Facts about Bermuda
Bermuda's currency is the Bermuda dollar, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar.
The crew tried to salvage as much as they could and spent the next four months building a new hull from Bermuda cedar to return to their initial departure point.
Several thousand expatriate workers, principally from the United Kingdom, Canada, the West Indies, and the United States, also reside in Bermuda, primarily engaged in specialized professions such as accounting, finance, and insurance.
Bermuda was discovered by the early 1500s, probably in 1503, according to some sources.
Executive authority in Bermuda is invested in the Queen and is exercised on her behalf by the governor.
The close ties with Virginia were commemorated even after Bermuda's separation by reference to the archipelago in many Virginian place names, such as Bermuda City, and Bermuda Hundred.
Renowned for its pink sand beaches and natural beauty, Bermuda offers a number of other attractions, as well.
The only source of fresh water in Bermuda is rainfall, which is collected on roofs and catchments (or drawn from underground lenses) and stored in tanks.
The Bermuda Monetary Authority is the issuing authority for all banknotes and coins, as well as being responsible for the regulation of financial institutions.
The most recent summit conference in Bermuda between the two powers occurred in 1971, when British Prime Minister Sir Edward Heath met U.S. President Richard Nixon.
More than 1,100 kinds of insects and spiders are found on Bermuda, including 41 endemic insects and a possibly endemic spider.
The Bermuda sloop became highly regarded for its speed and maneuverability.
The initials probably stood for "Rex Portugaline" and later were incorrectly attributed to the Spanish, leading to the misnaming of this rocky outcrop of Bermuda.
Bermuda's wildlife is limited to those species that were able to fly to the island or were carried by winds and currents.
After the dissolution of the Somers Isle Company, Bermudians rapidly abandoned agriculture for shipbuilding, replanting farmland with the native juniper (also called Bermuda cedar) trees that grew thickly over the whole island.
Bermuda watercolors painted by local artists are sold at various galleries and elaborately hand-carved cedar sculptures are another specialty.
Once known as the Gibraltar of the West, the defense of Bermuda remains the responsibility of the British government.
Bermuda has no native land mammals but four species of migratory North American bats visit occasionally: the Hoary Bat, Eastern Red Bat, Seminole Bat, and Silver-haired Bat.
Tourism is Bermuda's second largest industry, with the island attracting over half a million visitors annually, of whom more than 80 percent are from the United States.
Bermuda also recently competed in Men's Skeleton (head first luge) at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.
Bermuda's proximity to the United States means that many aspects of U.S. culture are reflected or incorporated into Bermudian culture.
In 2006, the Bermuda Hogges were formed as the nation's first professional football team to raise the standard of play for the Bermuda national football team.
Bermuda is regarded as a premier offshore business jurisdiction, with low direct taxation on personal or corporate income.
The national bird of Bermuda is the White-tailed Tropicbird or Longtail, which is a summer migrant to Bermuda, its most northerly breeding site in the world.
Until the American Revolutionary War, following which Bermuda became the Royal Navy's Western Atlantic headquarters, the Bermuda government had maintained militia for the defense of the colony.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Bermuda competed in sailing and equestrian events.
At the time of the first human settlement, Bermuda was dominated by forests of Bermuda cedar (Juniperus bermudiana).
The average cost of a house in June 2003 had risen to $976,000, making Bermuda one of the most expensive (and exclusive) places in the world to live.
Bermuda has four endemic ferns: Bermuda maidenhair fern (Adiantum bellum), Bermuda shield fern (Goniopteris bermudiana), Bermuda cave fern (Ctenitis sloanei) and Governor Laffan's fern (Diplazium laffanianum).
The constitution of Bermuda came into force on June 11, 1967 and was amended in 1989 and 2003.
Eighteen species of butterfly have been seen; about six of these breed, including the large Monarch butterfly and the very common Bermuda buckeye (Junonia coenia bergi).
The government recently announced substantial financial support will be provided to Bermuda's cricket and football teams.
West Indian musicians introduced calypso music when Bermuda's tourist industry was expanded with the increase of visitors brought by post-Second World War aviation.
The Bermuda Petrel was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1951.
The flora and fauna of Bermuda forms part of a unique ecosystem thanks to Bermuda's isolation from the mainland of North America.
The latter is extinct in the wild but is grown at Bermuda Botanical Gardens.
Today the variety of species on Bermuda has been greatly increased by introductions, both deliberate and accidental.
Bermuda has lost a number of its endemic invertebrates, including the Bermuda cicada, which became extinct when the cedar forests disappeared.
A variety of whales, dolphins, and porpoises have been recorded in the waters around Bermuda.
Today, the only military unit remaining in Bermuda is the Bermuda Regiment, an amalgam of the voluntary units originally formed toward the end of the nineteenth century.
The Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX), first established in 1971, is now the world’s leading fully electronic offshore securities market, with a current market capitalization (excluding mutual funds) in excess of US$330 billion.
In Bermuda, 54.8 percent of the population is black, 34.1 percent white, and 6.4 percent multiracial.
Bermuda (officially, The Bermuda Islands) is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Other attractions include the Aquarium and Zoo, Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, the Botanical Gardens, lighthouses, and the Crystal Caves with its impressive stalactites and underground saltwater pools.
Bermuda's close proximity to the United States has made it the site of past summit conferences between British prime ministers and U.S. presidents.
After the dissolution of the Somers Isle Company, Bermudians rapidly abandoned agriculture for shipbuilding, replanting farmland with the native juniper (also called Bermuda cedar) trees that grew thickly over the whole island.
The Bermuda cedar boxes used to ship tobacco to England were reportedly worth more than their contents.
The prestigious Newport–Bermuda Yacht Race is a more than 100-year-old tradition.
Bermuda is divided into nine parishes and two municipalities: Hamilton (City) and Saint George's (Town).
The colony of Virginia far surpassed Bermuda in both quality and quantity of tobacco produced.
International One Design racing also originated in Bermuda.
In 2007 Bermuda hosted the 25th PGA Grand Slam of Golf at the Mid Ocean Club in Tucker's Town.
Such are the numbers of leading international insurance companies based in Bermuda that the territory is one of the world's largest reinsurance centers.
Bermuda's national cricket team participated in the Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies.
Intentional settlement of Bermuda began with the arrival of the Plough, in 1612.
Bermuda's most popular visitor attraction is the Royal Navy Dockyard and Museum.
Every year Bermuda hosts an International Film Festival, which shows many independent films.
Bermuda has had one Olympic medalist, Clarence Hill, who won a bronze medal in boxing.
Another important component of the original forest was Bermuda palmetto (Sabal bermudana), a small palm tree that now only grows in a few small patches, notably at Paget Marsh.
Bermuda's literary history was largely limited to non-Bermudian writers commenting on the island.
Bermuda lies on the western edge of the Sargasso Sea, an area with high salinity and temperature and few currents.
Most of the survivors of the Sea Venture had moved on to Jamestown in 1610 aboard two Bermuda-built ships.
Alfred Birdsey was one of the more famous and talented watercolorists; his impressionistic landscapes of Hamilton, Saint Georges, and the surrounding sailboats, homes, and bays of Bermuda are world renowned.
The only native reptile is the endangered Bermuda Skink, or Rock Lizard, (Eumeces longirostris).
Tourists arrive either by cruise ship or by air at Bermuda International Airport, the only airport on the island.
Among these was John Rolfe, who left a wife and child buried in Bermuda but in Jamestown would marry Pocahontas, a daughter of Powhatan.
Bermuda is divided into various "Parishes," in which there are some localities called "villages," such as Flatts Village, Tucker's Town, and Somerset Village.
John F. Kennedy, who was familiar with Bermuda, having made numerous personal visits.