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Travel Guide 2   >   Bermuda   >   History

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Bermudan History


The first appearance of Bermuda in the historical record is in 1511, when Peter Martyr d'Anghiera mentions the islands in his book, Legatio Babylonica. It is likely that the islands were discovered a few years earlier at the very beginning of the 16th century, but the exact date is unknown. Later in the century, both Spanish and Portuguese ships are believed to have regularly stopped at the islands to replenish their supplies of food and water, and there was even an attempt to establish a breeding stock of hogs on the islands. A Portuguese ship is also believed to have become stuck in the islands' reefs, and the sailors had to build a new hull of Bermudan cedar before leaving the islands - leaving the initials "RP 1543" carved on what subsequently became known as "Spanish Rock".

The first permanent colonization of Bermuda took place in 1609, when the English ship, Sea Venture, was wrecked off the coast of the islands. The islands were claimed for the English crown, and initially associated with Virginia, an association which is till recorded today in many place names in Virginia.

In the next centuries, despite attempts to agriculture (principally tobacco) in Bermuda, the islands. Sailors from Bermuda were active in whaling, privateering, and even the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), as well as the salt trade. After the American Revolution (1775 to 1783), also became the Royal Navy's main base in the western hemisphere, and gained the nickname "Gibraltar of the West".

In the 20th century, Bermudans served with British forces during both World Wars, and their sacrifices are remembered by the Cenotaph memorial in front of the Cabinet Building in Hamilton. The Royal Navy base on the island was closed in the 1950s, except for a small supply base which lasted until 1995.

Today Bermuda is highly prosperous with an economy based on financial services and tourism. The islands' Progresive Labour Party supports independence from UK, but Bermudan voters rejected independence in a referendum on the issue in in 1995, and polls indicate that opinion is largely unchanged since that time. As a result, Bermudaremains a British Overseas Territory, albeit with a very high degree of local autonomy (the UK retains responsibility only for defense, and foreign affairs, as well as ultimately ensuring good governance).

Here are some books about the history of Bermuda:

The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America (John MacRae Books)

By Lorri Glover

Henry Holt and Co.
Released: 2008-08-05
Hardcover (336 pages)

The Shipwreck That Saved Jamestown: The Sea Venture Castaways and the Fate of America (John MacRae Books)
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A freshly researched account of the dramatic rescue of the Jamestown

settlers

The English had long dreamed of colonizing America, especially after Sir Francis Drake brought home Spanish treasure and dramatic tales from his raids in the Caribbean. Ambitions of finding gold and planting a New World colony seemed within reach when in 1606 Thomas Smythe extended overseas trade with the launch of the Virginia Company. But from the beginning the American enterprise was a disaster. Within two years warfare with Indians and dissent among the settlers threatened to destroy Smythe’s Jamestown just as it had Raleigh’s Roanoke a generation earlier.

To rescue the doomed colonists and restore order, the company chose a new leader, Thomas Gates. Nine ships left Plymouth in the summer of 1609—the largest fleet England had ever assembled—and sailed into the teeth of a storm so violent that “it beat all light from Heaven.” The inspiration for Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the hurricane separated the flagship from the fleet, driving it onto reefs off the coast of Bermuda—a lucky shipwreck (all hands survived) which proved the turning point in the colony’s fortune.

Pursuits of Happiness: The Social Development of Early Modern British Colonies and the Formation of American Culture

By Jack P. Greene

The University of North Carolina Press
Paperback (301 pages)

Pursuits of Happiness: The Social Development of Early Modern British Colonies and the Formation of American Culture
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In this book, Jack Greene reinterprets the meaning of American social development. Synthesizing literature of the previous two decades on the process of social development and the formation of American culture, he challenges the central assumptions that have traditionally been used to analyze colonial British American history.

Greene argues that the New England declension model traditionally employed by historians is inappropriate for describing social change in all the other early modern British colonies. The settler societies established in Ireland, the Atlantic island colonies of Bermuda and the Bahamas, the West Indies, the Middle Colonies, and the Lower South followed instead a pattern first exhibited in America in the Chesapeake. That pattern involved a process in which these new societies slowly developed into more elaborate cultural entities, each of which had its own distinctive features.

Greene also stresses the social and cultural convergence between New England and the other regions of colonial British America after 1710 and argues that by the eve of the American Revolution Britain's North American colonies were both more alike and more like the parent society than ever before. He contends as well that the salient features of an emerging American culture during these years are to be found not primarily in New England puritanism but in widely manifest configurations of sociocultural behavior exhibited throughout British North America, including New England, and he emphasized the centrality of slavery to that culture.

Into the Bermuda Triangle

By Gian Quasar

International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press
Paperback (320 pages)

Into the Bermuda Triangle
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Still unsolved, still baffling, still claiming new victims. Here are the untold stories.

A pilot reports a strange haze enveloping his plane, then disappears; eleven hours after fuel starvation, as if calling from a void, he is heard 600 miles away. He requests permission to land, then vanishes forever. A freighter steaming over placid seas disappears without a trace. A pleasure yacht ghosts past without a soul on board. A pilot calls for help because a "weird object" is harassing his plane. A jet collides with an "unknown" and is never found. . . .

Into the Bermuda Triangle is the first comprehensive examination of these baffling disappearances in more than a generation. Drawing on official reports from the NTSB and other investigative agencies as well as interviews with scientists, theorists, and survivors, leading authority Gian Quasar not only sets the record straight on previously examined cases, he also offers a bulging file of new cases, the collective results of his twelve-year investigation. In meticulous detail this unflinching account:

  • Documents confirmed disappearances of airplanes and ships
  • Gathers new testimony and reexamines old interviews from eyewitnesses and survivors
  • Explores possible explanations ranging from zero-point energy to magnetic vortices
  • Challenges our assumptions with the sheer weight of accumulated evidence

In this age of technological and scientific discovery, there are still mysteries that transcend understanding. The Bermuda Triangle is one.

"The best book I've ever read on this important subject."—Andrew Griffin, The Town Talk

Sea Venture: Shipwreck, Survival, and the Salvation of the First English Colony in the New World

By Kieran Doherty

St. Martin's Press
Released: 2007-05-15
Hardcover (288 pages)

Sea Venture: Shipwreck, Survival, and the Salvation of the First English Colony in the New World
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In one of the most triumphant high sea stories ever told, Kieran Doherty brings to life the true story of the ship that rescued the Jamestown settlement in 1610 and ensured England's place in the New World. When the Sea Venture left England in 1609, it was flagship in a fleet of nine bound for Jamestown with roughly 600 settlers and badly needed supplies aboard. But after four weeks at sea, as the voyage neared its end, a hurricane devastated the fleet, leaving the Sea Venture shipwrecked on the island of Bermuda. It took Sea Venture’s passengers nearly a year and half to reach their destination. Awaiting them was not a thriving colony, but instead the remaining fifty colonists—beleaguered, desperate and hungry. But, the question remains, would the English have lost their place in the New World if the ship never arrived? A story of strife and triumph, but above all, endurance, Sea Venture begins and ends in hope and remains one of the greatest “What Ifs?” in history. With a bravado reminiscent of Patrick O’Brien’s legendary sea sagas, Doherty braves the elements, delivering a powerful history willed by a people destined to change the New World forever.

Insight Guide Bermuda (Insight Guides)

By Brian Bell

Langenscheidt Publishers
Paperback (304 pages)

Insight Guide Bermuda (Insight Guides)
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Insight Guides, the world's largest visual travel guide series, in association with Discovery Channel, the world's premier source of nonfiction entertainment, provides more insight than ever. From the most popular resort cities to the most exotic villages, Insight Guides capture the unique character of each culture with an insider's perspective. Inside every Insight Guide you'll find: .Evocative, full-colour photography on every page .Cross-referenced, full-colour maps throughout .A brief introduction including a historical timeline .Lively, essays by local writers on the culture, history, and people .Expert evaluations on the sights really worth seeing .Special features spotlighting particular topics of interest .A comprehensive Travel Tips section with listings of the best restaurants, hotels, and attractions, as well as practical information on getting around and advice for travel with children

Sea Venture: Shipwreck, Survival, and the Salvation of Jamestown

By Kieran Doherty

St. Martin's Griffin
Released: 2008-05-13
Paperback (288 pages)

Sea Venture: Shipwreck, Survival, and the Salvation of Jamestown
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In one of the most triumphant high sea stories ever told, Kieran Doherty brings to life the remarkable true story of the ship that rescued the struggling Jamestown settlement in 1610 and single-handedly ensured England's place in the New World. When the Sea Venture left England in 1609, it was flagship in a fleet of nine bound for Jamestown with roughly 600 settlers and badly needed supplies aboard. But after four weeks at sea, as the voyage neared its end, a hurricane hit devastating the fleet—one ship sank, the rest scattered, and the Sea Venture was shipwrecked on the island of Bermuda. It would take Sea Venture’s passengers nearly a year and half to reach their destination. Awaiting them was not the thriving, populated colony they expected, but instead the grim reality of a remaining fifty colonists—beleaguered, desperate, and hungry. But, the question remains, would the English have lost their place in the New World if the Sea Venture had never arrived? A story of strife and triumph, but above all, endurance, Sea Venture begins and ends in hope and remains one of the greatest “What Ifs?” in history. With the bravado of a legendary sea saga, Doherty braves the elements in Sea Venture, delivering a powerful history willed by a people destined to change the New World forever.

Bermuda: Gardens and Houses

By Sylvia Shorto

Rizzoli
Released: 1996-04-15
Hardcover (204 pages)

Bermuda: Gardens and Houses
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Fishing in Bermuda

By Graham Faiella

Interlink Publishing Group
Hardcover (240 pages)

Fishing in Bermuda
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Since the first permanent settlers of Bermuda washed ashore from the shipwrecked "Sea Venture" in 1609, Bermudians have been fishing the waters around the island. This is the story of how fishing has evolved in Bermuda since those early years, going into the 21st century.

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