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Bermuda Islands
BERMUDA ISLANDSBERMUDA ISLANDS, roughly 300 small coral islands, twenty of which are inhabited, are in the Atlantic Ocean east of North Carolina. Bermuda is a reference point of the Bermuda Triangle, an area of the Atlantic Ocean in which ships and airplanes have disappeared under supposedly mysterious circumstances that scientists attribute to weather and currents. Discovered by the Spanish captain Juan de Bermúdez in 1503, Bermuda was first settled in 1609 by a hundred shipwrecked English colonists, including Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Somers, and William Strachey. In 1612 Bermuda, called Somers Islands, was colonized by the Virginia Company. It became an autonomous company in 1615 and subsequently a British Crown colony. Bermuda records first mention slaves in 1617. In 1620, under probably the first conservation laws in the New World, Bermuda provided limited protection for turtles. In 1946 the civil rights advocate E. F. Gordon delivered to London a petition protesting the political and racial conditions in Bermuda. In 1959 blacks boycotted hotels and theaters, forcing integration of those facilities. Black voting rights (1963), universal adult suffrage (1968), and school integration followed (1971). In 2000 Bermuda had a population of 62,275 and 98 percent literacy. Reflecting its history of immigration, shipwrecks, and slavery, it is 59 percent blacks, 36 percent whites, and 6 percent others. Because only 6 percent of Bermuda's land is arable, the islands survived by supplying ships, smuggling rum during U.S. prohibition, and providing services. From 1940 to 1995 the United States leased land for naval and air bases, which were important during World War II. Bermuda's economy is approximately 1 percent agriculture, 10 percent industry, and 89 percent services. The islands' subtropical climate attracts tourists, especially from the United States, a major source of income, revenue, and employment. Bermuda is a major international offshore financial services and banking center, where transnational corporations shelter their assets and profits under permissive tax and banking laws. Bermuda is a British territory with an appointed governor. Citizens elect a parliament, and the governor appoints the prime minister, the leader of the largest parliamentary party. A referendum on independence was defeated in 1995. In November 1998 the Progressive Labor Party won the general election, ending the United Bermuda Party's thirty-five years of control, and Stanley Lowe became the first black speaker of the House of Assembly. Opinion surveys in the late 1990s showed Bermudians increasingly inclined toward independence from Britain. BIBLIOGRAPHYAhiakpor, James C. W. The Economic Consequences of Political Independence: The Case of Bermuda. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: Fraser Institute, 1990. Boultbee, Paul G., and David F. Raine, comps. Bermuda. Oxford and Santa Barbara, Calif.: Clio Press, 1998. Steffen W.Schmidt See alsoRum Trade ; Slave Trade . |
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"Bermuda Islands." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Bermuda Islands." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401800423.html "Bermuda Islands." Dictionary of American History. 2003. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3401800423.html |
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Bermuda
Bermuda A British Crown Colony since 1684, its population consists of 60,000 people who live on twenty of its around 360 islands. It boasts the oldest parliament in the New World, which dates back to 1620. Owing to its strategic location in the mid-Atlantic, it served as a British naval base 1797–1957, while in 1941 the USA was granted a 99-year lease on some islands for use as a naval and airforce base. Universal adult suffrage was introduced in 1944, and in 1968 Bermuda was granted self-government. There were sporadic riots during the 1970s, when politics and society were dominated by the racial relations between its inhabitants, of whom 30 per cent are of White and 70 per cent of Black or mixed origin. A second crucial issue of greater permanence has been that of full independence. It is supported by the Black Progressive Labour Party (PLP) but rejected by the dominant multiracial United Bermuda Party (UBP), which emphasizes the cost of independence and the income generated through the British navy and British tourism. In a referendum of 16 August 1995, 74 per cent rejected independence. In the 1998 elections to the House of Assembly, the PLP gained a majority for the first time in its history. Under Jennifer Smith, it focused less on the national question and more on the economy, as Bermuda's prosperous offshore banks were threatened by the tightening of EU banking laws.
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JAN PALMOWSKI. "Bermuda." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAN PALMOWSKI. "Bermuda." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-Bermuda.html JAN PALMOWSKI. "Bermuda." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-Bermuda.html |
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Bermuda
Bermuda. Self-governing since 1620, this British island colony lies off the US Atlantic coast. After the conclusion of the destroyers-for-bases agreement a US base was built there. It was also the site of a British Security Co-ordination outstation which intercepted mail, and radio and telegraphic traffic, from the western hemisphere to occupied Europe. From its population of 30,000 a contingent of the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps was raised. This served with a British regiment in Europe, while members of the Bermuda Militia Infantry were part of the Caribbean Regiment (see British West Indies).
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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Bermuda." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Bermuda." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-Bermuda.html I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Bermuda." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-Bermuda.html |
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Bermuda
Bermuda (formerly Somers Island) British dependency, consisting of c.300 islands in the w Atlantic Ocean, 940km (580mi) e of North Carolina; the capital is Hamilton (Bermuda Island). Discovered in c.1503, the islands were claimed for Britain by Sir George Somers in the early 17th century. They became a crown colony in 1684, eventually achieving internal self-government in 1968. Tourism is important. Agricultural products include vegetables, bananas, and citrus fruits. Area: 53sq km (21sq mi). Pop. (2000) 62,997.
http://www.gov.bm; http://www.bermudatourism.com |
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"Bermuda." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Bermuda." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Bermuda.html "Bermuda." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-Bermuda.html |
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Bermuda
Bermuda is a group of islands in the western Atlantic, some 600 miles from the east coast of the United States. It has the status of a dependent territory with internal self-government. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Bermudez, though it remained in British hands from 1612 onwards. The economy relies heavily upon tourism.
J. A. Cannon |
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JOHN CANNON. "Bermuda." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Bermuda." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Bermuda.html JOHN CANNON. "Bermuda." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-Bermuda.html |
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BERMUDA
BERMUDA, formerly Somers Islands. A self-governing British dependency in the Western Atlantic, comprising 138 islands. Language: English. The islands were settled in 1612 by the Virginia Company, became a colony in 1684, and gained internal self-government in 1968. Bermudian English mixes BrE and AmE influences.
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TOM McARTHUR. "BERMUDA." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. TOM McARTHUR. "BERMUDA." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-BERMUDA.html TOM McARTHUR. "BERMUDA." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-BERMUDA.html |
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Bermuda
Bermuda is a group of islands in the western Atlantic, 600 miles from the east coast of the United States. It has the status of a dependent territory with internal self‐government. It was named after the Spanish explorer Juan Bermudez, though it remained in British hands from 1612 onwards.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "Bermuda." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "Bermuda." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Bermuda.html JOHN CANNON. "Bermuda." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Bermuda.html |
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Bermuda
Bermuda
•Barbuda, barracuda, Bermuda, brooder, Buxtehude, colluder, deluder, excluder, intruder, Judah, Luda, Neruda, obtruder, Tudor
•mouthbrooder
•Buddha, do-gooder
•Kaunda, Munda
•judder, rudder, shudder, udder
•numdah
•asunder, blunder, chunder, hereunder, plunder, rotunda, sunder, thereunder, thunder, under, up-and-under, wonder
•husbander • seconder • Shetlander
•mainlander • Greenlander
•Queenslander • midlander
•Little Englander
•Highlander, islander
•Icelander • Hollander • lowlander
•Newfoundlander • woodlander
•colander • Canada • Kannada
•ambassador • forwarder
•birder, Gerda, girder, herder, murder
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"Bermuda." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Bermuda." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 25, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Bermuda.html "Bermuda." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-Bermuda.html |
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