Bermuda

Bermuda is a <a href="/facts/British_Overseas_Territories/fUjVAy3E">British Overseas Territory</a> in the <a href="/facts/Atlantic_Ocean/EI4uChIb">North Atlantic Ocean</a>. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of <a href="/facts/North_Carolina/VhKNTULI">North Carolina</a>, about 1,035 km (643 mi) to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is an <a href="/facts/Archipelago/50BeC9tl">archipelago</a> consisting of <a href="/facts/List_of_islands_of_Bermuda/B46f2zfb">181 islands</a>, 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 exhibits <a href="/facts/Oceanic_climate/xUD1y78o">oceanic</a> features similar to other coastal areas in the <a href="/facts/Northern_Hemisphere/EFwyqL25">Northern Hemisphere</a> with warm, moist air from the ocean ensuring relatively high humidity and stabilising temperatures. Bermuda is prone to severe weather from <a href="/facts/Westerlies/d0YEBstH">recurving</a> <a href="/facts/Tropical_cyclones/FQzVXly7">tropical cyclones</a>; however, it receives some protection from a coral reef and its position north of the <a href="/facts/Main_Development_Region/9I4vthkr">Main Development Region</a>, which limits the direction and severity of approaching storms.
Bermuda is named after Spanish explorer <a href="/facts/Juan_de_Berm%25C3%25BAdez/1Ibh84av">Juan de Bermúdez</a>, who discovered the archipelago in 1505. The islands have been permanently inhabited since 1612 when an <a href="/facts/English_colonial_empire/kxzvg8y0">English settlement</a> was established at <a href="/facts/St._George%2527s%2c_Bermuda/4GKFL0WQ">St. George's</a>, which is also the territory's largest settlement. Forming part of <a href="/facts/British_America/sH718lsK">British America</a>, Bermuda was governed under <a href="/facts/Royal_charter/9R9nIJDR">Royal charter</a> by the <a href="/facts/Somers_Isles_Company/rk5QHRJG">Somers Isles Company</a> until 1684, when it became a <a href="/facts/Crown_colony/RnCkfdDR">crown colony</a>. The first <a href="/facts/Atlantic_slave_trade/No8T5Jhl">enslaved Africans</a> were taken to Bermuda in 1616. The Somers Isles Company ensured a steady flow of free but <a href="/facts/Indentured_servitude/M6Xac7fV">indentured servants</a> until 1684, and most tobacco farms owned by overseas adventurers 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). Consequently, a <a href="/facts/Plantation_economy/Gpo0pfL9">plantation economy</a> did not develop and the slave trade largely ceased by the end of the 17th century. The economy instead became maritime-focused, with the colony serving as a base for merchants, <a href="/facts/Privateers/PfeEkF2p">privateers</a> and the <a href="/facts/Royal_Navy/Xdy8YCH7">Royal Navy</a>, giving its name to the <a href="/facts/Bermuda_rig/vEk7Ah95">Bermuda rig</a> and <a href="/facts/Bermuda_sloop/BARrXDSl">Bermuda sloop</a>. It became an <a href="/facts/Imperial_fortress/3e5QAwST">imperial fortress</a>, the most important British naval and military base in the western hemisphere with vast funds lavished on its <a href="/facts/Royal_Naval_Dockyard%2c_Bermuda/ACxgP8DG">Royal Naval Dockyard</a> and <a href="/facts/Bermuda_Garrison/ULWqpG5c">military defences</a> until the 1950s. Tourism has been <a href="/facts/Tourism_in_Bermuda/72B8pEgb">a significant contributor</a> to Bermuda's economy since the 19th century and after World War II, the territory became a prominent <a href="/facts/Offshore_financial_centre/bgft3MCA">offshore financial centre</a> and <a href="/facts/Tax_haven/sBJngUjB">tax haven</a>.
Divided into <a href="/facts/Administrative_divisions_of_Bermuda/MWIXyJfM">nine parishes</a>, Bermuda is a self-governing <a href="/facts/Parliamentary_democracy/HAsnSsRz">parliamentary democracy</a> with a <a href="/facts/Parliament_of_Bermuda/u5Gyh7pw">bicameral parliament</a> located in the capital <a href="/facts/Hamilton%2c_Bermuda/pPezEF4T">Hamilton</a>. The <a href="/facts/House_of_Assembly_of_Bermuda/uhaz2SWo">House of Assembly</a> dates from 1620, making it one of the world's oldest legislatures. The <a href="/facts/Premier_of_Bermuda/09KQAlpy">premier</a> is the head of government and is formally appointed by the <a href="/facts/Governor_of_Bermuda/dj3D5keJ">governor</a>, who is nominated by the British government as the representative of the <a href="/facts/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom/hLC5tHrf">King</a>. The United Kingdom is responsible for foreign affairs and defence. An <a href="/facts/1995_Bermudian_independence_referendum/YbN2cw2F">independence referendum</a> was held in 1995 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. <a href="/facts/Black_Bermudians/EbntNIRv">Black Bermudians</a>, a diverse population primarily of any mixture of African, European, and Native <a href="/facts/American_ancestry/jT7ETg3l">American ancestry</a>, make up around 50% of the population, while <a href="/facts/White_Bermudians/PwtRI8o2">White Bermudians</a>, primarily of British, Irish and Portuguese 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 territory in the former <a href="/facts/British_North_America/nqeJLg4A">British North America</a> (following the 1867 <a href="/facts/Confederation_of_Canada/1tC7aAD2">Confederation of Canada</a> and the <a href="/facts/Colony_of_Newfoundland/lDBWVvd5">Colony of Newfoundland</a> becoming the <a href="/facts/Dominion_of_Newfoundland/pw3QNmII">Dominion of Newfoundland</a> in 1907), Bermuda has <a href="/facts/Bermudian_English/tog4L6kr">a distinct dialect</a> of English and has historically had strong ties with other English-speaking countries in the Americas, including the United States, Canada, and the <a href="/facts/Commonwealth_Caribbean/XVlJbDWC">Commonwealth Caribbean</a>. It is an associate member of the <a href="/facts/Caribbean_Community/UhcyNKyh">Caribbean Community</a>.

Bermuda open-in-new

Bermuda