According to abbreviationfinder, Bermuda Islands are 360 coral islands in the western Atlantic Ocean, 20 of which are inhabited. Overall, the Bermuda Islands are 53 km 2 in size and have 65,000 residents. The main town is Hamilton on Hamilton Island.
The Bermuda Islands have been a British crown colony since 1684. In 1995 the population voted against independence in a referendum.
Bermuda Islands
Bermuda, Bermuda, English Bermuda Islands [bə mju ː də a ɪ ləndz], formerly Somers Islands [ s ʌ məz a ɪ ləndz], archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, approx. 1,000 kilometers east of Cape Hatteras (USA), British overseas territory, 53 km 2, (2013) 65,000 residents, capital is Hamilton; The official language is English. Currency: 1 Bermuda dollar (BD $) = 100 cents. Time zone: CET – 5 hours
Land nature: The archipelago, which consists of around 360 small islands and is surrounded by coral reefs, sits at a height of around 4,000 m above the sea floor of the Bermuda threshold, which is made up of volcanic rock and covered by coral limestone and dune sands. The main island is Hamilton Island, also called Main Island, (Great) Bermuda Island or Long Island, which covers 39 km 2. Only about 20 of the islands are inhabited. There are no flowing waters on the islands, but there are a number of water-filled karst caves, some of which are submarine. – The climate is subtropical-maritime with hot summers and warm winters; occasionally hurricanes hit the islands.
Economy: Year-round tourism (especially from the USA) and international financial services (location of many insurance companies) are important for the economy; together they generate almost 90% of the gross domestic product. The government’s revenue comes mainly from employment taxes and customs duties; Income tax is not levied. – The largest islands are connected by bridges; private car traffic is limited. The main port is Hamilton; Kindley Fields International Airport on Saint David’s Island.
History: The islands, discovered by Spanish sailors (according to tradition, first by Juan Bermúdez) at the beginning of the 16th century, were uninhabited until the landing of shipwrecked immigrants from Virginia in 1609 under the leadership of Admiral Sir George Somers (hence initially called Somers Islands). The first African slaves were brought to the Bermuda Islands, which were finally settled from Virginia in 1612, in 1616 (slavery was abolished in 1834). A parliamentary assembly (one of the oldest colonial parliaments) met here for the first time in 1620. In 1684 the islands became a British crown colony. In 1815, Hamilton (founded in 1790), located on the main island, replaced St. George, located at the eastern end of Bermuda, as the capital. From the 18th to the 20th century, the Bermuda Islands were the location of military bases: 1795–1976 there was a British naval base (1809–1951 a militarily important shipyard of the Royal Navy) and 1778–1953 a British garrison; The USA operated air and naval bases there from 1941–95, and a Canadian military station existed from 1963–93.
In 1968 the Bermuda Islands received internal autonomy (foreign, defense and security policy and the appointment of the Prime Minister remain the responsibility of the British Crown, which is represented by a governor). After the race riots of 1977, the demands for independence increased temporarily, although a majority of the population spoke out against them in a 1995 referendum. The United Bermuda Party (founded in 1964) provided the government from 1968–98, replaced after elections in November 1998 by the Progressive Labor Party (created in 1963 and mainly representing the colored population), which was confirmed in government in 2003, again in 2007. United Bermuda The party and the Bermuda Democratic Alliance merged in 2011 to form the One Bermuda Alliance, which was the ruling party from 2012 to 2017. Since 2017, the Progressive Labor Party has once again provided the prime minister.
