Editing Bermuda (section)

==History==
{{main|History of Bermuda}}

===Discovery===
[[File:Map of Bermuda 1511 legatio babylonica.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Peter Martyr map|First map of]] the islands of Bermuda in 1511, made by [[Peter Martyr d'Anghiera]] in his book ''Legatio Babylonica''|alt=]]
Bermuda was discovered in the early 1500s by Spanish explorer Juan de Bermúdez.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica - Bermuda">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Bermuda |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica|Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Bermuda |access-date=23 August 2019 |edition=online |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528082525/https://www.britannica.com/place/Bermuda |archive-date=28 May 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Morison1974">{{Cite book |last=Morison |first=Samuel Elliot |title=The European Discovery of America: The southern voyages, 1492–1616 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1974 |isbn=9780195013771 |location=New York, NY |language=en}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=May 2023}} Bermuda had no [[Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean|Indigenous]] population when it was discovered, nor during initial British settlement a century later.{{sfn|McGovern|Harris|2018|p=10}} It was mentioned in ''[[Legatio Babylonica]]'', published in 1511 by historian [[Pedro Mártir|Pedro Mártir de Anglería]], and was included on Spanish charts of that year.<ref name="Frommers - History of Bermuda">{{Cite web |title=History in Bermuda |url=https://www.frommers.com/destinations/bermuda/in-depth/history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190823091941/https://www.frommers.com/destinations/bermuda/in-depth/history |archive-date=23 August 2019 |access-date=23 August 2019 |website=Frommer's}}</ref> Both Spanish and Portuguese ships used the islands as a replenishment spot to take on fresh meat and water. Shipwrecked Portuguese mariners are now thought to have been responsible for the 1543 inscription on [[Spittal Pond Nature Reserve|Portuguese Rock]], previously called Spanish Rock.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portuguese Rock |website=communityandculture.bm |place=Bermuda |publisher=Department of Community & Cultural Affairs |url=http://www.communityandculture.bm/pages/portuguese-rock |url-status=live |access-date=1 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017030428/http://www.communityandculture.bm/pages/portuguese-rock |archive-date=17 October 2018}}</ref> Legends arose of spirits and devils, now thought to have stemmed from the calls of raucous birds (most likely the [[Bermuda petrel]], or ''cahow'')<ref>{{cite news |title=The cahow: Saved from hog, rat, and man |date=2 December 1973 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/02/archives/no-longer-extinct-the-cahow-saved-from-hog-rat-and-man-cahow-david.html |url-status=live |access-date=13 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820015736/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/02/archives/no-longer-extinct-the-cahow-saved-from-hog-rat-and-man-cahow-david.html |archive-date=20 August 2019}}</ref> and loud nocturnal noises from introduced wild hogs.<ref>{{cite web |date=2 June 2016 |title=Haunted Bermuda: 5&nbsp;ghosts you might meet on the island |website=gotobermuda.com |publisher=Bermuda Tourism Authority |url=https://www.gotobermuda.com/list/haunted-bermuda-5-ghosts-you-might-meet-on-the-island |url-status=live |access-date=13 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919190805/https://www.gotobermuda.com/list/haunted-bermuda-5-ghosts-you-might-meet-on-the-island |archive-date=19 September 2020}}</ref> With its frequent storm-racked conditions and dangerous reefs, the archipelago became known as the "Isle of Devils".<ref>{{cite news |last=Baker |first=Juanae |date=31 October 2014 |title=Looking at the tale of the "Isle of Devils" |website=[[Bernews]] |url=http://bernews.com/2014/10/looking-tale-isle-devils/ |url-status=live |access-date=10 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811032854/http://bernews.com/2014/10/looking-tale-isle-devils/ |archive-date=11 August 2018}}</ref> Neither Spain nor Portugal attempted to settle it.

===Settlement by the British===
[[File:The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles by Captain John Smith.jpg|thumb|[[John Smith (explorer)|John Smith]] wrote one of the first [[The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles|histories of Bermuda]] in 1624 (combined with [[Virginia]] and [[New England]]).]]
For the next century, the island was frequently visited but not settled. The English began to focus on the New World, initially settling in [[Virginia]], starting British colonisation in North America, establishing a colony at [[Jamestown, Virginia]] in 1607. Two years later, a [[flotilla]] of seven ships left England with several hundred settlers, food, and supplies to relieve the Jamestown colony.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nicholls |first=Mark |date=3 May 2011 |title=Sir George Somers (1554–1610) |website=Encyclopedia Virginia |url=http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Somers_Sir_George_1554-1610 |url-status=live |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120709030535/http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Somers_Sir_George_1554-1610 |archive-date=9 July 2012}}</ref> However, the flotilla was broken up by a storm and the flagship, the ''[[Sea Venture]]'', drove onto Bermuda's reef to prevent her sinking, resulting in the survival of all her passengers and crew.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lefroy |first=John Henry |title=Memorials of the Discovery and Early Settlement of the Bermudas or Somers Islands 1515–1685, Volume I |date=1981 |publisher=The Bermuda Historical Society and The Bermuda National Trust (the first edition having been published in 1877, with funds provided by the Government of Bermuda), printed in Canada by The University of Toronto Press |location=Bermuda |page=49}}</ref><ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica - Bermuda"/> The settlers were unwilling to move on, having now heard about the true conditions in Jamestown from the sailors, and made multiple attempts to rebel and stay in Bermuda. They argued that they had a right to stay and establish their own government. The new settlement became a prison labour camp, and built two ships, the ''Deliverance'' and the ''Patience''.<ref name="Kelly">
{{cite web |last=Kelly |first=Joseph |date=24 June 2019 |title=How the survivor of a 1609 shipwreck brought democracy to America: Stephen Hopkins, colonist at both Jamestown and Plymouth, proposed a government based on consent of the governed |url=https://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2019/06/24/how-the-survivor-of-a-1609-shipwreck-brought-democracy-to-america/ideas/essay/ |access-date=19 February 2022 |website=zocalopublicsquare.org |type=essay}}
</ref>

In 1612, the English began settlement of the archipelago, officially named Virgineola,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sir George Somers |department=History of England |website=Historic-uk.com |url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Sir-George-Somers/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127044729/https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Sir-George-Somers/ |archive-date=27 January 2021}}</ref> with arrival of the ship the ''Plough''. New London (renamed St. George's Town) was settled that year and designated as the colony's first capital.<ref name=Smithsonian>{{cite magazine |title=Bermuda – history and heritage |date=6 November 2007 |magazine=[[Smithsonian (magazine)|Smithsonian]] |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/destination-hunter/bermuda-history-heritage.html |access-date=3 December 2008 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120524174308/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/destination-hunter/bermuda-history-heritage.html |archive-date=24 May 2012}}</ref><ref name="Frommers - History of Bermuda"/> It is the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the [[New World]].<ref name=Smithsonian/> In 1616 and 1620 acts were passed banning the hunting of certain birds and young [[tortoise]]s.<ref>{{cite report |author=Meggs, Martin |title=Developing a Small Island GIS: the Bermuda Experience |publisher=Bermuda Department of Planning}}</ref> The archipelago's limited land area and resources led to the creation of what may be the earliest conservation laws of the [[New World]].

====Slavery in Bermuda====
In 1615, the colony, which had been renamed the Somers Isles in commemoration of Sir [[George Somers]], was passed on to the [[Somers Isles Company]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bermuda's 400th birthday |date=11 February 2009 |website=Bearboa.files.wordpress.com |url=http://bearboat.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/tvlbt-bda-bd-11feb09_sailingtravel1.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=8 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221215346/http://bearboat.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/tvlbt-bda-bd-11feb09_sailingtravel1.pdf |archive-date=21 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Somers Garden |website=Bermuda-attractions.com |url=http://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_0002ae.htm |url-status=live |access-date=8 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103145820/http://www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda_0002ae.htm |archive-date=3 November 2012}}</ref> As Bermudians settled the [[Carolina Colony]] and contributed to establishing other [[British colonization of the Americas|English colonies in the Americas]], several other locations were named after the archipelago. During this period the first [[Slavery|slaves]] were held and trafficked to the islands. These were a mixture of native [[indigenous people of Africa|Africans]] who were trafficked to the Americas via the [[Atlantic slave trade|African slave trade]] and [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native Americans]] who were enslaved from the new world colonies.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica - Bermuda"/> The first two slaves arrived in Bermuda in 1616, not from Africa but from the West Indies, one being Black and the other Native American, after Bermuda Governor Tucker had sent the ship "''Edwin''" to the West Indies to find slaves to dive for pearls in Bermuda.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |date=23 February 2025 |title=Bermuda's Black History: The 17th and 18th Centuries |url=https://www.thebermudian.com/heritage/heritage-heritage/bermudas-black-history-the-17th-and-18th-centuries |website=The Bermudian magazine |location=Bermuda |publisher=The Bermudian |access-date=27 February 2025}}</ref> There proved to be no pearls to dive for. More black slaves were later trafficked to the island in large numbers, originating from America and the Caribbean.<ref name="slavery">{{cite web |title=History and Culture |url=https://bdalondonoffice.co.uk/discover-bermuda/history-and-culture/#:~:text=The%20first%20slaves%20were%20brought,Colony%20to%20import%20Black%20people. |website=bdalondonoffice.co.uk |publisher=Government of Bermuda |access-date=4 October 2024}}</ref>

As the black population grew, so did the fear of insurrection among the white settlers. In 1623, a law to restrain the insolence of the Negroes was passed in Bermuda. It forbade blacks to buy or sell, barter or exchange tobacco or any other produce for goods without the consent of their master. Unrest among the slaves predictably erupted several times over the next decades.  Major rebellions occurred in 1656, 1661, 1673, 1682, 1730 and 1761. In 1761 a conspiracy was discovered that involved the majority of the blacks on the island. Six slaves were executed and all black celebrations were prohibited.<ref>{{cite web |title=Slavery in Bermuda |url=https://www.sankofabermuda.com/time-line |website=sankabermuda |publisher=Sankofa Bermuda |access-date=4 October 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Slavery in Bermuda |url=https://historiclandlosscoi.bm/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/AL39-Bhattacharya-2017.pdf |website=www.bermuda-attractions.com/bermuda2 |publisher=Bermuda Attractions |access-date=4 October 2024}}</ref>

===Civil War===
{{main|English overseas possessions in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms}}
[[File:Bermuda Coronelli.jpg|thumb|Map of Bermuda by [[Vincenzo Coronelli]], 1 January 1692]]
In 1649, the [[English Civil War]] was taking place and King [[Charles I of England|Charles&nbsp;I]] was beheaded in [[Palace of Whitehall|Whitehall]], London. The conflict spilled over into Bermuda, where most of the colonists developed a strong sense of devotion to the Crown. The royalists ousted the Somers Isles Company's Governor and elected John Trimingham as their leader (see [[Governor of Bermuda]]). Bermuda's civil war was ended by militias, and dissenters were pushed to settle [[The Bahamas]] under [[William Sayle]].<ref>{{cite news |author=Forbes, Keith Archibald |title=Bermuda's History from 1500 to 1699 |website=bermuda-online.org |url=http://www.bermuda-online.org/history.htm |access-date=22 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170715004332/http://bermuda-online.org/history.htm |archive-date=15 July 2017}}</ref>

The rebellious [[cavalier|royalist]] colonies of Bermuda, Virginia, [[Barbados]] and [[Antigua]], were the subjects of [[An Act for prohibiting Trade with the Barbadoes, Virginia, Bermuda and Antego|an Act of the Rump Parliament of England]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Act for prohibiting Trade with the Barbadoes, Virginia, Bermuda, and Antego |date=October 1650 |website=British History Online (british-history.ac.uk) |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/acts-ordinances-interregnum/pp425-429 |url-status=live |access-date=15 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110023102/https://www.british-history.ac.uk/no-series/acts-ordinances-interregnum/pp425-429 |archive-date=10 January 2021}}</ref> The royalist colonies were also threatened with invasion. The Government of Bermuda eventually reached an agreement with the Parliament of England which retained the status quo in Bermuda. In 1655 fifty-four Bermudians became the first English subjects to permanently settle on the Island of [[Jamaica]], followed by a further (200) Bermudians in 1658, following [[Oliver Cromwell|Cromwell's]] [[Invasion of Jamaica]].<ref>Kennedy, Jean (1971). ″The Isle of Devils: Bermuda under the Somers Island Company 1609 – 1685.″ London: Collins. pp. 215, 266.</ref><ref>Wilkinson, Henry (1933). ″The Adventurers of Bermuda: A history of the island from its discovery until the dissolution of the Somers Island Company in 1684.″ London: Oxford University Press. pp. 300–301.</ref><ref>Jarvis, Michael J. (2010). "In the Eye of All Trade: Bermuda, Bermudians, and the Maritime Atlantic World, 1680–1783." Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. pp. 45, 67.</ref>

===Later 17th century===
[[File:Bermuda Gazette - 12 November 1796.jpg|thumb|right|''Bermuda Gazette'' of 12&nbsp;November 1796, calling for [[privateer]]ing against Spain and its allies; it has advertisements for crew for two privateer vessels.]]
In the 17th&nbsp;century, the Somers Isles Company suppressed shipbuilding, as it needed Bermudians to farm to generate income from the land. The Virginia colony, however, far surpassed Bermuda in quality and quantity of tobacco produced. Bermudians began to turn to maritime trades relatively early in the 17th&nbsp;century, but the Somers Isles Company used all its authority to suppress turning away from agriculture. This interference led to islanders demanding, and receiving, revocation of the company's charter in 1684, and the company was dissolved.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica - Bermuda"/>

Bermudians rapidly abandoned agriculture for shipbuilding, replanting farmland with the native juniper trees (''[[Juniperus bermudiana]]'', called Bermuda cedar). Establishing effective control over the [[Turks Islands]], Bermudians deforested their landscape to begin the salt trade. It became the world's largest and remained the cornerstone of Bermuda's economy for the next century. Bermudians also vigorously pursued [[whaling]], [[privateering]], and the merchant trade.{{CN|date=April 2025}}

Some islanders, especially in [[St. David's Island, Bermuda|St David's]], still trace their ancestry to Native Americans, and others are unaware that they have such ancestry. Hundreds of Native Americans were shipped to Bermuda. The best-known examples were the [[Algonquian peoples]] such as Pequots, Wampanoags, Podunks, Nipmucks, Narragansetts and others who were exiled from the [[New England]] colonies and sold into slavery in the seventeenth century, notably in the aftermaths of the [[Pequot War]] and [[King Philip's War]]; some are believed to have been brought from as far away as [[Mexico]].{{CN|date=April 2025}}

===The American War of Independence===
Bermuda's ambivalence towards the American rebellion changed in September&nbsp;1774, when the [[Continental Congress]] resolved to ban trade with Great Britain, Ireland, and the West Indies after 10&nbsp;September 1775. Such an embargo would mean the collapse of their inter-colonial commerce, famine and civil unrest. Lacking political channels with Great Britain, [[Henry Tucker (President of the Council of Bermuda)|the Tucker Family]] met in May&nbsp;1775 with eight other parishioners and resolved to send delegates to the Continental Congress in July, aiming for an exemption from the ban. Henry Tucker noted a clause in the ban which allowed the exchange of American goods for military supplies. The clause was confirmed by [[Benjamin Franklin]] when Tucker met with the Pennsylvania [[Committees of safety (American Revolution)|Committee of Safety]]. Independently, others confirmed this business arrangement with [[Peyton Randolph]], the Charlestown Committee of Safety, and [[George Washington]].<ref name=Jarvis>{{cite book |last=Jarvis |date=2010 |first=Michael |title=In the Eye of All Trade |place=Chapel Hill, NC |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=9780807872840 |pages=385–389}}</ref>

Three American boats, operating from Charlestown, Philadelphia and Newport, sailed to Bermuda, and on 14&nbsp;August 1775, 100&nbsp;barrels of gunpowder were taken from the Bermudian magazine while Governor [[George James Bruere]] slept, and loaded onto these boats. As a consequence, on 2&nbsp;October the Continental Congress exempted Bermuda from their trade ban, and Bermuda acquired a reputation for disloyalty. Later that year, the British Parliament passed the [[Prohibitory Act]] to prohibit trade with the American rebelling colonies and sent HMS ''Scorpion'' to keep watch over the island. The island's forts were stripped of cannons. Yet, wartime trade of contraband continued along well-established family connections. With 120 boats by 1775, Bermuda continued to trade with [[St. Eustatius]] until 1781 and provided salt to North American ports.<ref name=Jarvis/>{{rp|389–415}}

In June&nbsp;1776, HMS ''Nautilus'' secured the island, followed by {{HMS|Galatea|1776|6}} in September. Yet, the two British captains seemed more intent on capturing prize money, causing a severe food shortage on the island until the departure of ''Nautilus'' in October. After France's entry into the war in 1778, [[Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730)|Henry Clinton]] refortified the island under the command of Major [[William Sutherland (British Army officer)|William Sutherland]]. As a result, 91&nbsp;French and American ships were captured in the winter of 1778–1779, bringing the population once again to the brink of starvation. Bermudian trade was severely hampered by the combined efforts of the Royal Navy, the British garrison and [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|loyalist privateers]], such that famine struck the island in 1779.<ref name=Jarvis/>{{rp|416–427}}

Upon the death of George Bruere in 1780, the governorship passed to his son, George&nbsp;Jr., an active loyalist. Under his leadership, smuggling was stopped, and the Bermudian colonial government was populated with like-minded loyalists. Even Henry Tucker abandoned trading with the United States, because of the presence of multiple privateers.<ref name=Jarvis/>{{rp|428–433}}

''[[The Bermuda Gazette]]'', Bermuda's first newspaper, began publishing in 1784.<ref name=Stark>{{cite book |last=Stark |first=James Henry |year=1897 |title=Stark's Illustrated Bermuda Guide |quote=A description of everything on or about these places of which the visitor or resident may desire information, including their history, inhabitants, climate, agriculture, geology, government, and resources |publisher=J.H.&nbsp;Stark |place=Bermuda Island (Bermuda Islands) |page=250 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T11qAAAAMAAJ&q=1784%20bermuda%20stockdale&pg=PA150 |access-date=7 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414015429/https://books.google.com/books?id=T11qAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA150&q=1784%20bermuda%20stockdale |archive-date=14 April 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="200th">{{cite web |last=Rigby |first=Neil |date=26 January 1984 |title=1984 – 200th&nbsp;anniversary of Bermuda's first newspaper and postal service |website=bermudastamps.co.uk |url=http://www.bermudastamps.co.uk/1984/01/26/200th-anniversary-bermudas-first-newspaper-postal-service/ |url-status=live |access-date=7 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144144/http://www.bermudastamps.co.uk/1984/01/26/200th-anniversary-bermudas-first-newspaper-postal-service/ |archive-date=12 June 2018}}</ref><ref name=TBG>{{cite web |title=The Bermuda Gazette |publisher=[[United States Library of Congress]] |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/sn89049233/ |url-status=live |access-date=7 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140020/https://www.loc.gov/item/sn89049233/ |archive-date=12 June 2018}}</ref> The editor, [[Joseph Stockdale]], had been given financial incentive to move to Bermuda with his family and establish the newspaper. He also provided other printing services and operated Bermuda's first local postal service. The ''Bermuda Gazette'' was sold by subscription and delivered to subscribers, with Stockdale's employee also delivering mail for a fee.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stockdale |first=Joseph |date=17 January 1784 |title=Untitled advertisement |newspaper=Bermuda Gazette |place=Stockdale House, Printer's Alley, St.&nbsp;George's Town, St.&nbsp;George's Parish, Bermuda}}</ref>

===19th century===
[[File:Devonshire Redoubt (Bermuda).png|thumb|left|An illustration of the Devonshire Redoubt, Bermuda, 1614]]

After the [[American Revolution]], the [[Royal Navy]] began improving the harbours on the Bermudas. In 1811, work began on the large Royal Naval Dockyard on [[Ireland Island, Bermuda|Ireland Island]], which was to serve as the islands' principal naval base guarding the western Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes. To guard the dockyard, the [[British Army]] built the [[Bermuda Garrison]], and heavily fortified the archipelago.

During the [[War of 1812]] between Britain and the United States, the [[Burning of Washington|British attacks]] on Washington, D.C., and the [[Chesapeake Bay|Chesapeake]] were planned and launched from Bermuda, where the headquarters of the Royal Navy's [[North America and West Indies Station|North American Station]] had recently been moved from [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]].<ref>{{cite web |title=How Britain's Atlantic island territory played a role in eight different conflicts |date=23 July 2021 |department=Bermuda at War |website=MilitaryHistoryNow.com |url=https://militaryhistorynow.com/2021/07/22/bermuda-at-war-how-britains-atlantic-island-territory-played-a-role-in-eight-different-conflicts/ |url-status=live |access-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216033523/https://militaryhistorynow.com/2021/07/22/bermuda-at-war-how-britains-atlantic-island-territory-played-a-role-in-eight-different-conflicts/ |archive-date=16 February 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:The Harbor at St. George, Bermuda from Sugar Loaf Hill.jpg|thumb|right|Mullet Bay and the [[St. George's Harbour, Bermuda|harbour]] at [[St. George's, Bermuda|St.&nbsp;George's]], the original capital]] In 1816, James Arnold, the son of [[Benedict Arnold]], fortified Bermuda's Royal Naval Dockyard against possible US attacks.<ref>{{cite report |author=Howes, James |year=2005 |title=Attack on Baltimore launched from Bermuda in the ''War of 1812'' |website=atlascom.us |url=http://www.atlascom.us/keys.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315162318/http://www.atlascom.us/keys.htm |archive-date=15 March 2008}}</ref> Today, the [[National Museum of Bermuda]], which incorporates Bermuda's Maritime Museum, occupies the Keep of the Royal Naval Dockyard.

Due to its proximity to the southeastern US coast, Bermuda was frequently used during the [[American Civil War]] as a stopping point base for the [[Confederate States]]' [[Blockade runners of the American Civil War|blockade runners]] on their runs to and from the Southern states, and England, to evade Union naval vessels on blockade patrol.<ref name="Frommers - History of Bermuda"/><ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica - Bermuda"/> The blockade runners were then able to transport essential war goods from England and deliver valuable cotton back to England. The old Globe Hotel in St.&nbsp;George's, which was a centre of intrigue for Confederate agents, is preserved as a public museum.

====Anglo-Boer War====
During the [[Anglo-Boer War]] (1899–1902), 5,000&nbsp;[[Boer]] [[Prisoner of war|prisoners of war]] were housed on five islands of Bermuda. They were located according to their views of the war. "Bitterenders" ({{langx|af|[[Bittereinder]]s}}), who refused to pledge allegiance to the British Crown, were interned on [[Darrell's Island, Bermuda|Darrell's Island]] and closely guarded. Other islands such as [[Morgan's Island, Bermuda|Morgan's Island]]{{disambiguation needed|date=May 2025}} held 884&nbsp;men, including 27&nbsp;officers; [[Tucker's Island, Bermuda|Tucker's Island]] held 809&nbsp;Boer prisoners, Burt's Island 607, and [[Ports Island, Bermuda|Ports Island]] held 35. [[Hinson's Island, Bermuda|Hinson's Island]] housed underage prisoners. The camp cemetery is on [[Long Island, Bermuda|Long Island]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bermuda |department=Camps for Boers |website=Angloboerwar.com |url=http://www.angloboerwar.com/other-information/89-prisoner-of-war-camps/1838-camp-for-boers-bermuda |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212184554/https://www.angloboerwar.com/other-information/89-prisoner-of-war-camps/1838-camp-for-boers-bermuda |archive-date=12 December 2018 }}</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' reported an attempted mutiny by Boer prisoners of war en route to Bermuda and that martial law was enacted on Darrell's Island.<ref>{{cite news |title=The prisoner at Bermuda – Boers attempted to mutiny in the course of the voyage – martial law on Darrell's Island |orig-date=30 June 1901 |date=10 June 2012 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1901/06/30/archives/the-prisoners-at-bermuda-boers-attempted-to-mutiny-in-the-course-of.html |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029224716/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20615FB355F1B738DDDA90B94DE405B818CF1D3 |archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref>

The most famous escapee was the Boer prisoner of war Captain [[Fritz Joubert Duquesne]], who was serving a life sentence for "conspiracy against the British government and on (the charge of) espionage".{{sfn|Ronnie|1995|p=37}} On the night of 25&nbsp;June 1902, Duquesne slipped out of his tent, worked his way over a barbed-wire fence, swam {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} past patrol boats and bright spotlights, through storm-swept waters, using the distant [[Gibbs Hill Lighthouse]] for navigation until he arrived ashore on the main island.{{sfn|Ronnie|1995|pp=54, 63}} He settled in the U.S. and later became a spy for Germany in both World Wars. In 1942, Col.&nbsp;Duquesne was arrested by the [[FBI]] for leading the [[Duquesne Spy Ring]], which to this day remains the largest espionage case uncovered in the history of the United States.{{sfn|Duffy|2014|p=2}}

===20th and 21st centuries===
[[File:Bermuda harbour 1926.jpg|thumb|[[Hamilton Harbour, Bermuda|Hamilton Harbour]] in the mid-1920s]]
[[File:Winston Churchill visiting Bermuda for the Western Summit in December 1953.jpg|thumb|Winston Churchill hosted the Three-Powers Summit in 1953.]]
[[File:The Queen of Bermuda in Bermuda, late 1952 or very early 1953.jpg|thumb|The {{SS|Queen of Bermuda}} in Hamilton Harbour, c. Dec&nbsp;1952 / Jan&nbsp;1953]]
[[File:The Queen of Bermuda departing the island in December 1952 or January 1953.jpg|thumb|The S.S. ''Queen of Bermuda'' departing the island in December&nbsp;1952~January&nbsp;1953. The Devonshire Dock is in the foreground.]]
In the early 20th century Bermuda became a popular destination for American, Canadian and British tourists arriving by sea. The US [[Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act]] of 1930, which enacted protectionist trade [[tariffs]] on goods imported into the US, led to the demise of Bermuda's once-thriving agricultural export trade to America and encouraged development of tourism as an alternative source of income. The island was one of the centres for illegal alcohol smuggling during the era of [[Prohibition in the United States]] (1920–1933).<ref name="Frommers - History of Bermuda"/><ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica - Bermuda"/>

A rail line was constructed in Bermuda in the 1920s, opening in 1931 as the [[Bermuda Railway]], which was abandoned in 1948.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Horn |first=Simon |date=c. 2010 |title=Building the Bermuda Railway |website=bermudarailway.net |url=http://www.bermudarailway.net/then/history/building/building.html |url-status=dead |access-date=4 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140904140343/http://www.bermudarailway.net/then/history/building/building.html |archive-date=4 September 2014}}</ref> The right of way is now the Bermuda Railway Trail.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bermuda Railway Trail |publisher=Bermuda Dept. of Tourism |url=http://www.bermudatourism.com/180.aspx |access-date=14 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106092332/http://www.bermudatourism.com/180.aspx |archive-date=6 January 2010}}</ref>

In 1930, after several failed attempts, a [[Stinson Detroiter]] [[seaplane]] flew to Bermuda from New York City: It was the first aeroplane ever to reach the islands. In 1936, [[Deutsche Luft Hansa]] began to experiment with seaplane flights from [[Berlin]] via the [[Azores]] with continuation flights to New York City.<ref>{{cite web |title=Unusual place – unusual story – heroic crew |website=Old QSL cards (oldQSLcards.com) |url=http://oldqslcards.com/UNUSUAL_PLACE.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310164030/http://oldqslcards.com/UNUSUAL_PLACE.pdf |archive-date=10 March 2012}}</ref>

In 1937, [[Imperial Airways]] and [[Pan American World Airways|Pan American Airways]] began operating scheduled [[flying boat]] airline services from New York and [[Baltimore]] to [[Darrell's Island, Bermuda]]. In World War&nbsp;II, the [[Hamilton Princess & Beach Club|Hamilton Princess Hotel]] became a censorship centre. All mail, radio and telegraphic traffic bound for Europe, the US and the Far East was intercepted and analysed by 1,200&nbsp;censors, of British Imperial Censorship, part of [[British Security Coordination]] (BSC), before being routed to their destination.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hodgson |first=Tim |date=25 April 2016 |title=Celebrating a wartime spy chief |newspaper=The Royal Gazette |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/news/article/20160425/celebrating-a-wartime-spy-chief/ |url-status=live |access-date=12 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201013060307/https://www.royalgazette.com/other/news/article/20160425/celebrating-a-wartime-spy-chief/ |archive-date=13 October 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hamilton Princess & Beach Club |quote=a Fairmont managed hotel – luxury hotel in Hamilton |series=Fairmont, Hotels & Resorts |website=Fairmont.com |url=https://www.fairmont.com/hamilton-bermuda/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191012002635/https://www.fairmont.com/hamilton-bermuda/ |archive-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> With BSC working closely with the FBI, the censors were responsible for the discovery and arrest of a number of Axis spies operating in the US, including the [[Kurt Frederick Ludwig#Setting up the ring|Joe&nbsp;K ring]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Martin |first=David |date=11 November 2011 |title=Bermuda's WWII espionage role |website=BerNews |url=https://bernews.com/2011/11/bermudas-second-world-war-espionage-role/ |url-status=live |access-date=8 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107220921/http://bernews.com/2011/11/bermudas-second-world-war-espionage-role/ |archive-date=7 November 2020 }}</ref>

In 1948, a regularly scheduled commercial airline service began to operate, using land-based aeroplanes landing at [[Kindley Air Force Base|Kindley Field]] (now [[L.F. Wade International Airport]]), helping tourism to reach a peak in the 1960s and 1970s. By the end of the 1970s, however, international business had supplanted tourism as the dominant sector of Bermuda's economy.

The Royal Naval Dockyard and its attendant military garrison remained important to Bermuda's economy until the mid-20th century. In addition to considerable building work, the armed forces needed to source food and other materials from local vendors. Beginning in [[World War II]], US military installations were also located in Bermuda, including a [[Naval Air Station Bermuda Annex|naval air station]], and [[USN Submarine Base, Ordnance Island, Bermuda|submarine base]]. The American military presence lasted until 1995.<ref name="bermuda-online.org">{{Cite web |title=American military bases in Bermuda 1941 to 1995 |website=Bermuda Online |url=http://www.bermuda-online.org/milquit.htm |access-date=9 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109070825/http://www.bermuda-online.org/milquit.htm |archive-date=9 November 2018}}</ref>

Universal adult suffrage and development of a two-party political system took place in the 1960s.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica - Bermuda" /> Universal suffrage was adopted as part of Bermuda's Constitution in 1967; voting had previously been dependent on a certain level of property ownership.

On 10&nbsp;March 1973, the governor of Bermuda, [[Richard Sharples]], was assassinated by local [[Black Power movement|Black Power]] militants during a period of civil unrest.<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica - Bermuda"/> Some moves were made towards possible independence for the islands, however, this was decisively rejected in a [[1995 Bermudian independence referendum|referendum in 1995]].<ref name="Encyclopedia Britannica - Bermuda"/>

At the [[2020 Summer Olympics]], Bermuda became the smallest overseas territory to earn a gold medal, as [[Flora Duffy]] won Bermuda's first ever Olympic gold medal in the [[Triathlon at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Women's|women's triathlon]].<ref>{{cite news |author=O'Kane, Caitlin |date=27 July 2021 |title=Bermuda wins its first gold medal, becoming the smallest country to win gold at the Summer Olympics |website=[[CBS News]] (cbsnews.com) |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bermuda-olympics-gold-womens-triathlon/}}</ref>