the cornerstone of Bermuda's economy for the next century. Bermudians also vigorously pursuedwhaling,privateering, and the merchant trade.
Some islanders, especially inSt David's, still trace their ancestry to Native Americans, and others are unaware that they have such ancestry. Hundreds of Native Americans were shipped to Bermuda. The best-known examples were theAlgonquian peoples such as Pequots, Wampanoags, Podunks, Nipmucks, Narragansetts and others who were exiled from theNew England colonies and sold into slavery in the seventeenth century, notably in the aftermaths of thePequot War andKing Philip's War; some are believed to have been brought from as far away as Mexico.
Bermuda's ambivalence towards the American rebellion changed in September 1774, when theContinental Congress resolved to ban trade with Great Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies after 10 September 1775. Such an embargo would mean the collapse of their inter-colonial commerce, famine and civil unrest. Lacking political channels with Great Britain,the Tucker Family met in May 1775 with eight other parishioners and resolved to send delegates to the Continental Congress in July, aiming for an exemption from the ban. Henry Tucker noted a clause in the ban which allowed the exchange of American goods for military supplies. The clause was confirmed byBenjamin Franklin when Tucker met with the PennsylvaniaCommittee of Safety. Independently, others confirmed this business arrangement withPeyton Randolph, the Charlestown Committee of Safety, andGeorge Washington.[34]
Three American boats, operating from Charlestown, Philadelphia and Newport, sailed to Bermuda, and on 14 August 1775, 100 barrels of gunpowder were taken from the Bermudian magazine while GovernorGeorge James Bruere slept, and loaded onto these boats. As a consequence, on 2 October the Continental Congress exempted Bermuda from their trade ban, and Bermuda acquired a reputation for disloyalty. Later that year, the British Parliament passed theProhibitory Act to prohibit trade with the American rebelling colonies and sent HMSScorpion to keep watch over the island. The island's forts were stripped of cannons. Yet, wartime trade of contraband continued along well-established family connections. With 120 boats by 1775, Bermuda continued to trade withSt. Eustatius until 1781 and provided salt to North American ports.[34]: 389–415
In June 1776, HMSNautilus secured the island, followed byHMS 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 ofNautilus in October. After France's entry into the war in 1778,Henry Clinton refortified the island under the command of MajorWilliam Sutherland. As a result, 91 French and American ships were captured in the winter of 1778–1779, bringing the population once again to the brink of starvation. Bermudian trade was severely hampered by the combined efforts of the Royal Navy, the British garrison andloyalist privateers, such that famine struck the island in 1779.[34]: 416–427
Upon the death of George Bruere in 1780, the governorship passed to his son, George Jr., an active loyalist. Under his leadership, smuggling was stopped, and the Bermudian colonial government was populated with like-minded loyalists. Even Henry Tucker abandoned trading with the United States, because of the presence of multiple privateers.[34]: 428–433
The Bermuda Gazette, Bermuda's first newspaper, began publishing in 1784.[35][36][37] The editor,Joseph Stockdale, had been given financial incentive to move to Bermuda with his family and establish the newspaper. He also provided other printing services and operated Bermuda's first local postal service. TheBermuda Gazette was sold by subscription and delivered to subscribers, with Stockdale's employee also delivering mail for a fee.[38]
An illustration of the Devonshire Redoubt, Bermuda, 1614
After theAmerican Revolution, theRoyal Navy began improving the harbours on the Bermudas. In 1811, work began on the large Royal Naval Dockyard onIreland Island, which was to serve as the islands' principal naval base guarding the western Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes. To guard the dockyard, theBritish Army built theBermuda Garrison, and heavily fortified the archipelago.
In 1816, James Arnold, the son ofBenedict Arnold, fortified Bermuda's Royal Naval Dockyard against possible US attacks.[40] Today, theNational Museum of Bermuda, which incorporates Bermuda's Maritime Museum, occupies the Keep of the Royal Naval Dockyard.
Due to its proximity to the southeastern US coast, Bermuda was frequently used during theAmerican Civil War as a stopping point base for theConfederate States'blockade runners on their runs to and from the Southern states, and England, to evade Union naval vessels on blockade patrol.[12][9] The blockade runners were then able to transport essential war goods from England and deliver valuable cotton back to England. The old Globe Hotel in St. George's, which was a centre of intrigue for Confederate agents, is preserved as a public museum.
During theAnglo-Boer War (1899–1902), 5,000 Boerprisoners of war were housed on five islands of Bermuda. They were located according to their views of the war. "Bitterenders" (Afrikaans:Bittereinders), who refused to pledge allegiance to the British Crown, were interned on Darrell's Island and closely guarded. Other islands such as Morgan's Island held 884 men, including 27 officers; Tucker's Island held 809 Boer prisoners, Burt's Island 607, and Port's Island held 35. Hinson's Island housed underage prisoners. The camp cemetery is on Long Island.[41]
The New York Times reported an attempted mutiny by Boer prisoners of war en route to Bermuda and that martial law was enacted on Darrell's Island.[42]
The most famous escapee was the Boer prisoner of war CaptainFritz Joubert Duquesne, who was serving a life sentence for "conspiracy against the British government and on (the charge of) espionage".[43] On the night of 25 June 1902, Duquesne slipped out of his tent, worked his way over a barbed-wire fence, swam 1.5 miles (2.4 km) past patrol boats and bright spotlights, through storm-swept waters, using the distantGibbs Hill Lighthouse for navigation until he arrived ashore on the main island.[44] He settled in the U.S. and later became a spy for Germany in both World Wars. In 1942, Col. Duquesne was arrested by theFBI for leading theDuquesne Spy Ring, which to this day remains the largest espionage case uncovered in the history of the United States.[45]
Hamilton Harbour in the mid-1920sWinston Churchill hosted the Three-Powers Summit in 1953.TheSS Queen of Bermuda in Hamilton Harbour, c. Dec 1952 / Jan 1953The S.S.Queen of Bermuda departing the island in December 1952~January 1953. The Devonshire Dock is in the foreground.
In the early 20th century Bermuda became a popular destination for American, Canadian and British tourists arriving by sea. The USSmoot–Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which enacted protectionist tradetariffs on goods imported into the US, led to the demise of Bermuda's once-thriving agricultural export trade to America and encouraged development of tourism as an alternative source of income. The island was one of the centres for illegal alcohol smuggling during the era ofProhibition in the United States (1920–1933).[12][9]
A rail line was constructed in Bermuda in the 1920s, opening in 1931 as theBermuda Railway, which was abandoned in 1948.[46] The right of way is now the Bermuda Railway Trail.[47]
In 1930, after several failed attempts, aStinson Detroiterseaplane flew to Bermuda from New York City: It was the first aeroplane ever to reach the islands. In 1936,Deutsche Luft Hansa began to experiment with seaplane flights fromBerlin via theAzores with continuation flights to New York City.[48]
In 1937,Imperial Airways andPan American Airways began operating scheduledflying boat airline services from New York andBaltimore toDarrell's Island, Bermuda. In World War II, theHamilton Princess Hotel became a censorship centre. All mail, radio and telegraphic traffic bound for Europe, the US and the Far East was intercepted and analysed by 1,200 censors, of British Imperial Censorship, part ofBritish Security Coordination (BSC), before being routed to their destination.[49][50] With BSC working closely with the FBI, the censors were responsible for the discovery and arrest of a number of Axis spies operating in the US, including theJoe K ring.[51]
In 1948, a regularly scheduled commercial airline service began to operate, using land-based aeroplanes landing atKindley Field (nowL.F. Wade International Airport), helping tourism to reach a peak in the 1960s and 1970s. By the end of the 1970s, however, international business had supplanted tourism as the dominant sector of Bermuda's economy.
The Royal Naval Dockyard and its attendant military garrison remained important to Bermuda's economy until the mid-20th century. In addition to considerable building work, the armed forces needed to source food and other materials from local vendors. Beginning inWorld War II, US military installations were also located in Bermuda, including anaval air station, andsubmarine base. The American military presence lasted until 1995.[52]
Universal adult suffrage and development of a two-party political system took place in the 1960s.[9] Universal suffrage was adopted as part of Bermuda's Constitution in 1967; voting had previously been dependent on a certain level of property ownership.
On 10 March 1973, the governor of Bermuda,Richard Sharples, was assassinated by localBlack Power militants during a period of civil unrest.[9] Some moves were made towards possible independence for the islands, however, this was decisively rejected in areferendum in 1995.[9]
View of Bermuda fromGibbs Hill Lighthouse in July 2015View from the top of Gibb's Hill LighthouseLandsat 8 satellite imageTopographic map of Bermuda
Bermuda is a group of low-forming volcanoes in the Atlantic Ocean, in the west of theSargasso Sea, roughly 578 nmi (1,070 km; 665 mi) east-southeast ofCape Hatteras[54] on theOuter Banks ofNorth Carolina, United States which is the nearest landmass.[1][55] Its next nearest neighbour isCape Sable Island, Nova Scotia Canada which is 1,236 km (768 mi) north of Bermuda. It is also located 1,750 km (1,090 mi) south-southwest ofSaint Pierre and Miquelon (France), 1,759 km (1,093 mi) north-northeast ofHavana,Cuba, 1,538 km (956 mi) north of the British Virgin Islands, and 1,537.17 km (955.15 mi) north ofSan Juan, Puerto Rico.
The territory consists of181 islands, with a total area of 53.3 km2 (20.6 sq mi).[56] The largest island is Main Island (also calledBermuda). Eight larger and populated islands are connected by bridges.[56] The territory's tallest peak isTown Hill on Main Island at 79 m (259 ft) tall.[1][57] The territory's coastline is 103 km (64 mi).[1]
Bermuda gives its name to theBermuda Triangle, a region of sea in which, according to legend, a number of aircraft and boats have disappeared under unexplained or mysterious circumstances.[58]
Bermuda's pink sand beaches and clear,cerulean blue ocean waters are popular with tourists.[59] A number of Bermuda's hotels are located along the south shore of the island. In addition to its beaches, there are a number of sightseeing attractions. Historic St. George's is a designatedWorld Heritage Site.Scuba divers can explore a number ofwrecks andcoral reefs in relatively shallow water (typically 30–40 ft or 9–12 m in depth), with virtually unlimited visibility. A number of nearby reefs are readily accessible from shore bysnorkellers, especially atChurch Bay.
Bermuda's most popular visitor attraction is the Royal Naval Dockyard, which includes the National Museum of Bermuda.[60] Other attractions include theBermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo,[61] Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, the Botanical Gardens andMasterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, lighthouses, and the Crystal Caves withstalactites and underground saltwater pools.Somerset Bridge is the world's smallest drawbridge, andHorseshoe Bay and Warwick Long Bay are among the beautiful beaches in Bermuda.
Non-residents are prohibited from driving cars on the island.[62] Public transport and taxis are available or visitors can rentscooters for use as private transport.[56]
NOAA Ocean Explorer Bermuda Geologic Map, where red denotes the Walsingham Formation, purple denotes the Town Hill and Belmont Formations, green denotes the Rocky Bay and Southampton Formations, and white is infill associated with the airport
Bermuda consists of over 150 limestone islands, but especially five main islands, along the southern margin of the Bermuda Platform, one of three topographic highs found on theBermuda Pedestal. This Bermuda Pedestal sits atop the Bermuda Rise, a mid-basin swell surrounded byabyssal plains. The Bermuda Pedestal is one of four topographic highs aligned roughly from North-East to South-West. The others, all submerged, areBowditch Seamount to the north-east, andChallenger Bank andArgus Bank to the south-west.[63] Initial uplift of this rise occurred in the Middle toLate Eocene and concluded by theLate Oligocene, when it subsided below sea level. The volcanic rocks associated with this rise aretholeiitic lavas andintrusivelamprophyre sheets, which form a volcanic basement, on average, 50 m (160 ft) below the islandcarbonate surface.[64]
The limestones of Bermuda consist ofbiocalcarenites with minorconglomerates. The portion of Bermuda above sea level consists of rocks deposited byaeolian processes, with akarst terrain. Theseeolianites are actually thetype locality, and formed duringinterglaciations (i.e., the upper levels of the limestone cap, formed primarily by calcium-secreting algae, was broken down into sand by wave action during interglaciation when the seamount was submerged, and during glaciation, when the top of the seamount was above sea level, that sand was blown into dunes and fused together into a limestone sandstone), and are laced by redpaleosols, also referred to as geosols or terra rossas, indicative ofSaharanatmospheric dust and forming duringglacial stages. Thestratigraphic column starts with the WalsinghamFormation, overlain by the Castle Harbour Geosol, the Lower and Upper Town Hill Formations separated by the Harbour Road Geosol, the Ord Road Geosol, the Belmont Formation, the Shore Hills Geosol, the Rocky Bay Formation, and the Southampton Formation.[64]
The oldereolianite ridges (older Bermuda) are more rounded and subdued compared to the outer coastline (Younger Bermuda). Thus, post deposition morphology includes chemicalerosion, with inshore water bodies demonstrating that much of Bermuda is partially drownedPleistocenekarst. The Walsingham Formation is a clear example, constituting the cave district around Castle Harbour. The Upper Town Hill Formation forms the core of the Main Island, and prominent hills such as Town Hill, Knapton Hill, andSt. David's Lighthouse, while the highest hills, Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, are due to the Southampton Formation.[64]
Bermuda has two majoraquifers, the Langton Aquifer located within the Southampton, Rocky Bay and Belmont Formations, and the Brighton Aquifer located within the Town Hill Formation. Four freshwaterlenses occur in Bermuda, with the Central Lens being the largest on Main Island, containing an area of 7.2 km2 (1,800 acres) and a thickness greater than 10 m (33 ft).[64]
Bermuda is warmed by the nearbyGulf Stream. The islands may experience modestly cooler temperatures in January, February, and March [average 18 °C (64 °F)].[65] There has never been snow, a frost or freeze on record in Bermuda.[66] Thehardiness zone is 11b/12a. In other words, the coldest that the annual minimum temperature may be expected to be is around 10 °C (50 °F). This is 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 rarely exceed 30 °C (86 °F). The highest recorded temperature was 34 °C (93 °F) in August 1989.[67][68] The average annual temperature of the Atlantic Ocean around Bermuda 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.[69]
Bermuda lies within theMain Development Region, and is often directly in the path of hurricanes[1] recurving in the westerlies, although they usually begin to weaken as they approach Bermuda, whose small size means that direct hurricane-strengthlandfalls are rare.Hurricane Emily was the first to do so in three decades when it struck Bermuda without warning in 1987. The most recent hurricanes to cause significant damage to Bermuda wereCategory 2Hurricane Gonzalo on 18 October 2014 andCategory 3Hurricane Nicole on 14 October 2016, both of which struck the island directly. Category 2Hurricane Paulette directly hit the island in 2020. Before that,Hurricane Fabian on 5 September 2003 was the last major hurricane to hit Bermuda directly, with wind speeds of over 120 mph (190 km/h), category 3). The most recent tropical cyclone to directly hit the island wasHurricane Ernesto as a weakeningCategory 1 storm on August 17, 2024.
With no rivers or freshwater lakes, the only source offresh water is rainfall, which is collected on roofs and catchments (or drawn from undergroundlenses) and stored in tanks.[1] Each dwelling usually has at least one of these tanks forming part of its foundation. The law requires that each household collect rainwater that is piped down from the roof of each house. Average monthly rainfall is highest in October, at over 6 in (150 mm), and lowest in April and May.
Access tobiocapacity in Bermuda is much lower than world average. In 2016, Bermuda had 0.14 global hectares[70] of biocapacity per person within its territory, far lower than the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person.[71] In 2016 Bermuda used 7.5 global hectares of biocapacity per person – theirecological footprint of consumption. This means they use much more biocapacity than Bermuda contains. As a result, Bermuda runs a biocapacity deficit.[70]
1904 view across Hamilton Harbour from Fort Hamilton of cedar-cloaked hills in Paget Parish
Officers of 3rd Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), at Battalion Training at Tucker's Town, Bermuda, 1905. Bermuda's climate means heavier temperate uniforms were by armed forces and police personnel and are worn for much of the year.
Battalion Training at Tucker's Town Bermuda of the 3rd Battalion Royal Fusiliers, wearing lightweight khaki drills, intended as a warm climate uniform, as a summer uniform.
Young Bermuda cedar tree atFerry ReachWhite-eyed vireo (Vireo griseus bermudianus)
When discovered, Bermuda was uninhabited by humans and mostly dominated by forests ofBermuda cedar, withmangrovemarshes along its shores.[77]Forest cover is around 20% of the total land area, equivalent to 1,000 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, which was unchanged from 1990.[78][79]
Only 165 of the island's current 1,000 vascular plant species are considerednative; fifteen of those, including the eponymous cedar, areendemic.[80] The tropical climate of Bermuda allowed settlers to introduce multiple non-native species of trees and plants to the island.[81] Today, multiple types of palm trees, fruit trees, and bananas grow on Bermuda, though the cultivatedcoconut palms are considered non-native and may be removed.[82] The country contains theBermuda subtropical conifer forests terrestrial ecoregion.[83]
The onlyindigenousmammals of Bermuda are five species of bat, all of which are also found in the eastern United States: the silver-haired batLasionycteris noctivagans, eastern red batLasiurus borealis, hoary batLasiurus cinereus, Seminole batLasiurus seminolus, and tricolored batPerimyotis subflavus.[84] Other commonly known fauna of Bermuda include its national bird, theBermuda petrel or cahow, which was rediscovered in 1951 after having been thought extinct since the 1620s.[85] The cahow is important as an example of aLazarus species, hence the government has a programme to protect it, including restoration of its habitat areas. Another well-known species includes thewhite-tailed tropicbird, locally known as the longtail. These birds come inland to breed around February to March and are Bermudians' first sign of incoming spring.[86]
TheBermuda rock lizard (or Bermuda rock skink) was long thought to have been the only indigenous non-bird land vertebrate of Bermuda, discounting the marine turtles that lay their eggs on its beaches. However, scientists have recently discovered through genetic DNA studies that a species of turtle, thediamondback terrapin, previously thought to have been introduced to the archipelago, actually pre-dated the arrival of humans.[87]
Only threebee species have been recorded on Bermuda. The western honey beeApis mellifera was introduced by English colonists around 1616,[88] marking the beginning of beekeeping's cultural significance on the island. A second species, the sweat beeLasioglossum semiviridie, was last recorded in 1922. Recent DNA analysis has revealed that the leafcutter beeMegachile pruina in Bermuda constitutes a unique evolutionary lineage, distinct fromM. pruina populations in the United States.[89]
Bermuda's 2016 Census put its population at 63,779 and, with an area of 53.2 km2 (20.5 sq mi), it has a calculated population density of 1,201 people/km2 (3,110 people/sq mi).[2] As of July 2018, the population is estimated to be 71,176.[1]
The racial makeup of Bermuda was 52%Black, 31%White, 9% multiracial, 4%Asian, and 4% other races, these numbers being based on self-identification recorded by the 2016 census. The majority of those who answered "Black" may have any mixture of black, white or other ancestry. Native-born Bermudians made up 70% of the population, compared to 30% non-natives.[2]
The island experienced large-scale immigration over the 20th century, especially after World War II. About 64% of the population identified themselves with Bermudian ancestry in 2010, which was an increase from the 51% who did so in the 2000 census. Those identifying with British ancestry dropped by 1% to 11% (although those born in the United Kingdom remain the largest non-native group at 3,942 people). The number of people born in Canada declined by 13%. 13% of the population reported West Indian ancestry; the number of people born in the West Indies increased by 538. A significant segment of the population is of Portuguese ancestry (25%), the result of immigration over the past 160 years,[90] of whom 79% have residency status. In June 2018, PremierEdward David Burt announced that 4 November 2019 "will be declared a public holiday to mark the 170th anniversary of the arrival of the first Portuguese immigrants in Bermuda" due to the significant impact that Portuguese immigration has had on the territory.[91] Those first immigrants arrived fromMadeira aboard the vessel the Golden Rule on 4 November 1849.[92]
There are also several thousandexpatriate workers, principally from the United Kingdom, Canada, the West Indies, South Africa, and the United States, who reside in Bermuda. They are 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. Despite the high cost of living, the high salaries offer expatriates several benefits by moving to Bermuda and working for a period of time.[93] Of the total workforce of 38,947 people in 2005, government employment figures stated that 11,223 (29%) were non-Bermudians.[94]
Christianity is the largest religion on Bermuda.[1] Various Protestant denominations are dominant at 46.2% (including Anglican 15.8%; African Methodist Episcopal 8.6%; Seventh-day Adventist 6.7%; Pentecostal 3.5%; Methodist 2.7%; Presbyterian 2.0%; 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 Witnesses 1.3%, and other Christians 9.1%.[1] The balance of the population areMuslim 1%, other 3.9%, none 17.8%, or unspecified 6.2% (2010 est.).[1]
Defence and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the United Kingdom, which also retains responsibility to ensure good government and must approve any changes to the Constitution of Bermuda. Bermuda is Britain's oldest overseas territory. Although theUK Parliament retains ultimate legislative authority over the territory, in 1620, a Royal Proclamation granted Bermuda limited self-governance, delegating to theHouse of Assembly of theParliament of Bermuda the internal legislation of the colony. The Parliament of Bermuda is the fifth oldest legislature in the world, behind theSejm of Poland, theParliament of England, theTynwald of theIsle of Man, and theAlthing ofIceland.[100]
TheConstitution of Bermuda came into force in 1968 and has been amended several times since then.[1] The head of government is thepremier of Bermuda; a cabinet is nominated by the premier and appointed officially by the governor.[1] The legislative branch consists of abicameral parliament modelled on theWestminster system.[1] TheSenate is the upper house, consisting of 11 members appointed by the governor on the advice of the premier and the leader of the opposition. TheHouse of Assembly, or lower house, has 36 members, elected by the eligible voting populace in secret ballot to represent geographically defined constituencies.[1]
There are few accredited diplomats in Bermuda. The United States maintains the largest diplomatic mission in Bermuda, comprising both the United States Consulate and theUS Customs and Border Protection Services at theL.F. Wade International Airport.[104] The United States is Bermuda's largest trading partner (providing over 71% of total imports, 85% of tourist visitors, and an estimated $163 billion of US capital in the Bermuda insurance/re-insurance industry). According to the 2016 Bermuda census 5.6% of Bermuda residents were born in the US, representing over 18% of all foreign-born people.[105]
A British passport as issued by the Department of Immigration of the Government of Bermuda on behalf of the Passport Office of the Government of the United Kingdom, and often erroneously described as aBermudian passport
Historically, English (later British) colonials shared the same citizenship as those born within that part of the sovereign territory of theKingdom of England (including thePrincipality of Wales) that lay within theIsland of Britain (althoughMagna Carta had effectively created English citizenship,[106] citizens were still termed 'subjects of the King of England' or 'English subjects'. With the1707 union of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, this was replaced with 'British Subject', which encompassed citizens throughout the sovereign territory of the British Government, including its colonies, though not theBritish protectorates). With norepresentation at the sovereign or national level of government, British colonials were therefore not consulted, or required to give their consent, to a series of Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1968 and 1982, which were to limit their rights and ultimately change their citizenship.[107]
When several colonies had been elevated before theSecond World War toDominion status, collectively forming the oldBritish Commonwealth (as distinct from the United Kingdom and its dependent colonies), their citizens remained British Subjects, and in theory, any British Subject born anywhere in the World had the same basic right to enter, reside, and work in the United Kingdom as a British Subject born in the United Kingdom whose parents were also both British Subjects born in the United Kingdom (although a number of governmental policies and practices acted to thwart the free exercise of these rights by various groups of colonials, including Greek Cypriots).[108]
When the Dominions and an increasing number of colonies began choosing complete independence from the United Kingdom after the Second World War, the Commonwealth was transformed into a community of independent nations, orCommonwealth realms, each recognising the British monarch as its own head of state (creating separate monarchies with the same person occupying all of the separate Thrones; the exception being republican India).[109][110][111][112]
'British Subject' was replaced by theBritish Nationality Act 1948 with 'Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies' for the residents of the United Kingdom and its colonies, as well as for theCrown Dependencies. However, as it was desired to retain free movement for all Commonwealth Citizens throughout the Commonwealth, 'British Subject' was retained as a blanket nationality shared by Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (the 'British realm') as well as the citizens of the various other Commonwealth realms.[113][114][115] The inflow ofpeople of colour to the United Kingdom in the 1940s and 1950s from both the remaining colonies and newly independent Commonwealth nations was responded to with a backlash that led to the passing of theCommonwealth Immigrants Act 1962, which restricted the rights of Commonwealth nationals to enter, reside and work in the United Kingdom.[116] This Act also allowed certain colonials (primarily ethnic-Indians in African colonies) to retain Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies if their colonies became independent, which was intended as a measure to ensure these people did not becomestateless if they were denied the citizenship of their newly independent nation.[117]
Many ethnic-Indians from former African colonies (notablyKenya) subsequently relocated to the United Kingdom, in response to which theCommonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 was rapidly passed, stripping all British Subjects (including Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies) who were not born in the United Kingdom, and who did not have a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies parent or grandparent born in the United Kingdom or some other qualification (such as existing residence status), of the rights to freely enter, reside and work in the United Kingdom.[118][119][120][121][122]
Although the 1968 Act was intended primarily to bar immigration of specific British passport holders from Commonwealth countries in Africa, it amended the wording of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 in such a way as to apply to all Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies who were not specifically excepted, including most colonials.
This was followed by theImmigration Act 1971, which effectively divided Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies into two types, although their citizenship remained the same: Patrials, who were those from (or with a specified qualifying connection to) the United Kingdom itself, who retained the rights of free entry, abode, and work in the United Kingdom; and those born in the colonies (or in foreign countries to British Colonial parents), from whom those rights were denied.[123][124]
TheBritish Nationality Act 1981, which entered into force on 1 January 1983,[125] abolished British Subject status, and stripped colonials of their full British Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies, replacing it with British Dependent Territories Citizenship, which entailed no right of abode or to work anywhere. This left Bermudians and most other erstwhile British colonials as British nationals without the rights of British citizenship.[126][113]
The stripping of citizens' birthrights from Bermudians by the British Government in 1968 and 1971, and the change of their citizenship in 1983, violated the rights granted them byRoyal Charters at the founding of the colony. Bermuda (fully The Somers Isles or Islands of Bermuda) had been settled by theLondon 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 fromKing James I, amending the boundaries of theFirst Colony of Virginia far enough across the Atlantic to include Bermuda. The citizenship rights guaranteed to settlers by King James I in the original Royal Charter of 10 April 1606, thereby applied to Bermudians:[127][128][129][130]
Alsoe wee doe, for us, our heires and successors, declare by theise presentes that all and everie the parsons being our subjects which shall dwell and inhabit within everie or anie of the saide severall Colonies and plantacions and everie of theire children which shall happen to be borne within the limitts and precincts of the said severall Colonies and plantacions shall have and enjoy all liberties, franchises and immunites within anie of our other dominions to all intents and purposes as if they had been abiding and borne within this our realme of Englande or anie other of our saide dominions.[131]
And wee doe for vs our heires and successors declare by these Pnts, that all and euery persons being our subjects which shall goe and inhabite within the said Somer Ilandes and every of their children and posterity which shall happen to bee borne within the limits thereof shall haue and enjoy all libertyes franchesies and immunities of free denizens and natural subjectes within any of our dominions to all intents and purposes, as if they had beene abiding and borne within this our Kingdome of England or in any other of our Dominions[132]
Bermuda is not the only territory whose citizenship rights were laid down in a Royal Charter. In regards toSt. Helena,Lord Beaumont of Whitley in theHouse of Lords debate on the British Overseas Territories Bill on 10 July 2001, stated:[133]
Citizenship was granted irrevocably by Charles I. It was taken away by Parliament because of growing opposition to immigration at the time.
Some Conservative Party backbenchers stated that it was the unpublished intention of the Conservative British Government to return to a single citizenship for the United Kingdom and all of the remaining territories once Hong Kong had been handed over to China. Whether this was so will never be known as by 1997 the Labour Party was in Government. The Labour Party had declared prior to the election that the colonies had been ill-treated by the British Nationality Act 1981, and it had made a pledge to return to a single citizenship for the United Kingdom and the remaining territories part of its election manifesto. Other matters took precedence, however, and this commitment was not acted upon during Labour's first term in Government. The House of Lords, in which multiple former colonial Governors sat (including former Governor of Bermuda Lord Waddington), lost patience and tabled and passed its own bill, then handed it down to the House of Commons to confirm in 2001. As a result, the British Dependent Territories were renamed theBritish Overseas Territories in 2002 (the term 'dependent territory' had caused much ire in the former colonies, especially well-heeled and self-reliant Bermuda, as it implied not only that British Dependent Territories Citizens were 'other than British', but that their relationship to Britain and to 'real British people' was both inferior and parasitic).[134][135][136]
At the same time, although Labour had promised a return to a single citizenship for the United Kingdom, Crown dependencies, and all remaining territories, British Dependent Territories Citizenship, renamed British Overseas Territories Citizenship, remained the default citizenship for the territories, other than the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar (for which British Citizenship is still the default citizenship). The bars to residence and work in the United Kingdom that had been raised against holders of British Dependent Territories Citizenship by The British Nationality Act 1981 were, however, removed, and British Citizenship was made attainable by simply obtaining a second British passport with the citizenship recorded as British Citizen (requiring a change to passport legislation as prior to 2002, it had been illegal to possess two British Passports).[137]
In March 2021, the government implemented a new visa policy towards foreigners, through which residency can be obtained by way of investing at least $2.5 million in "real estate, Bermuda government bonds, a contribution to the island's debt relief fund or the Bermuda Trust Fund, and charity", among other options. According to the Labour Minister, Jason Hayward, this step had to be taken to relieve some of the country's debt resulting from the Covid pandemic.[138]
Jones Village in Warwick, Cashew City (St. George's), Claytown (Hamilton), Middle Town (Pembroke), andTucker's Town (St. George's) are neighbourhoods (the original settlement at Tucker's Town was replaced with a golf course in the 1920s and the few houses in the area today are mostly on the water's edge of Castle Harbour or the adjacent peninsula); Dandy Town and North Village are sports clubs, and Harbour View Village is a small public housing development.
As a British Overseas Territory, Bermuda does not have a seat in theUnited Nations; it is represented by Britain in matters offoreign affairs.[1] To promote its economic interests abroad, Bermuda maintainsrepresentative offices in London[139] and Washington, D.C.[140] Only theUnited States and Portugal have full-time diplomatic representation in Bermuda (the U.S. maintains a Consulate-General, and Portugal maintains a Consulate), while 17 countries maintain honorary consuls in Bermuda.[141]
Bermuda's proximity to the US had made it attractive as the site for summit conferences between British prime ministers and US presidents. The first summit was held in December 1953, at the insistence of Prime MinisterWinston Churchill, to discuss relations with theSoviet Union during theCold War. Participants included Churchill, US presidentDwight D. Eisenhower and French premierJoseph Laniel.[142]
In 1957 a second summit conference was held. The British prime minister,Harold Macmillan, arrived earlier than President Eisenhower, to demonstrate they were meeting on British territory, as tensions were still high regarding theprevious year's conflict over the Suez Canal. Macmillan returned in 1961 for the third summit with PresidentJohn F. Kennedy. The meeting was called to discuss Cold War tensions arising from construction of theBerlin Wall.[143]
The most recent summit conference in Bermuda between the two powers occurred in 1990, when British prime ministerMargaret Thatcher met US presidentGeorge H. W. Bush.[143]
Direct meetings between the president of the United States and thepremier of Bermuda have been rare. The most recent meeting was on 23 June 2008, between PremierEwart Brown and PresidentGeorge W. Bush. Prior to this, the leaders of Bermuda and the United States had not met at the White House since a 1996 meeting between Premier David Saul and PresidentBill Clinton.[144]
Bermuda has also joined several other jurisdictions in efforts to protect theSargasso Sea.[145]
On 11 June 2009, fourUyghurs who had been held in the United StatesGuantánamo Bay detention camp, inCuba, were transferred to Bermuda.[148][149][150][151] The four men were among 22 Uyghurs who claimed to be refugees who were captured in 2001 in Pakistan after fleeing theAmerican aerial bombardment of Afghanistan. They were accused of training to assist theTaliban's military. They were cleared as safe for release from Guantánamo in 2005 or 2006, but US domestic law prohibited deporting them back to China, their country of citizenship, because the US government determined that China waslikely to violate their human rights.
In September 2008, the men were cleared of all suspicion and Judge Ricardo Urbina in Washington ordered their release. Congressional opposition to their admittance to the United States was strong[148] and the US failed to find a home for them until Bermuda andPalau agreed to accept the 22 men in June 2009.
The secret bilateral discussions that led to prisoner transfers between the US and the devolved 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've underlined to the Bermuda Government that they should have consulted with the United Kingdom as to whether this falls within their competence or is a security issue, for which the Bermuda Government do not have delegated responsibility. We have made clear to the Bermuda Government the need for a security assessment, which we are now helping them to carry out, and we will decide on further steps as appropriate.[152]
In August 2018, the four Uyghurs were granted limited citizenship in Bermuda. The men now have the same rights as Bermudians except the right to vote.[153]
British North America, British West Indies and the Caribbean Community
The British Government originally grouped Bermuda with North America (given its proximity, and Bermuda having been established as an extension of theColony of Virginia, and withCarolina Colony, the nearest landfall, having been settled from Bermuda). After the acknowledgement by the British Government of the independence ofthirteen continental colonies (including Virginia and the Carolinas) in 1783, Bermuda was generally grouped regionally by the British Government withThe Maritimes andNewfoundland and Labrador (and more widely, as part ofBritish North America), substantially nearer to Bermuda than is the Caribbean.
From 1783 through 1801, the British Empire, including British North America, was administered by theHome Office and by theHome Secretary, then from 1801 to 1854 by theWar Office (which became theWar and Colonial Office) and Secretary of State for War and Colonies (as theSecretary of State for War was renamed). From 1824, theBritish Empire was divided by the War and Colonial Office into four administrative departments, includingNorth America, theWest Indies,Mediterranean and Africa, andEastern Colonies, of which the North American department included Bermuda.[154] TheColonial Office and War Office, theSecretary of State for the Colonies and the Secretary of State for War, were all separated in 1854.[155][156] The War Office, from then until the 1867confederation of the Dominion of Canada, split the military administration of the British colonial and foreign stations into nine districts withNorth America and North Atlantic including the station ofBermuda.[157] The Colonial Office, by 1862, oversaw eight Colonies in British North America, which included Bermuda separately.[158] By 1867, administration of theSouth Atlantic Ocean archipelago of theFalkland Islands, which had been colonised in 1833, had been added to the remit of the North American Department of the Colonial Office.[159] Fo llowing the 1867confederation of most of the British North American colonies to form theDominion of Canada, Bermuda and Newfoundland remained as the only British colonies in North America (although the Falkland Islands also continued to be administered by the North American Department of the Colonial Office).[160] The reduction of the territory administered by the British Government would result in re-organisation of the Colonial Office. In 1901, the departments of the Colonial Office included theNorth American and Australasian department to which Bermuda was a part.[161] In 1907, theColony of Newfoundland became theDominion of Newfoundland, leaving theImperial fortress of Bermuda as the sole remaining British North American colony.
Bermuda, with a land mass totalling less than 21 square miles and a population of 17,535, could hardly constitute an Imperial administrative region on its own. By 1908, the Colonial Office included two departments (one overseeing dominion andprotectorate business, the other colonial): The Crown Colonies Department was made up of a West Indian Division that included Bermuda, as well as Jamaica, Turks Islands, British Honduras, British Guiana, Bahamas, Bermuda, Trinidad, Barbados, Windward Islands, Leeward Islands, Falkland Islands, and St. Helena.[162]
Military Governors and Staff Officers in British North America and West Indies, 1778 and 1784
Following Canadian confederation in 1867, the British political, naval and military hierarchy in Bermuda became increasingly separated from that of the Canadian Government (theRoyal Navy headquarters for theNorth America and West Indies Station had spent summers at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and winters at Bermuda, but settled at Bermuda year round with theRoyal Naval Dockyard, Halifax finally being transferred to theRoyal Canadian Navy in 1907, and theBermuda Garrison had been placed under the military Commander-in-Chief America in New York during the American War of Independence, and had been part of the Nova Scotia Command thereafter, but became the separateBermuda Command from the 1860s with the Major-General or Lieutenant-General appointed as Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda also filling the civil role ofGovernor of Bermuda), and Bermuda was increasingly perceived by the British Government as in, or at least grouped for convenience with, the British West Indies (although the establishedChurch of England in Bermuda, which from 1825 to 1839 had been attached to the See ofNova Scotia) remained part of theDiocese of Newfoundland and Bermuda until 1879, when the Synod of the Church of England in Bermuda was formed and a Diocese of Bermuda became separate from the Diocese of Newfoundland, but continued to be grouped under theBishop of Newfoundland and Bermuda until 1919, when Newfoundland and Bermuda each received its own bishop.[163][164] Newfoundland attained Dominion status in 1907, leaving the nearest other territories to Bermuda that were still within theBritish Realm (a term which replacedDominion in 1952 as the dominions and a number of colonies moved towards full political independence) as the British colonies in theBritish West Indies.[165][166]
An appreciable number of British West Indians immigrated to Bermuda during the course of the 20th Century, with some filling qualified roles and integrating into the community, but others working as labourers and often derided as criminals or "jump ups" competing for jobs and pushing down the cost of labour.[169][170][171][172][173][174] In recent decades, West Indians also came to be associated in Bermuda with law enforcement. The difficulty faced by theBermuda Police Service in obtaining recruits locally had long led to recruitment of constables from the British Isles, which resulted in criticism of the racial make up of the force not reflecting that of the wider community. Consequently, in 1966 the Bermuda Police Force (as it was then titled) began also recruiting constables from British West Indian police forces, starting with seven constables from Barbados.[175] Although the practice of recruiting from the British West Indies would continue, it was not deemed entirely successful. As the"Bermuda Report for the year 1971" recorded:
More recently police have been recruited from the Caribbean with a view to correcting the racial imbalance in the force. This has not been particularly successful, Bermudians regarding West Indians as much, if not more, expatriate as recruits from the United Kingdom, which has been and remains the main source of recruitment.[176]
Despite the traditional antipathy some Bermudians had for West Indians, and despite Bermuda not being in the Caribbean region, Bermuda became an associate member of theCaribbean Community (CARICOM) in July 2003.[177][178][179]
CARICOM is asocio-economic bloc of nations in or near theCaribbean Sea established in 1973. Other outlying member states include the Co-operative Republic ofGuyana and the Republic ofSuriname in South America, andBelize in Central America. TheTurks and Caicos Islands, an associate member of CARICOM, and the Commonwealth ofThe Bahamas, a full member of CARICOM, are in the Atlantic, but close to the Caribbean. Other nearby nations or territories, such as the United States, are not members (although the US Commonwealth ofPuerto Rico hasobserver status, and theUnited States Virgin Islands announced in 2007 that they would seek ties with CARICOM). Bermuda has minimal trade with the Caribbean region, and little in common with it economically, being roughly 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) from the Caribbean Sea; it joined CARICOM primarily to strengthen cultural links with the region.[citation needed]
Among some scholars,[who?] "the Caribbean" can be a socio-historical category, commonly referring to a cultural zone characterised by the legacy of slavery (a characteristic Bermuda shared with the Caribbean and the US) and the plantation system (which did not exist in Bermuda). It embraces the islands and parts of the neighbouring continent, and may be extended to include the Caribbean Diaspora overseas.[180]
The PLP, which was the party in government when the decision was made to join CARICOM, has been dominated for decades by West Indians and their descendants. The prominent roles of West Indians among Bermuda's black politicians and labour activists predated party politics in Bermuda, as exemplified byE. F. Gordon.[181][182] The late PLP leader, DameLois Browne-Evans (whose parents and grandparents emigrated to Bermuda fromNevis andSt. Kitts in 1914), and herTrinidadian-born husband, John Evans (who co-founded theWest Indian Association of Bermuda in 1976),[183] were prominent members of this group. A generation later, PLP politicians includedPremiers Dr.Ewart Brown (raised in Jamaica, with two Jamaican grandparents)[184] andEdward David Burt (whose mother is Jamaican),[185] Deputy Premier Walter Roban (son of Matthew Roban, fromSt. Vincent and the Grenadines),[186][187][188] and Senator Rolfe Commissiong (son of Trinidadian musicianRudolph Patrick Commissiong).[189][190][191] They have emphasised Bermuda's cultural connections with the West Indies. A number of Bermudians, both black and white, who lack family connections to the West Indies have objected to this emphasis.[183][192][193][194]
The decision to join CARICOM stirred up a huge amount of debate and speculation among the Bermudian community and politicians.[195][196] Opinion polls conducted by two Bermudian newspapers,The Royal Gazette andThe Bermuda Sun, showed that clear majorities of Bermudians were opposed to joining CARICOM.[197]
The UBP, which had been in government from 1968 to 1998, argued that joining CARICOM was detrimental to Bermuda's interests, in that:[198]
Bermuda's trade with the West Indies is negligible, its primary economic partners being the US, Canada, and UK (it has no direct air or shipping links to Caribbean islands);
CARICOM is moving towards a single economy;
the Caribbean islands are generally competitors to Bermuda's already ailing tourism industry; and
participation in CARICOM would involve considerable investment of money and the time of government officials that could more profitably be spent elsewhere.
Law enforcement in Bermuda is provided chiefly by theBermuda Police Service and is also supported with the Customs Department and Immigration Department. During certain times theRoyal Bermuda Regiment can be called in to assist law enforcement personnel.
The FirstBermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps Contingent, raised in 1914. By the war's end, the two BVRC contingents had lost over 75% of their combined strength.Remembrance Day Parade, Hamilton, Bermuda
A formerImperial fortresscolony once known as "the Gibraltar of the West" and "Fortress Bermuda", defence of Bermuda, as part of the Britishsovereign state, is the responsibility of the British Government.
For the first two centuries of settlement, the most potent armed force operating from Bermuda was its merchant shipping fleet, which turned toprivateering at every opportunity. The Bermuda government maintained a local (infantry) militia and fortified coastal artillery batteries manned by volunteer artillerymen. Bermuda tended toward the Royalist side during theEnglish Civil War, being the first of six colonies to recogniseCharles II as King on the execution of his father,Charles I, in 1649, and was one of those targeted by theRump Parliament inAn Act for prohibiting Trade with the Barbadoes, Virginia, Bermuda and Antego, which was passed on 30 October 1650. With control of the "army" (the militia and coastal artillery), the colony's Royalists deposed the Governor, Captain Thomas Turner, elected John Trimingham to replace him, and exiled a number of its Parliamentary leaningIndependents to settle theBahamas underWilliam Sayle as theEleutheran Adventurers. Bermuda's barrier reef, coastal artillery batteries and militia provided a defence too powerful for the fleet sent in 1651 by Parliament under the command of Admiral SirGeorge Ayscue to capture the Royalist colonies. The Parliamentary Navy was consequently forced to blockade Bermuda for several months 'til the Bermudians negotiated a peace.
After theAmerican Revolutionary War, Bermuda was established as the Western Atlantic headquarters of theNorth America Station (later called theNorth America and West Indies Station, and later still theAmerica and West Indies Station as it absorbed other stations) of theRoyal Navy. Once the Royal Navy established a base and dockyard defended by regular soldiers, however, the militias were disbanded following theWar of 1812. At the end of the 19th century, the colony raised volunteer units to form a reserve for themilitary garrison.
Due to its isolated location in theNorth Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda was vital to the Allies' war effort during bothworld wars of the 20th century, serving as a marshalling point for trans-Atlantic convoys, as well as a naval air base. By the Second World War, both the Royal Navy'sFleet Air Arm and theRoyal Air Force were operatingSeaplane bases on Bermuda.
In May 1940, the US requested base rights in Bermuda from the United Kingdom, but British Prime MinisterWinston Churchill was initially unwilling to accede to the American request without getting something in return.[199] In September 1940, as part of theDestroyers for Bases Agreement, the UK granted the US base rights in Bermuda. Bermuda andNewfoundland were not originally included in the agreement, but both were added to it, with no war material received by the UK in exchange. One of the terms of the agreement was that the airfield the US Army built would be used jointly by the US and the UK (which it was for the duration of the war, with RAF Transport Command relocating there fromDarrell's Island in 1943). The US Army established theBermuda Base Command in 1941 to co-ordinate itsair, anti-aircraft, andcoast artillery assets during the war. The US Navy operated asubmarine base onOrdnance Island from 1942 through 1945.[52]
Construction began in 1941 of two airbases consisting of 5.8 km2 (2.2 sq mi) of land, largely reclaimed from the sea. For a number of years, Bermuda's bases were used byUS Air Force transport and refuelling aircraft and byUS Navy aircraft patrolling the Atlantic for enemy submarines, firstGerman and, later,Soviet. The principal installation,Kindley Air Force Base on the eastern coast, was transferred to the US Navy in 1970 and redesignatedNaval Air Station Bermuda. As a naval air station, the base continued to host both transient and deployed USN and USAF aircraft, as well as transitioning or deployed Royal Air Force andCanadian Forces aircraft.
The originalNAS Bermuda on the west side of the island, aseaplane base until the mid-1960s, was designated as the Naval Air Station Bermuda Annex. It provided optional anchorage and dockage facilities for transiting US Navy,US Coast Guard andNATO vessels, depending on size. An additional US Navy compound known asNaval Facility Bermuda (NAVFAC Bermuda), a submarine-detectingSOSUS station, was located to the west of the Annex near a Canadian Forces communications facility in the Tudor Hill area; it was converted from a US Army coast artillery bunker in 1954 and operated until 1995. Although leased for 99 years, US forces withdrew in 1995, as part of the wave of base closures following the end of theCold War.
Canada, which had operated a war-time naval base,HMCSSomers Isles, on the old Royal Navy base at Convict Bay, St George's, also established a radio-listening post at Daniel's Head in the West End of the islands during this time.
In the 1950s, after the end of World War II, the Royal Naval dockyard and the military garrison were closed. A small Royal Navy supply base,HMSMalabar, continued to operate within the dockyard area, supporting transiting Royal Navy ships and submarines until it, too, was closed in 1995, along with the American and Canadian bases.
Bermudians served in the British armed forces during bothWorld War I and World War II. After the latter, Major-GeneralGlyn Charles Anglim Gilbert, Bermuda's highest-ranking soldier, was instrumental in developing the Royal Bermuda Regiment. A number of other Bermudians and their descendants had preceded him into senior ranks, including Bahamian-born AdmiralLord Gambier, and Bermudian-bornRoyal Marines Brigadier A. John Harvey. When promoted to brigadier at age 38, following his wounding at theAllied invasion of Sicily, Harvey became the youngest-ever Royal Marine Brigadier. TheCenotaph in front of the Cabinet Building (in Hamilton) was erected in tribute to Bermuda's Great War dead (the tribute was later extended to Bermuda's Second World War dead) and is the site of the annualRemembrance Day commemoration.
Today, the only military unit remaining in Bermuda, other thannaval and army cadet corps, is theRoyal Bermuda Regiment, an amalgam of the voluntary units originally formed toward the end of the 19th century. Although the Regiment's predecessors were voluntary units, until 2018 the modern body was formed primarily by conscription: balloted males were required to serve for three years, two months part-time, once they turn 18. Conscription was abolished 1 July 2018.[200][201]
In early 2020 the Royal Bermuda Regiment formed the Bermuda Coast Guard. Its 24-hour on-duty service includes search and rescue, counter-narcotics operations, border control, and protection of Bermuda's maritime interests. The Bermuda Coast Guard will interact with the rest of the Royal Bermuda Regiment and the Bermuda Police Service.[202]
Front Street, HamiltonBermuda electricity production by source
Banking and other financial services now form the largest sector of the economy at about 85% of GDP, with tourism being the second largest industry at 5%.[1][21] Industrial and agriculture activities occur; however, these are on a limited scale and Bermuda is heavily reliant on imports.[1] Living standards are high and as of 2019 Bermuda has the 6th-highest GDP per capita in the world.[1]
1890s to 1920s: economy severely affected by lily virus
EarlyEaster Lily bulb exports to New York—then vital financially for Bermuda—became badly diseased from the late 19th century to the mid-1920s.Lawrence Ogilvie, the Bermuda Department of Agricultureplant pathologist saved the industry by identifying the problem as a virus (not aphid damage as previously thought) and instituting controls in the fields and packing houses. Exports showed a marked improvement: from 23 cases of lily bulbs in 1918, to 6,043 cases in 1927 from the 204 lily fields then in existence.[203] Still in his 20s at the time, Ogilvie was professionally honoured by an article inNature magazine.[204]The lily export trade continued to flourish until the 1940s when the Japanese captured much of the market.[citation needed]
In 1970, the country switched its currency from theBermudian pound to theBermudian dollar, which ispegged and orcapital at par with the US dollar. US notes and coins are used interchangeably with Bermudian notes and coins within the islands for most practical purposes; however, banks levy an exchange rate fee for the purchase of US dollars with Bermudian dollars for those going out of the islands for external purposes.[205] TheBermuda Monetary Authority is the issuing authority for all banknotes and coins and regulates financial institutions.
Bermuda is anoffshore financial centre, which results from its minimal standards of business regulation/laws and direct taxation on personal or corporate income. It has one of the highest consumption taxes in the world and taxes all imports in lieu of an income tax system. Bermuda's consumption tax is equivalent to local income tax to local residents and funds government and infrastructure expenditures. The local tax system depends upon import duties, payroll taxes andconsumption taxes. Foreign private individuals cannot easily open bank accounts or subscribe to mobile phone or internet services.[206][failed verification]
Having no corporate income tax, Bermuda is a populartax avoidance location. Google, for example, is known to have shifted over $10 billion in revenue to its Bermuda subsidiary using theDouble Irish andDutch Sandwich tax avoidance strategies, reducing its 2011 tax liability by $2 billion.[207] TheBermuda Black Hole is another tax avoidance method in which untaxed profits end up in Bermuda.
Large numbers of leading international insurance companies operate in Bermuda.[208] Those internationally owned and operated businesses that are physically based in Bermuda (around four hundred) are represented by theAssociation of Bermuda International Companies (ABIC). In total, over 15,000 exempted or international companies are currently registered with theRegistrar of Companies in Bermuda, most of which hold no office space or employees.
TheBermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) specialises in listing and trading of capital market instruments such as equities, debt issues, funds (including hedge fund structures) and depository receipt programmes. The BSX is a full member of theWorld Federation of Exchanges and is located in anOECD member nation. It also has Approved Stock Exchange status under Australia's Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) taxation rules and Designated Investment Exchange status by the UK's Financial Services Authority.[209][210]
Four banks operate in Bermuda,[211] having consolidated total assets of $24.3 billion (March 2014).[212]
One of Bermuda's pink-sand beaches at Astwood ParkView of Harrington Sound from behind Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo
Tourism is Bermuda's second-largest industry, with the island attracting over half a million visitors annually, of whom more than 80% are from the United States.[1] Other significant sources of visitors are from Canada and the United Kingdom. However, the sector is vulnerable to external shocks, such as the 2008 recession.[1]
The affordability of housing became a prominent issue during Bermuda's business peak in 2005 but has softened with the decline of Bermuda's real estate prices.The World Factbook lists the average cost of a house in June 2003 as $976,000,[213] while real estate agencies have claimed that this figure had risen to between $1.6 million[214] and $1.845 million by 2007,[215] though such high figures have been disputed.[216]
The Bermuda Education Act 1996 requires that only three categories of schools can operate in the Bermuda Education system:[217]
Anaided school has all or a part of its property vested in a body of trustees or board of governors and is partially maintained by public funding or, since 1965 and thedesegregation of schools, has received a grant-in-aid out of public funds.
Amaintained school has the whole of its property belonging to the Government and is fully maintained by public funds.
Aprivate school, not maintained by public funds and which has not, since 1965 and the desegregation of schools, received any capital grant-in-aid out of public funds. The private school sector consists of six traditional private schools, two of which are religious schools, and the remaining four are secular with one of these being a single-gender school and another aMontessori school. Also, within the private sector there are a number of home schools, which must be registered with the government and receive minimal government regulation. The only boys' school opened its doors to girls in the 1990s, and in 1996, one of the aided schools became a private school.
Prior to 1950, the Bermuda school system was racially segregated.[218] When the desegregation of schools was enacted in 1965, two of the formerly maintained "white" schools and both single-sex schools opted to become private schools. The rest became part of the public school system and were either aided or maintained.
There are 38 schools in the Bermuda Public School System, including 10 preschools, 18 primary schools, 5 middle schools, 2 senior schools (The Berkeley Institute andCedarbridge Academy), 1 school for students with physical and cognitive challenges, and 1 for students with behavioural problems.[219] There is one aided primary school, two aided middle schools, and one aided senior school. Since 2010, Portuguese has been taught as an optional foreign language in the Bermudian school system.[220][221]
For higher education, theBermuda College offers variousassociate degrees and other certificate programmes.[222] Bermuda does not have any Bachelor-level colleges or universities. Bermuda's graduates usually attend Bachelor-level universities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.[223]
In May 2009, the Bermudian Government's application was approved to become a contributory member of theUniversity of the West Indies (UWI). Bermuda's membership enabled Bermudian students to enter the university at an agreed-upon subsidised rate by 2010. UWI also agreed that itsOpen Campus (online degree courses) would become open to Bermudian students in the future, with Bermuda becoming the 13th country to have access to the Open Campus.[224] In 2010, it was announced that Bermuda would be an "associate contributing country" due to local Bermudian laws.[225]
AnIOD sloop and a 19th-century Bermudian working boat in Bermuda
Bermuda's culture is a mixture of the various sources of its population: Native American, Spanish-Caribbean, English, Irish, and Scots cultures were evident in the 17th century, and became part of the dominant British culture. English is the primary and official language. Due to 160 years of immigration from Portuguese Atlantic islands (primarily theAzores, though also fromMadeira and theCape Verde Islands), a portion of the population also speaks Portuguese. There are strong British influences, together withAfro-Caribbean ones.
The first notable, and historically important, book credited to a Bermudian wasThe History of Mary Prince, aslave narrative byMary Prince. The book was published in 1831 at the height of Great Britain's abolitionist movement.[226]Ernest Graham Ingham, an expatriate author, published his books at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. The novelistBrian Burland (1931– 2010) achieved a degree of success and acclaim internationally. More recently,Angela Barry has won critical recognition for her published fiction.[227][228]
West Indian musicians introducedcalypso music when Bermuda's tourist industry was expanded with the increase of visitors brought by post-Second World War aviation. Local icons theTalbot Brothers performed calypso music for a number of decades both in Bermuda and the United States, and appeared on theEd Sullivan Show. While calypso appealed more to tourists than to the local residents,reggae has been embraced by a number of Bermudians since the 1970s with the influx ofJamaican immigrants.
The dances of theGombey dancers, seen at multiple events, are strongly influenced by African, Caribbean and British cultural traditions.
Alfred Birdsey was one of the more famous and talented watercolourists, known for his impressionistic landscapes ofHamilton,St George's, and the surrounding sailboats, homes, and bays of Bermuda. Hand-carved cedar sculptures are another speciality. In 2010, his sculptureWe Arrive was unveiled in Barr's Bay Park, overlookingHamilton Harbour, to commemorate the freeing of slaves in 1835 from the American brigEnterprise.[229]
Bermuda hosts an annual international film festival, which shows multiple independent films. One of the founders is film producer and directorArthur Rankin Jr., co-founder of theRankin/Bass production company.[231]
The football team of 95 Company,Royal Garrison Artillery, victors in the 1917 Governor's Cup football match, pose with the cup. The cup was contested annually by teams from the various Royal Navy, British ArmyBermuda Garrison, and Royal Air Force units stationed in Bermuda.
Many sports popular today were formalised by Britishpublic schools and universities in the 19th century. These schools produced the civil servants and military and naval officers required to build and maintain theBritish Empire, and team sports were considered a vital tool for training their students to think and act as part of a team. Former public schoolboys continued to pursue these activities, and founded organisations such asthe Football Association (FA).
Bermuda's role as the primary Royal Navy base in the Western Hemisphere ensured that the naval and military officers quickly introduced the newly formalised sports to Bermuda, includingcricket,football,rugby football, and eventennis androwing.
At the2004 Summer Olympics, Bermuda competed in sailing, athletics, swimming, diving, triathlon and equestrian events. In those Olympics, Bermuda's Katura Horton-Perinchief made history by becoming the first black female diver to compete in the Olympic Games. Bermuda has had two Olympic medallists,Clarence Hill – who won a bronze medal in boxing – andFlora Duffy, who won a gold medal in triathlon. It is tradition for Bermuda to march in the Opening Ceremony inBermuda shorts, regardless of the summer or winter Olympic celebration. Bermuda also competes in the biennialIsland Games, which it hosted in 2013.[235]
In 1998, Bermuda established its own Basketball Association.[236]
TheBermuda Hospitals Board operates the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, located inPaget Parish, and theMid-Atlantic Wellness Institute, located inDevonshire Parish.[237] Boston's Lahey Medical Center has an established visiting specialists program on the island which provides Bermudians and expats with access to specialists regularly on the island.[238] There were about 6,000 hospital admissions, 30,000 emergency department attendances and 6,300 outpatient procedures in 2017.[239]
Unlike the other territories that still remain under British rule, Bermuda does not havenational healthcare. Employers must provide a healthcare plan and pay for up to 50% of the cost for each employee.[240] Healthcare is a mandatory requirement and is expensive, even with the help provided by employers.[241] There are only a few approved healthcare providers that offer insurance to Bermudians.[240] As of 2016[update], these were the Bermudian government's Health Insurance Department, three other approved licensed health insurance companies, and three approved health insurance schemes (provided by the Bermudian government for its employees and by two banks).[242]
There are noparamedics on the island. The Bermuda Hospitals Board said in 2018 that they were not vital in Bermuda because of its small size.[243]Nurse practitioners on the island, of which there are not many, can be granted authority to write prescriptions "under the authority of a medical practitioner".[244]
^Standard time in Bermuda is four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).[4]UTC is not permitted to drift more than 0.9 seconds from GMT.
^Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 2006 to 2023.
^abcd"Bermuda 2016 Census"(PDF). Bermuda Department of Statistics. December 2016.Archived(PDF) from the original on 15 July 2020. Retrieved22 March 2020.
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^Smith, James E. (1976).Slavery in Bermuda. USA: Vantage Press.ISBN978-0533020430.
^indexed by A. C. Hollis Hallett. Updated by: C. F. E. Hollis Hallett (2005).19th Century Church Registers of Bermuda. Bermuda: Juniperhill Press and Bermuda Maritime Museum Press. Page x, Guide to the Use of this Index: Coloured and White.ISBN0-921992-23-8.Today, the term 'Coloured' as a racial distinction referring to the Black population is no longer used, but in the period covered by this index it was the usual term and has been retained......We suspect that the clergy generally made a decision whether they would describe a person as 'White', and the 'Coloured' designation was used for everyone not described as 'White'. Users of this index should not confine themselves to 'White' or 'Coloured' registers (where they are separated) but should look at both. They should also not take too seriously the indication 'Col.' or 'Wh.' that appears often under Comments; these were occasionally written into the margins of the register by the clergyman or parish clerk.
^JJill B. Gaieski,1 Amanda C. Owings,1 Miguel G. Vilar,1 Matthew C. Dulik,1 David F. Gaieski,2 Rachel M. Gittelman,1 John Lindo,1 Lydia Gau,1 Theodore G. Schurr1*, and The Genographic Consortium (1 = Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104; 2 = Department of Emergency Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104) (2011)."Genetic Ancestry and Indigenous Heritage in a Native American Descendant Community in Bermuda".American Journal of Physical Anthropology.146 (3). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY (Volume146, Issue 3, November 2011, Pages 392–405):392–405.doi:10.1002/ajpa.21588.ISSN0002-9483.PMID21994016. Retrieved7 April 2024.the non-white population....we analyzed genetic variation among members of this community....Our results reveal that the majority of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y-chromosome haplotypes are of African and West Eurasian origin. However, unlike other English-speaking New World colonies, most African mtDNA haplotypes appear to derive from central and southeast Africa, reflecting the extent of maritime activities in the region........RESULTS: mtDNA diversity...The majority of mtDNA lineages observed in Bermudians (68%) originated in Africa....West Eurasian haplogroups comprised 31% of the Bermudian mtDNA haplotypes..... Y-chromosome diversity...one-third of the Bermudian male participants, had three NRY haplogroups of African ancestry...West Eurasian haplogroups accounted for the majority of the male participants and the vast majority of their Y-chromosomes....More than two-thirds of the mtDNAs (68%) are of African origin, and approximately one-third of them (31%) are of European origin. By contrast, Native American lineages constitute less than 1% of Bermudian mtDNAs, somewhat less was expected based on oral histories and archival data....The NRY haplogroup data likewise reveal clear contributions from the same two major source areas. However, the trend is reversed, with European lineages accounting for 66% of St. David's Islander Y-chromosomes and African lineages accounting for 32% of them. Native American haplogroups comprised only 2% of Bermudian Y-chromosomes, less than anticipated based on oral history and archival data.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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^Warwick, Professor (of Political Science) John (24 September 2007)."Race and the development of Immigration policy during the 20th century".Race and the development of Immigration policy during the 20th century. Professor John Warwick.Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved11 September 2021.issues of race and racial exclusion were undoubtedly the biggest factor in legislation and policy developments regarding citizenship law and the right of abode in the UK during the second half of the twentieth century.
^Smith, Evan; Varnava, Andrekos (4 June 2018)."Restrictions on British colonial migrants in an era of free movement: the case of Cyprus".History & Policy. Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, University of London.Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved11 September 2021.The British authorities sought to restrict further numbers from immigrating to Britain through a number of measures, despite the fact that Cypriots were British subjects. This was done predominantly through the refusal to issue passports, as well as requesting that those travelling from the island pay a surety bond. The British limited the number of passports issued to Cypriots intending to travel to Britain. To obtain a passport for Britain, Cypriots had to pay a bond (in case they had to be repatriated).
^"What Are the Commonwealth Realms?".www.monarchist.org.au. Australian Monarchist League.Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved11 September 2021.These are independent kingdoms where Elizabeth II is Queen and Sovereign. There are 16 of them (see below) and all are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Each Realm, being independent of all the others, titles the Queen differently.
^"Canada: History and present government".Royal.UK. The Royal Household.Archived from the original on 17 August 2021. Retrieved11 September 2021.Canada has been a monarchy for centuries – first under the kings of France in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, then under the British Crown in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and now as a kingdom in her own right. These lands had been occupied for thousands of years by Aboriginal Peoples who, now for many centuries, have maintained an enduring and very close relationship with the person of the Sovereign and the Crown of Canada.
^"Australia".Royal.UK. The Royal Household.Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved11 September 2021.The Queen's relationship to Australia is unique. In all her duties, she speaks and acts as Queen of Australia, and not as Queen of the United Kingdom.
^"The Commonwealth".Royal.UK. The Royal Household.Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved11 September 2021.After achieving independence, India was the first of a number of countries which decided that, although they wished to become republics, they still wanted to remain within the Commonwealth.
^Pearsall, Mark (14 April 2014)."British nationality: subject or citizen?".nationalarchives.gov.uk. British Government National Archives.Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved11 September 2021.
^"Commonwealth Immigration control and legislation: The Commonwealth Immigration Act 1962".nationalarchives.gov.uk. British Government National Archives.Archived from the original on 21 September 2022. Retrieved11 September 2021.Butler oversaw the production of the Bill that became the Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1962. This controlled the immigration of all Commonwealth passport holders (except those who held UK passports). Prospective immigrants now needed to apply for a work voucher, graded according to the applicant's employment prospects.
^"Commonwealth Immigration control and legislation: The Commonwealth Immigration Act 1962".nationalarchives.gov.uk. British Government National Archives.Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved11 September 2021.In 1967, Asians from Kenya and Uganda, fearing discrimination from their own national governments, began to arrive in Britain. They had retained their British citizenship following independence, and were therefore not subject to the act. The Conservative Enoch Powell and his associates campaigned for tighter controls. The Labour government responded with the Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1968. It extended control to those without a parent or grandparent who was born in or was a citizen of the UK.
^"ON THIS DAY 1950-2005: 26 November, 1968: Race discrimination law tightened".BBC News. 26 November 2008.Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved11 September 2021.At the beginning of the year, up to 1,000 Kenyan Asians, who hold British passports, were arriving in Britain each month. Amid growing unrest, the government rushed through the Commonwealth Immigrants Act in March, restricting the number of Kenyan Asians who could enter the country to those who had a relative who was already a British resident. The new Race Relations Act is intended to counter-balance the Immigration Act, and so fulfil the government's promise to be "fair but tough" on immigrants
^"Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968".www.legislation.gov.uk. British Government.Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved11 September 2021.Status: This item of legislation is only available to download and view as PDF.
^"Commonwealth Immigration control and legislation: The Commonwealth Immigration Act 1962".nationalarchives.gov.uk. British Government National Archives.Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved11 September 2021.The Conservative government announced the Immigration Act of 1971. The act replaced employment vouchers with work permits, allowing only temporary residence. 'Patrials' (those with close UK associations) were exempted from the act.
^"No. 1: First Charter of Virginia".www.originalsources.com. Western Standard Publishing Company.Archived from the original on 11 September 2021. Retrieved11 September 2021.
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^Fairfield, Edward (1878).The Colonial Office List for 1878. LONDON: Harrison and Sons. Page 17, PART II. — COLONIES .-- Colonies. North American.CANADA: PROVINCES OF CANADA-Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, North-west Territories, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island; NEWFOUNDLAND; BERMUDA; FALKLAND ISLANDS
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^"STAFF of the ARMY in the Provinces of Nova-Scotia, New-Brunswick, and their Dependencies, including the Island of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward and Bermuda".The Quebec Almanack and British American Royal Kalendar for the Year 1828. Quebec: Neilson and Cowan, No. 3 Mountain Street. 1812.
^ab"A History Of Our Church".Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda. The Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda.Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved28 August 2021.The Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda was established in 12th June 1967. Bermuda was served by the Diocesan clergy of Halifax until 1953, after which pastoral responsibility transferred to the Congregation of the Resurrection.
^"Celebrating Jamaicans put 'jump-ups' tag behind them".The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 23 August 2002. Retrieved23 July 2024.JAMAICANS in Bermuda have come a long way in only a few years. Once laughingly dismissed as "jump-ups", they have since established themselves as pillars of our community, gaining recognition for the many worthy contributions they have made to the island.
^Shorto, Lieutenant-Colonel A. Gavin (4 February 2011)."The roots of Creole charm".The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. Retrieved30 March 2023.
^"BERMUDA POLICE FORCE TRAINING SCHOOL".The Bermuda Recorder. Bermuda. 25 February 1966. p. 1.
^Bermuda Report for the year 1971 (Report). Her Majesty's Stationery Office (Printed in Bermuda by the Island Press Ltd). 1975. pages 23 and 24.ISBN0-11-580164-2.
^"Bermuda Government today".Bermuda-Online.org.Archived from the original on 2 July 2010. Retrieved9 July 2010.In July 2003, Bermuda formally joined the Caribbean Community as an Associate Member (non-voting member)...
^Hainey, Raymond (1 November 1999)."Patterson tells Jamaicans they can aid their country".The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. Retrieved23 July 2024.Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown, who went to school in Jamaica, and had two Jamaican grandparents, said he hoped Mr. Patterson's visit, the first by a Jamaican PM, would put an end to strains in the relationship between Atlantic Bermuda and its Caribbean neighbours. Dr. Brown said: "Tonight perhaps we can put to rest our ambivalent and sometimes schizoid attitude to West Indians." He added that the only school named after a black teacher in Bermuda was Victor Scott – who was a Jamaican.
^"New Bermuda premier a "miracle baby"".The Gleaner. Jamaica. 23 July 2017. Retrieved24 July 2024.An older sister of Bermuda's new Premier David Burt says he was a "miracle baby" as their Jamaican mother, Merlin, suffered complications during her pregnancy.
^Jonathan Kent (15 August 2003)."Roban denies that PLP ran a racist campaign".The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. Retrieved15 August 2024.He denied any PLP involvement with printed material that Mr. Swan said had appeared on sports club noticeboards and in the mail suggesting that UBP candidates were "carrying out the slavemaster's agenda". "Speaking as one of the campaign managers, I can say that no such material was produced by the PLP," said Mr. Roban. "This had nothing to do with the PLP. "Mr. Swan should be very careful about who he is aiming these accusations against. He seems to be accusing the people who operate these clubs. "Race plays a role in many aspects of Bermuda life and we are aware of that and deal with it with sensibility. We do not deal with it lightly, certainly not in a way that could abuse or insult people."
^Sékou Hendrickson (15 August 2024)."OBA leader says Walter Roban's criticisms are worn-out".The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. Retrieved15 August 2024.The Leader of the Opposition has hit back at an opinion piece by the former Deputy Premier, accusing its criticisms of being a repeat of old claims. Jarion Richardson added that Walter Roban's article, published in yesterday's edition of The Royal Gazette, reminded his party of how not to act. He said: "To Bermuda, we in the OBA double our commitment to not act like this Progressive Labour Party Government, to simplify government and governing, to exist solely to serve the interests of others.
^Gozney, Richard H.T. (6 November 2009)."2009 Throne Speech".BDA Sun Bermuda Sun Online.Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved20 May 2020.
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^Nigel (27 March 2019)."Lahey to provide medical services at BMSG".bermudamedical.com (Press release). Bermuda Medical Specialties Group.Archived from the original on 16 February 2022. Retrieved16 February 2022.
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Anonymous, but probably written by John Smith (1580–1631):The Historye of the Bermudaes or Summer Islands. University of Cambridge Press, 2010.ISBN978-1108011570.
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Glover, Lorri; Daniel Blake Smith (2008),The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America, New York: Henry Holt and Co.,ISBN9780805086546,OCLC177818614
24Claimed in 1908; territory formed 1962; overlaps portions of Argentine and Chilean claims, borders not enforced but claim not renounced under theAntarctic Treaty.
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