Bermuda

Bermuda In 1996 Lyme Regis twinned with St George in Bermuda (see also: St George's Foundation ) and both have since become part of a even bigger association with Lyme Regis (2001) and St George (2000) becoming UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  St George is listed in its own right and Lyme Regis is central to what is Known as "The Jurassic Coast ".  While other towns and cities twin with a European counterpart, our town decided to opt for something more exotic and relevant to our history and a finer choice could not have been made. One of Lyme Regis' more famous sons, Admiral Sir George Somers (portrait below left), was shipwrecked after being blown off course for Virginia in what is now the USA.  The islands were named "Virgineola" and later became "Somers Isles" and a little later Bermuda.  A brief biography can be found here: Bermuda Online Bermuda is an isolated island chain 580 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and about 1000 miles north of the Lesser Antilles. The Gulf Stream which flows between Bermuda and the north American continent keeps the climate temperate. The Islands are composed of limestone from shells and coral built atop ancient volcanic peaks rising to about 200 feet below the ocean surface. There are about 150 small islands, the seven largest of them are connected by bridges and causeways. Total land area is 20.59 sq. miles. In the 16th century Spaniard Juan de Bermudes discovered the islands. He visited there in 1503 but failed to claim them for his country. It was not until 1609 that British Admiral Sir George Somers' flag-ship the "Sea Venture", on its way to the colony of Virginia with supplies and settlers, was caught in a hurricane and separated from the 9 ship flotilla, wrecking on Bermuda's reefs. This providential mishap led to British colonisation of the Islands in 1612. The Islands were named the Somer Islands, often mispelled the Summer Islands. In 1620, the House of Assembly was formed, giving some measure of internal self-government. They won a charter for self-government on dissolution of the Somers Island Company in the late 1600's. For more than three and a half centuries Bermuda has remained under the flag of Great Britain and Bermudians are proud of the fact that their country is the oldest British Colony with a House of Assembly since 1620. By 1687, Bermuda and Virginia shared a monopoly on the tobacco trade; yet the quality of the Bermuda variety was poor.  An agricultural-based economy didn't appeal as much to Bermudians as did the call of the horizon. From the beginning, they regarded the ocean as the ultimate road to prosperity, and whenever possible pursued lucrative opportunities through a trading triangle - Bermuda, the West Indies and the continental colonies As owners and slaves strengthened their ties to the sea, reliance on cedar was crucial. The richly scented wood rather quickly evolved from mere practical resource into the sinew of economic and cultural prosperity. In 1684, when the British government took over the charter of the Bermuda Company, the island's sailors of fortune had established a reputation where they "were feared by merchantmen more than those of any other nation." Between 1685 and the middle of the eighteenth century, hundreds of local seamen turned to this endeavor with gusto. Some became highly successful. One of them, Nathaniel North, retired to become a rajah in Madagascar. During the American Revolution a score of swift, copper-keeled sloops were operated as privateers, and in one month alone, September 1782, captured 20 ships. But the island became even more directly involved. A trade embargo declared by the Continental Congress against Britain and her colonies put Bermuda in a tenuous position. Squeezed by the hostilities, well-established and viable trade contacts along the eastern United States were in danger of perishing. Inability to obtain food and other essentials put the islanders so near starvation that many considered deserting the country. A small delegation journeyed to Philadelphia to plead for Bermuda's exclusion from the embargo. Appeals fell on stony ground. Dominant in the salt trade, the islanders offered to supply as much as the States wanted. The response was quick. There was no pressing need for salt, they were informed, but if, by some good fortune, arms or gunpowder were somehow substituted. . The delegation returned home. On August 14, 1775, one of the largest gunpowder storehouses in St. George's was raided, virtually under the nose of the governor. A hundred barrels of powder were rolled down to Tobacco Bay and rowed out to two American ships anchored just offshore. When dawn broke over the town, the gunpowder was on its way to George Washington's men, who put it to good use in driving the British out of Boston. The unwritten deal of gunpowder for provisions was honored. The embargo on Bermuda was lifted. 1784, the first newspaper began publication (Bermuda Gazette) and the first postal service was begun. In 1813 the Bermuda Postal Service was established. In 1815 Hamilton became the capital of the Islands. 1834 slavery was abolished. 1849, the first 58 Portuguese immigrants arrived from the Madeira Islands. The "Great Drought" hit Bermuda in this year. The Scottish Black Watch Regiment, stationed in Prospect, Devonshire dug a well on North Shore for drought relief. The well still bears the name of the Regiment. Early in the 1800s British naval power in the North Atlantic was consolidated by the construction of the Royal Naval Dockyard (often simply called the Yard) at Bermuda's most western end. With two bases already established at Antigua and Halifax, the Yard provided a valuable third prong. The construction of storehouses, repair slips, timber yards, foundries, fuel tanks, engineering shops, boat sheds, living quarters for men and officers and, later, a school and hospital, generated the largest military defense utilisation of money, manpower and materials in nineteenth-century Bermuda. 1871, the Causeway was completed, a 1km link between St.George's Island and the Main Island. 1872, Bermuda's first black newspaper, The Bermuda Times, was published.  In 1883, In a general election, W.H.T. Joell was elected Bermuda's first black Member of Parliament. 1883 Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria, comes to Bermuda. Her visit helps to promote the island as a tourist destination. 1885 The Fairmont Hamilton Princess hotel opens. In 1887 - 1890, Bermuda's first telephone and cable services were installed.  1904 saw the introduction of electricity. In the 1930's Bermuda began promoting itself as a summer tourist resort. 1931-1948 Bermuda Railway  was in operation. 1941 The United States lease a large part of the island for 99 years and begin construction of military installations. 1959 Blacks boycott movie theatres; forcing the owners to end segregation. 1963 The Progressive Labour Party, Bermuda’s first political party, is formed out of the black labour movement. 1964 United Bermuda Party is formed to represent whites and businesses. 1968 First election under a new constitution giving universal adult suffrage is held. The United Bermuda Party wins. 1971 Sir Edward Trenton Richards of the United Bermuda Party becomes Bermuda’s first black Premier. 1973 Governor Richard Sharples and his aide are assassinated. His body lies in St Peter’s Church. 1977 Buck Burrows is convicted for the Governor’s murder and is hanged, sparking widespread riots. 1995 US Navy and British Royal Navy close their bases in Bermuda. 1998 The Progressive Labour Party wins its first general election. 2000 Town of St George added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Click to share this article with your favourite online bookmarker

 

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