Bermuda History

[1511] The first map of Bermuda

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The first map of the islands of Bermuda in 1511, made by Peter Martyr d'Anghiera in Legatio Babylonica.

Bermuda was visited by the Europeans in the early sixteenth century, probably in 1503, although the evidence for the exact year, and the identity of the discoverer, is uncertain. Bermuda was certainly known by 1511, when Peter Martyr published his Legatio Babylonica, which mentioned Bermuda. The discovery is attributed to a Spanish explorer, Juan de Bermudez. Nothing is known of his supposed first visit; he returned again in 1515, with the chronicler Oviedo y Valdés. Oviedo's account of the second visit (published in 1526) records that they made no attempt to land because of weather.

[1593] Henry May shipwrecked before Sir George Somers

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Sketches of Bermuda By Susette Harriet Lloyd.
London, James Cochrane & Co., MDCCCXXXV (1835), p40.

[1609] Admiral Sir George Somers

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British naval hero, born in Lyme Regis, Dorset.

On 2 June 1609, he set sail on the Sea Venture along with other ships from Plymouth, England destined for Jamestown, Virginia carrying 500-600 people. On the 25 July, the fleet ran into a strong storm, likely a hurricane, and the ships were separated. The Sea Venture fought the storm for three days with Sir George himself at the helm throughout. On the morning of 28 July, with the water in the hold at nine feet, and crew and passengers driven past the point of exhaustion, Somers sighted land. He intentionally drove the ship onto the reefs of what proved to be Bermuda in order to prevent its foundering. This allowed the remaining 150 people aboard, and one dog, to be landed safely, although the Sea Venture was presumed lost by those who continued on to Virginia.

The survivors came ashore at Discovery Bay and stayed in Bermuda for 10 months where they formed the Bermuda colony, building a church and houses. Somers and Sir Thomas Gates oversaw the construction of two ships, the Deliverance and the Patience, from spars and rigging of the wrecked Sea Venture and local timber (Bermuda Cedar), and in May 1610 the ships set sail, with 142 castaways on board to the Virginia Colony.

[1610] Letter from Sir George Somers recounting the shipwreck

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Reprinted in: The Bermuda Islands By Addison Emery Verrill

New Haven, Conn., 1902, pp 873-4

[1610] A Discovery of the Barmudas, 'Ile of Divels'

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Cover of Sylvester Jordain's "A Discovery of the Barmudas", a first-hand narrative of the loss of the Sea Venture, the flagship of the Virginia Company, on the reefs of Bermuda, and the adventures of its survivors.

The survivors, including several company officials (Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Gates, the ship's captain Christopher Newport, Sylvester Jordain, Stephen Hopkins, later of the Mayflower, and secretary William Strachey), were stranded on Bermuda for approximately nine months.

[1614] Facsimile reproduction of a Map of Bermuda by Captain John Smith

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Source: Project Gutenberg

[1624] Map of Bermuda with illustrations of forts

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1624 Map of Bermuda, with illustrations of fortifications and important sites, including St. George's Town, the State House, and the Castle Islands Fortifications.

Source: The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles, by Captain John Smith, printed by I.D and I. H. for Michael Sparkes, 1624. Other editions 1625, 1626, 1627, 1631, and 1632.

[1624] Cover of the Generall Historie of Virginia... by Captain John Smith

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Cover of "The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles" (The General History of Virginia, New England, and the Somers Isles), by Captain John Smith, 1624. 'Graven' by John Barra.

[1652] Walsingham House (Tom Moore's Tavern)

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Tom Moore's Tavern was built in 1652 as a private home for the Trott family. In those days it was known as Walsingham House, from the Walsingham area in which it stood. The property was owned by Samuel Trott when Tom Moore, the Irish poet, came to Bermuda in 1804 as Registrar of the Court of Vice-Admiralty. It was here that his friendship with Nea Tucker began and where he wrote many of his well known works.

The house became a Tavern over 100 years ago and the records show that more than 3 million people have wined and dined within these old walls since then. The calabash tree to which Tom Moore makes frequent reference in his songs and poems still exists and is some 200 yards from the Tavern.

Picture: postcard, early 20th century.
Text: www.tommoores.com/history.html

See also: Tom Moore in Bermuda (book)

Bermuda Supply: premier sponsor of this web site:

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[1676] Map of the Somers Isles by John Speed

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A 1676 map of the Somers Isles (alias Bermuda), by John Speed (based on the map of surveyor Richard Norwood). Clearly shown are the tribe roads cut parallel through the forest between the North and South Shores (except in St. Georges, the eastern-most subdivision, comprising the islands of St. George's and St. David's, the South-Eastern tip of the Main Island, and the various smaller islands between. This was general land, and not commercial.

See detail of map showing tribes, houses and churches.

[1676] Detail of the Somers Isles map showing tribes, houses and churches

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Click image to enlarge further.

[1720s] The Mitchell House, Town of St. George

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The Featherbed Alley Printshop Museum features a replica Gutenberg press, and is located in the lower level of the Mitchell House. The upper level of the house holds the St. George's Historical Society Museum. The house is named for its architect, Walter Mitchell.

[1752] 'New and accurate map of Bermudas" by Emanuel Bowen

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Citation: A new & accurate map of Bermudas or Sommer's Islands, taken from an actual survey wherein the errors of former charts are corrected. An accurate map of the island of St. Christopher, vulgarly called S. Kits, containing all the towns, parishes, forts &c

Published London, 1752

Courtesy: Digital Library of the Caribbean

[1790] Henry Hamilton (Governor 1785-94)

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Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda, was named for Henry Hamilton (1734-96), who served as Governor of Bermuda from 1785 to 1794.

The history of Hamilton began in 1790 when the Bermuda Government set aside 145 acres (58.7 ha) for its future seat, and was officially incorporated in 1793 by an Act of Parliament. The Colony's capital relocated to Hamilton from St. George's in 1815.

Hamilton was an Irish-born soldier and official of the British Empire. In 1779 during the American War of Independence he was captured while serving as the Lieutenant Governor at the British post of Fort Detroit, before eventually being granted parole by Jefferson at the instructions of General George Washington, and in early 1781, he was exchanged and travelled to London.

Later in life Hamilton became Governor of Dominica from 1794 until his death in 1796. In March 1795, at age 61, Hamilton married 25-year-old Elizabeth Lee from Banbury, Oxfordshire, a daughter of Colonel Lee. They had one daughter, Mary Anne Pierpoint Hamilton, who died in 1871 unmarried and without children. Hamilton died on the island of Antigua in 1796, while still Governor of Dominica.

[1796] Bermuda Gazette And Weekly Advertiser

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Bermuda Gazette of 12 November, 1796, calling for privateering against Spain and its allies, and with advertisements for crew for two privateer vessels.

The American War of 1812 was to be the encore of Bermudian privateering, which had died out after the 1790s, due partly to the build up of the naval base in Bermuda, which reduced the Admiralty's reliance on privateers in the western Atlantic, and partly to successful American legal suits, and claims for damages pressed against British privateers, a large portion of which were aimed squarely at the Bermudians. During the course of the American War of 1812, Bermudian privateers were to capture 298 ships (the total captures by all British naval and privateering vessels between the Great Lakes and the West Indies was 1,593 vessels).

[1813] British Act extending to Hamilton the importation of certain goods

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British Parliamentary Act that further allowed for the Importation and Exportation of certain Articles [namely Plantation sugar and coffee] at Hamilton pursuant to an Act passed in the previous session of parliament that allowed the same at the Port of Saint George.

[before 1835] Map of Bermuda, harbour 'filled with rocks'

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Source:
Sketches of Bermuda By Susette Harriet Lloyd.

London, James Cochrane & Co., MDCCCXXXV (1835).

[1838] Bermuda as a penal colony of Canada?

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The (London) Courier reports the Quebec Gazette.

With thanks to Bermuda Supply.

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[1864] Bermuda one penny postage stamp

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Compare with the Penny Black, the world's first postage stamp (1840).

[1881] Letters From Bermuda

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Letters written from Bermuda originally for the Concord (NH) Daily Chronicle, were published in book form in 1881. Click here to read the book.

[1883] Bermuda house building techniques in the New York Times

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Three men are at work on this side of a little hill within sight of the hotel digging out a house. Anybody who would travel all over these Bermuda Islands would no doubt find as many as a hundred men engaged in digging out houses.

Read full article.

See also similar article from 1890.

[1893] Bermuda seeks tariff reciprocity from U.S.

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The New York Times, Wednesday July 17, 1893, p8.

[c.1894] Cedar Avenue, Hamilton

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Cedar Avenue was once lined, like most Bermudian roads, with Bermuda cedars [1]. The old growth trees were lost in the blight of the 1940s and 1950s, but the avenue has been replanted with the endemic juniper.

Sources:

The Review of Reviews | An International Magazine | Edited by Albert Shaw | Volume IX. January-June 1894.

Stark's Illustrated Bermuda Guide, p5. | Boston | James H. Stark, Publisher, 1902
Old Bermuda postcard

[1] Bermuda cedar (Juniperus bermudiana)

Bermuda cedar originally flourished throughout the islands, and the wood was used by settlers for widely varying purposes including home, church, jail, and shipbuilding, interior woodworking, furniture construction, coffin-making, and export for sale. The wood was especially prized by shipbuilders. In addition, the cones were used by settlers as food for both themselves and their animals, and to prepare cedarberry syrup as a treatment for toothaches and coughs. Settlers also boiled the shoots in water to create an elixir for lowering fevers. Furthermore, the wood was found to repel moths and fleas as well as prevent mildew and rot, and is aromatic, so many Bermuda residents used the wood to line closets and drawers.

[1897] Book: Tom Moore in Bermuda: A Bit of Literary Gossip

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Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer.

In 1803 he was appointed registrar to the Admiralty in Bermuda. He spent around three months on the island, and drew inspiration from the scenery of Bermuda.

Tom Moore in Bermuda: A Bit of Literary Gossip - John Calvin Lawrence Clark, published by W.J. Coulter, Clinton, MA, 1897.

Click here to read the book.

See also Walsingham House (Tom Moore's Tavern)

[1897] Development of the Commercial Sector

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Advertisements from Stark's illustrated Bermuda guide

J. H. Stark, 1897
Click to enlarge

[1899] The Mid-ocean newspaper

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Began in 1899. Here is an early copy that contains "The Sign of Four"by Conan Doyle, (serialised) the second Sherlock Holmes novel, originally published in 1890. The second example is from 1924. Courtesy of the Digital Library of the Caribbean where full versions are available.

[1901-c.1920] Bermuda houses

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Paintings by various artists; text from standard work John S. Humphreys, Bermuda Houses (Marshall Jones, Boston, 1923; reprinted Bermuda Maritime Museum, Dockyard, 1993).

Watch video on You Tube.

[c.1902] Front Street

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Source: Stark's Illustrated Bermuda Guide, p5 | Boston | James H. Stark, Publisher, 1902

[1907] Postcard of Aunt Peggie's No. 1, St Georges

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[c.1909] Bermuda hotels

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Source: Bermuda Verses By William Lawrence (Larry) Chittenden
G.P. Putnam's and Sons | The Kickerbocker Press | 1909

[1910] Mark Twain returns from Bermuda one week before his death

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The New York Times, April 15, 1910

Click image to view full article

Mark Twain's last letter was written from Bermuda:

Source: Mark Twain's letters, Volume 1 (of 2) By Mark Twain, Albert Bigelow Paine.

Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1917.

From the same:

From the early Bermuda letters we may gather that Mark Twain's days were enjoyable enough, and that his malady was not giving him serious trouble, thus far. Near the end of January he wrote: "Life continues here the same as usual. There isn't a flaw in it. Good times, good home, tranquil contentment all day and every day, without a break. I shouldn't know how to go about bettering my situation." He did little in the way of literary work, probably finding neither time nor inclination for it. When he wrote at all it was merely to set down some fanciful drolleries with no thought of publication.

We sailed on the 12th of April, reaching New York on the 14th, as he had planned. A day or two later, Mr. and Mrs. Gabrilowitsch, summoned from Italy by cable, arrived. He suffered very little after reaching Stormfield, and his mind was comparatively clear up to the last day. On the afternoon of April 21st he sank into a state of coma, and just at sunset he died. Three days later, at Elmira, New York, he was laid beside Mrs. Clemens and those others who had preceded him.

[c.1911] The Cathedral, Hamilton

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Source: Bermuda | Past and Present: a Descriptive and Historical Account of the Somers Islands, by Walter Brownell Hayward, New York, Dodd, Mead & Company, 1911, p148.

[c.1911] Panoramic photograph of Hamilton

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From the new Cathedral tower, south.

By W. H. Wallace, photographic illustrator, 563 Amsterdam Avenue, New York. Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

[1913] King Edward VII Memorial Hospital

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Work began on Bermuda's first hospital in 1913, as attested by this snippet from the Bermuda Colonial Report for 1914. See full report at the Digital Library of the Caribbean.

[1921] Bermuda criminalises the export of liquor to US

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The Eighteenth Amendment (XVIII) of the United States Constitution established the Prohibition of alcohol in the United States. Its ratification was certified on January 16, 1919 and came into effect one year after ratification, on January 17, 1920. It is the only amendment to the Constitution that has been repealed (by the Twenty-first Amendment) (1933).

[1922] Hotel development advertised (New York Tribune)

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Bermuda continued its growth as a tourist destination. Here the island is promoted as a recreational resort and its hotels are advertised in the New York press.

New-York tribune., December 17, 1922, Page 9
Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

[1923] Bermuda Houses

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Many examples of the use of indiginous limestone blocks and Bermuda cedar in domestic architecture are illustrated in Bermuda Houses, by John S. Humphreys, AIA - published by Marshall Jones Company, Boston 1923.

Click here to read the book.

[1924] The Royal Gazette (founded 1828)

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The Royal Gazette, founded in 1828, Bermuda's only daily newspaper. See below archived copy of the paper from 1924 (courtesy Digital Library of the Caribbean).

The Royal Gazette and Colonist Daily (Jan. 21st, 1924)

The Royal Gazette (Feb. 14, 1882)

[mid to late 1920s] Bermuda becomes a popular destination

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In the early 20th century, as modern transport and communication systems developed, Bermuda became a popular destination for wealthy American, Canadian and British tourists arriving by frequent steamship service.

In the first picture is Charles Gerald Roosen, the mayor of Delano, Minnesota, with his daughter Lotta Roosen Bachman in a wickerwork pedal chair cab; driver unidentified.

Hamilton and the harbour, 1926 (click to enlarge)

Passengers on cruise ship at port in Hamilton, 1929

Honeymoon couple in Bermuda, 1929

Girl on balustrade, 1929

Visitor from USA enjoys a legal beer during prohibition, 1929

[1931-1948] The Bermuda Railway

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The Bermuda Railway was a 21.7-mile (34.9 km) common carrier line that operated between October 31, 1931 and May 1, 1948, providing frequent passenger and freight service over its length spanning most of the archipelago from St. George in the east to Somerset, Sandys Parish, in the west.

The railway was a single-track, standard-gauge line (with 14 passing sidings) that ran mainly along a coastal route to minimize land acquisition for the right-of-way. This meant that extensive trestles and bridgework were necessary, indeed more than ten percent of the line was elevated on 33 separate structures of timber or steel construction spanning the ocean.

In 1924 the Bermuda government granted a 40-year charter to the Bermuda Railway Company, and construction began in 1926 and completed 1931. The initial cost of construction and rolling stock purchase made it one of the most expensive cost-per-mile lines ever built.

Maintenance also proved to be costly owing to the proximity of the line to sea air which made rot and corrosion significant. This and the introduction of private automobiles to the island after World War II, would ultimately doom the line.

In 1984, 18 miles (29 km) of the defunct rail line's right-of-way were dedicated as the Bermuda Railway Trail for hiking and, on some paved portions, biking. The Bermuda Tourism Department publishes a pamphlet describing the Trail's highlights, which Frommer's travel guide calls one of its "Favorite Bermuda Experiences", extolling its "panoramic seascapes, exotic flora and fauna, and soothing sounds of the island's bird life".

Picture 1: opening the line at Bridge Hill.
Picture 2: passengers alight at Shelly Bay station for the races.

For many more images see our separate Bermuda Railway Gallery page.

[1932] Women's Suffrage (2 of 2)

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From: The Vote | The Organ of the Women's Freedom League (London, UK)
Vol. XXXIII No. 1171, April 1st, 1932

[1932] Women's Suffrage (1 of 2)

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From: The Vote | The Organ of the Women's Freedom League (London, UK)
Vol. XXXIII No. 1175, April 29th, 1932

[1939] Bermuda film includes railway

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Includes footage of the Bermuda Railway.

[1939-45] RAF Darrell's Island

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Flying boats of RAF Transport (the two PB2Y Coronado aircraft) and Ferry Commands on the tarmac at RAF Darrell's Island during the Second World War. From personal collection. Original photograph from Wing Commander Mo Ware, Commanding Officer of RAF forces in Bermuda during the War.

[1939-45] Bermuda during the war years [in colour]

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Photos: kindley.us

[1940] Socialite Vincent Astor's private railway at Ferry Reach

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Though he had homes in New York, Newport, and Rhinebeck, N.Y., Vincent Astor's favourite house was "Ferry Reach" in Bermuda. Built in 1932, it consisted of 20 acres of wooded estate overlooking Castle Harbour and included a private railway.

Read article from LIFE magazine.

LIFE, Jan 29, 1940
80 pages
Vol. 8, No. 5
ISSN 0024-3019
Published by Time Inc.

[c.1941] Bermuda House of Assembly

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From LIFE magazine August 18th, 1941
View the full Magazine and the article: Old Bermuda

[1941-43] Land reclamation to form Kindley Air Force Base, St. David's

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The reclamation was carried out by the US Army by levelling Longbird Island, and smaller islands at the North of Castle Harbour, infilling waterways and part of the harbour to make a land-mass contiguous with St. David's Island. This added 750 acres (3 km2) to Bermuda's land mass, bringing the total area of the base to 1,165 acres (4.7 km2).

The airfield was completed in 1943, and known as Kindley Field after the Great War aviator Field E. Kindley.

The land has been variously used as an airfield, a US Naval Air Station and latterly as the site of Bermuda International Airport.

[before 1949] Town of St. George

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Source: The Rotarian, May 1949.

Established in 1911, The Rotarian is the official magazine of Rotary International and is circulated worldwide. Each issue contains feature articles, columns, and departments about, or of interest to, Rotarians. Seventeen Nobel Prize winners and 19 Pulitzer Prize winners – from Mahatma Ghandi to Kurt Vonnegut Jr. – have written for the magazine.

Picture from issue May 1949, p39.
64 pages
Vol. 74, No. 5
ISSN 0035-838X
Published by Rotary International

From an article in that magazine entitled:

Bermuda | At New York's Front Door | By Sir Stanley Spurling

[1953] The Big 3 Conference

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Kindley Airport, December 3rd, 1953: An Air France jet arrives with French Premier Joseph Laniel arriving for the Big 3 Conference. He is greeted by the Governor of Bermuda, along with UK Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and UK Foreign Secretary, Anthony Eden. Also in attendance is the regimental mascot of the Welsh Fusiliers. They were joined later by US President Dwight D. Eisenhower for the meeting at the Mid Ocean Club, Tucker's Town.

For the rationale for the conference, see clipping below the video.

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Opens in new window. There is sound later in the video.

[1957] Eisenhower and Macmillan in Bermuda

1994-02-01T19:29:00.001-04:00

In January 1957, President Eisenhower invited British prime minister Harold Macmillan to a meeting designed to improve relations recently strained over U.S. criticism of the British role in the Suez Crisis. From 20 to 24 March, the two leaders met in Bermuda to demonstrate publicly their friendship—they had served together in North Africa during World War II—and to discuss privately their differences over Middle East issues.

Macmillan later wrote about President Eisenhower during the 20 minute ride to the Mid Ocean Club, after meeting and collecting him from the Civil Air Terminal in Bermuda: "He talked very freely to me - just exactly as in the old days. There were no reproaches - on either side; but (what was more important) no note of any change in our friendship or the confidence he had in me. Indeed, he seemed delighted to have somebody to talk to. In America, he is half King, half Prime Minister. This means that he is rather a lonely figure, with few confidants. He told me very frankly that he knew how unpopular Foster Dulles was with our people and with a lot of his people. But he must keep him. He couldn't do without him."

[1957] Advertisement for the Bermuda Electric Light Co.

1994-01-01T13:00:00.000-04:00

Advertisement for the Bermuda Electric Light Co. from Bermuda Historical Quarterly | Spring Quarter | 1957 | Volume XIV. No.1.

[1966] Destination Bermuda, travel film

1993-01-01T18:16:00.000-04:00

Commissioned by the Bermuda Trade Development Board

[1968] The Bermuda Constitution

1992-02-01T22:56:00.000-04:00

In 1968 the UK Government enacted a Constitution for Bermuda that sets out its structure of government. Queen Elizabeth II is head of state and is represented in Bermuda by a Governor, whom she appoints. Internally, Bermuda has a parliamentary system of government. The British Governor has reserved powers in three areas which are External Affairs, Internal Security and the Police.

UK Statutory Instrument (SI 1968 No. 1821968) | The Bermuda Constitution Order.

Thank you to our sponsor

1992-01-01T12:20:00.000-04:00

[1973] Bermuda Governor murdered

1991-01-01T13:00:00.000-04:00

The Victoria (Texas) Advocate, March 12th, 1973

[1976] Independence an issue in 1976

1990-01-02T00:39:00.000-04:00

As can be seen in this news reports, independence was a hot topic in 1976; however, almost 20 years later the country voted against it in a referendum.

Click for larger image

Winnipeg Free Press, March 25th, 1976

[1995] Bermuda voters reject independence

1982-01-02T00:53:00.000-04:00

Click for larger image

The Jamaican Weekly Gleaner, August 25-31st, 1995

[1997] The Prohibited Restaurant Act (1997)

1980-01-01T19:36:00.000-04:00

Reading (PA) Eagle - Aug 7, 1997

This matter has a fascinating history beginning in October 1992 and involving the McDonald’s Corporation and their representatives in Bermuda, debates in parliament, the Premier, the Governor, the Bermuda Court of Appeal, and finally the UK Privy Council on 21st July 1999 when their Lordships agreed humbly to advise Her Majesty that the appeal to establish fast-food restaurants in Bermuda should be dismissed.

Read Privy Council Appeal No. 69 of 1998 outlining the case history.

* At the time McDonald's was humorously known in political circles as the Scottish Restaurant, something that shouldn't be mentioned. This was an allusion to the theatrical superstition where the play Macbeth is known as the Scottish Play, as it is deemed bad luck (or in McDonald's case, unseemly) to refer to it by name.