Editing Bermuda (section)

==Politics==
{{main|Politics of Bermuda}}
[[File:Stamp Bermuda 1953 4.5p.jpg|thumb|left|[[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth&nbsp;II]] on a 1953 Bermudian stamp]]
Bermuda is an [[British Overseas Territory|Overseas Territory]] of the United Kingdom, and the [[Government of the United Kingdom]] is the sovereign government.<ref name="World Factbook"/> Executive authority in Bermuda is vested in the British monarch (currently [[Charles III]]) and is exercised on his behalf by the [[governor of Bermuda]].<ref name="World Factbook"/> The governor is appointed by the king on the advice of the [[British Government]]. Since January&nbsp;2025, the governor is [[Andrew Murdoch (diplomat)|Andrew Murdoch]]; he was sworn in on 23&nbsp;January 2025.<ref name=gov>{{cite web |date=3 March 2016 |title=The Governor of Bermuda |url=https://www.gov.bm/governor-bermuda |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219232600/https://www.gov.bm/governor-bermuda |access-date=30 January 2025 |website=www.gov.bm |language=en |archive-date=19 December 2024 }}</ref> There is also a deputy governor (currently Tom Oppenheim).<ref name=gov/><ref>{{cite web |title=Deputy Governor Swearing-In (1 May 2022) |url=https://www.gov.bm/articles/deputy-governor-swearing |website=Government of Bermuda |access-date=19 May 2024}}</ref>

Defence and foreign affairs are the responsibility of the United Kingdom, which also retains responsibility to ensure good government and must approve any changes to the Constitution of Bermuda. Bermuda is Britain's oldest overseas territory. Although the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|UK Parliament]] retains ultimate legislative authority over the territory, in 1620, a Royal Proclamation granted Bermuda limited self-governance, delegating to the [[House of Assembly of Bermuda|House of Assembly]] of the [[Parliament of Bermuda]] the internal legislation of the colony. The Parliament of Bermuda is the fifth oldest legislature in the world, behind the [[Sejm]] of Poland, the [[Parliament of England]], the [[Tynwald]] of the [[Isle of Man]], and the [[Althing]] of [[Iceland]].<ref>{{cite report |author=Pethen, Valarie |year=1988 |title=Bermuda Report |edition=Second, 1985–1988 |page=17 |publisher=Department of Information Services |place=Bermuda}}</ref>

[[File:Bermuda-The State House.jpg|thumb|right|The [[State House, Bermuda|State House]] in [[St. George's, Bermuda|St. George's]], the home of Bermuda's [[Parliament of Bermuda|parliament]] between 1620 and 1815]]
[[File:Sessions House, Hamilton, Bermuda.jpg|thumb|right|The [[House of Assembly of Bermuda|Sessions House]] in [[Hamilton, Bermuda|Hamilton]], current home of the House of Assembly and the Supreme Court]]
The [[Constitution of Bermuda]] came into force in 1968 and has been amended several times since then.<ref name="World Factbook"/> The head of government is the [[premier of Bermuda]]; a cabinet is nominated by the premier and appointed officially by the governor.<ref name="World Factbook"/> The legislative branch consists of a [[bicameral parliament]] modelled on the [[Westminster system]].<ref name="World Factbook"/> The [[Senate of Bermuda|Senate]] is the upper house, consisting of 11 members appointed by the governor on the advice of the premier and the leader of the opposition. The [[House of Assembly of Bermuda|House of Assembly]], or lower house, has 36&nbsp;members, elected by the eligible voting populace in secret ballot to represent geographically defined constituencies.<ref name="World Factbook"/>

[[Elections in Bermuda|Elections]] for the Parliament of Bermuda must be called at no more than five-year intervals. The [[2020 Bermudian general election|most recent]] took place on 1 October 2020. Following this election, the [[Progressive Labour Party (Bermuda)|Progressive Labour Party]] held onto power, with [[Edward David Burt]] sworn in as Premier for the second time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Clifford |first=Ivan |title=Bermuda PLP 14-year reign ends with premier also losing seat |url=http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/bermuda_news/645454.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622065322/http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/news/bermuda_news/645454.html |archive-date=22 June 2013 |access-date=18 December 2012 |publisher=[[Caribbean360]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kent |first=Jonathan |date=18 December 2012 |title=Cannonier: 'Bermuda has seen a new day' |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20121217/NEWS/712179887 |access-date=18 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121221050126/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20121217/NEWS/712179887 |archive-date=21 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Strangeways |first=Sam |date=19 July 2017 |title=Burt cries 'Hallelujah' as victory for PLP is declared |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/politics/article/20170719/burt-cries-hallelujah-as-victory-for-plp-is-declared |url-status=live |access-date=14 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221156/http://www.royalgazette.com/politics/article/20170719/burt-cries-hallelujah-as-victory-for-plp-is-declared |archive-date=15 December 2017}}</ref>

There are few accredited diplomats in Bermuda. The United States maintains the largest diplomatic mission in Bermuda, comprising both the United States Consulate and the [[US Customs and Border Protection]] Services at the [[L.F. Wade International Airport]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Our Relationship: Policy & History |url=https://bm.usconsulate.gov/our-relationship/policy-history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917172306/https://bm.usconsulate.gov/our-relationship/policy-history/ |archive-date=17 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=bm.usconsulate.gov |publisher=Government of the United States of America |quote=Approximately 40 employees, including the Consul General, Deputy Principal Officer, Consul, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Port Director and officers are assigned to the Consulate General.}}</ref> The United States is Bermuda's largest trading partner (providing over 71% of total imports, 85% of tourist visitors, and an estimated $163 billion of US capital in the Bermuda insurance/re-insurance industry). According to the 2016 Bermuda census 5.6% of Bermuda residents were born in the US, representing over 18% of all foreign-born people.<ref name="2016 census">{{Cite web |title=2016 Census Report |url=https://www.gov.bm/sites/default/files/2016%20Census%20Report.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715222940/https://www.gov.bm/sites/default/files/2016%20Census%20Report.pdf |archive-date=15 July 2020 |access-date=7 August 2020 |publisher=Government of Bermuda, Department of Statistics}}</ref>

===Nationality and citizenship===
{{main|British nationality law}}
[[File:Bermuda passport.jpg|left|thumb|upright=0.7|A British passport as issued by the Department of Immigration of the Government of Bermuda on behalf of the Passport Office of the Government of the United Kingdom, and often erroneously described as a [[Bermudian passport]]]]
Historically, English (later British) colonials shared the same citizenship as those born within that part of the sovereign territory of the [[Kingdom of England]] (including the [[Principality of Wales]]) that lay within the [[Island of Britain]] (although [[Magna Carta]] had effectively created English citizenship,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Magna Carta, Petition of Right, History of Civil Liberties |url=https://www.humanrights.com/what-are-human-rights/brief-history/magna-carta.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721183912/https://www.humanrights.com/what-are-human-rights/brief-history/magna-carta.html |archive-date=21 July 2021 |access-date=21 July 2021 |website=United for Human Rights |language=en}}</ref> citizens were still termed 'subjects of the King of England' or 'English subjects'. With the [[Acts of Union 1707|1707 union of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland]], this was replaced with 'British Subject', which encompassed citizens throughout the sovereign territory of the British Government, including its colonies, though not the [[British protectorate]]s). With no [[Representative government|representation]] at the sovereign or national level of government, British colonials were therefore not consulted, or required to give their consent, to a series of Acts passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom between 1968 and 1982, which were to limit their rights and ultimately change their citizenship.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Warwick |first=Professor (of Political Science) John |date=24 September 2007 |title=Race and the development of Immigration policy during the 20th century |url=https://john-warwick.blogspot.com/2007/09/race-and-development-of-immigration.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128160137/http://john-warwick.blogspot.com/2007/09/race-and-development-of-immigration.html |archive-date=28 January 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=Race and the development of Immigration policy during the 20th century |publisher=Professor John Warwick |quote=issues of race and racial exclusion were undoubtedly the biggest factor in legislation and policy developments regarding citizenship law and the right of abode in the UK during the second half of the twentieth century.}}</ref>

When several colonies had been elevated before the [[Second World War]] to [[Dominion]] status, collectively forming the old [[Commonwealth of Nations#Adoption and formalisation of the Commonwealth|British Commonwealth]] (as distinct from the United Kingdom and its dependent colonies), their citizens remained British Subjects, and in theory, any British Subject born anywhere in the World had the same basic right to enter, reside, and work in the United Kingdom as a British Subject born in the United Kingdom whose parents were also both British Subjects born in the United Kingdom (although a number of governmental policies and practices acted to thwart the free exercise of these rights by various groups of colonials, including Greek Cypriots).<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Evan |last2=Varnava |first2=Andrekos |date=4 June 2018 |title=Restrictions on British colonial migrants in an era of free movement: the case of Cyprus |url=https://www.historyandpolicy.org/opinion-articles/articles/restrictions-on-british-colonial-migrants-in-an-era-of-free-movement-the-ca |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911110804/https://www.historyandpolicy.org/opinion-articles/articles/restrictions-on-british-colonial-migrants-in-an-era-of-free-movement-the-ca |archive-date=11 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=History & Policy |publisher=Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, University of London |quote=The British authorities sought to restrict further numbers from immigrating to Britain through a number of measures, despite the fact that Cypriots were British subjects. This was done predominantly through the refusal to issue passports, as well as requesting that those travelling from the island pay a surety bond. The British limited the number of passports issued to Cypriots intending to travel to Britain. To obtain a passport for Britain, Cypriots had to pay a bond (in case they had to be repatriated).}}</ref>

When the Dominions and an increasing number of colonies began choosing complete independence from the United Kingdom after the Second World War, the Commonwealth was transformed into a community of independent nations, or [[Commonwealth realm]]s, each recognising the British monarch as its own head of state (creating separate monarchies with the same person occupying all of the separate Thrones; the exception being republican India).<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=What Are the Commonwealth Realms? |url=https://www.monarchist.org.au/what_are_the_commonwealth_realms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911121444/https://www.monarchist.org.au/what_are_the_commonwealth_realms |archive-date=11 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=www.monarchist.org.au |publisher=Australian Monarchist League |quote=These are independent kingdoms where Elizabeth II is Queen and Sovereign. There are 16 of them (see below) and all are members of the Commonwealth of Nations. Each Realm, being independent of all the others, titles the Queen differently.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Canada: History and present government |url=https://www.royal.uk/canada |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817093631/https://www.royal.uk/canada |archive-date=17 August 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=Royal.UK |publisher=The Royal Household |quote=Canada has been a monarchy for centuries – first under the kings of France in the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, then under the British Crown in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and now as a kingdom in her own right. These lands had been occupied for thousands of years by Aboriginal Peoples who, now for many centuries, have maintained an enduring and very close relationship with the person of the Sovereign and the Crown of Canada.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Australia |url=https://www.royal.uk/australia |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190201044226/https://www.royal.uk/australia |archive-date=1 February 2019 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=Royal.UK |publisher=The Royal Household |quote=The Queen's relationship to Australia is unique. In all her duties, she speaks and acts as Queen of Australia, and not as Queen of the United Kingdom.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=The Commonwealth |url=https://www.royal.uk/commonwealth |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918112529/https://www.royal.uk/commonwealth |archive-date=18 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=Royal.UK |publisher=The Royal Household |quote=After achieving independence, India was the first of a number of countries which decided that, although they wished to become republics, they still wanted to remain within the Commonwealth.}}</ref>

'British Subject' was replaced by the [[British Nationality Act 1948]] with 'Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies' for the residents of the United Kingdom and its colonies, as well as for the [[Crown Dependencies]]. However, as it was desired to retain free movement for all Commonwealth Citizens throughout the Commonwealth, 'British Subject' was retained as a blanket nationality shared by Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies (the 'British realm') as well as the citizens of the various other Commonwealth realms.<ref name="Warwick">{{Cite web |last=Warwick |first=Professor (of Political Science) John |date=24 September 2007 |title=Race and the development of Immigration policy during the 20th century |url=https://john-warwick.blogspot.com/2007/09/race-and-development-of-immigration.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128160137/http://john-warwick.blogspot.com/2007/09/race-and-development-of-immigration.html |archive-date=28 January 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=Race and the development of Immigration policy during the 20th century |publisher=Professor John Warwick}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lidher |first=Sundeep |date=20 April 2018 |title=British citizenship and the windrush generation |url=https://www.runnymedetrust.org/blog/british-citizenship-and-the-windrush-generation |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911121445/https://www.runnymedetrust.org/blog/british-citizenship-and-the-windrush-generation |archive-date=11 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=www.runnymedetrust.org |publisher=The Runnymede Trust}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Pearsall |first=Mark |date=14 April 2014 |title=British nationality: subject or citizen? |url=https://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/british-nationality-subject-citizen/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911121449/https://media.nationalarchives.gov.uk/index.php/british-nationality-subject-citizen/ |archive-date=11 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=nationalarchives.gov.uk |publisher=British Government National Archives}}</ref> The inflow of [[people of colour]] to the United Kingdom in the 1940s and 1950s from both the remaining colonies and newly independent Commonwealth nations was responded to with a backlash that led to the passing of the [[Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962]], which restricted the rights of Commonwealth nationals to enter, reside and work in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Commonwealth Immigration control and legislation: The Commonwealth Immigration Act 1962 |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/commonwealth-immigration-control-legislation.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921232746/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/commonwealth-immigration-control-legislation.htm |archive-date=21 September 2022 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=nationalarchives.gov.uk |publisher=British Government National Archives |quote=Butler oversaw the production of the Bill that became the Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1962. This controlled the immigration of all Commonwealth passport holders (except those who held UK passports). Prospective immigrants now needed to apply for a work voucher, graded according to the applicant's employment prospects.}}</ref> This Act also allowed certain colonials (primarily ethnic-Indians in African colonies) to retain Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies if their colonies became independent, which was intended as a measure to ensure these people did not become [[Statelessness|stateless]] if they were denied the citizenship of their newly independent nation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Commonwealth Immigration control and legislation: The Commonwealth Immigration Act 1962 |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/commonwealth-immigration-control-legislation.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904140510/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/commonwealth-immigration-control-legislation.htm |archive-date=4 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=nationalarchives.gov.uk |publisher=British Government National Archives |quote=In 1967, Asians from Kenya and Uganda, fearing discrimination from their own national governments, began to arrive in Britain. They had retained their British citizenship following independence, and were therefore not subject to the act. The Conservative Enoch Powell and his associates campaigned for tighter controls. The Labour government responded with the Commonwealth Immigration Act of 1968. It extended control to those without a parent or grandparent who was born in or was a citizen of the UK.}}</ref>

Many ethnic-Indians from former African colonies (notably [[Kenya]]) subsequently relocated to the United Kingdom, in response to which the [[Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968]] was rapidly passed, stripping all British Subjects (including Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies) who were not born in the United Kingdom, and who did not have a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies parent or grandparent born in the United Kingdom or some other qualification (such as existing residence status), of the rights to freely enter, reside and work in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Migration's effect on Britain - government. Post-war British laws for and against immigration, 1945-1972: Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z8sdbk7/revision/4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911144833/https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z8sdbk7/revision/4 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=BBC News |quote=This act imposed strict quotas and removed automatic right of entry into Britain for Asian British passport holders (except those born in Britain or those who had a British parent or grandparent). The next Conservative government brought in further tough controls on immigration.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Commonwealth immigrants in the Modern Era, 1948-present |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zx93tyc/revision/2 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911144832/https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zx93tyc/revision/2 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=BBC News }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=26 November 2008 |title=ON THIS DAY 1950-2005: 26 November, 1968: Race discrimination law tightened |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/26/newsid_3220000/3220635.stm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206192711/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/26/newsid_3220000/3220635.stm |archive-date=6 December 2017 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=BBC News |quote=At the beginning of the year, up to 1,000 Kenyan Asians, who hold British passports, were arriving in Britain each month. Amid growing unrest, the government rushed through the Commonwealth Immigrants Act in March, restricting the number of Kenyan Asians who could enter the country to those who had a relative who was already a British resident. The new Race Relations Act is intended to counter-balance the Immigration Act, and so fulfil the government's promise to be "fair but tough" on immigrants}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/9/contents/enacted |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911144835/https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1968/9/contents/enacted |archive-date=11 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |publisher=British Government |quote=Status: This item of legislation is only available to download and view as PDF.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Malik |first=Kenan |date=4 March 2018 |title=Opinion: Race; Racist rhetoric hasn't been consigned to Britain's past |work=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/04/commonwealth-immigrants-act-1968-racism |url-status=live |access-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911144832/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/04/commonwealth-immigrants-act-1968-racism |archive-date=11 September 2021}}</ref>

Although the 1968 Act was intended primarily to bar immigration of specific British passport holders from Commonwealth countries in Africa, it amended the wording of the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1962 in such a way as to apply to all Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies who were not specifically excepted, including most colonials.

This was followed by the [[Immigration Act 1971]], which effectively divided Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies into two types, although their citizenship remained the same: Patrials, who were those from (or with a specified qualifying connection to) the United Kingdom itself, who retained the rights of free entry, abode, and work in the United Kingdom; and those born in the colonies (or in foreign countries to British Colonial parents), from whom those rights were denied.<ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Commonwealth Immigration control and legislation: The Commonwealth Immigration Act 1962 |url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/commonwealth-immigration-control-legislation.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210904140510/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/commonwealth-immigration-control-legislation.htm |archive-date=4 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=nationalarchives.gov.uk |publisher=British Government National Archives |quote=The Conservative government announced the Immigration Act of 1971. The act replaced employment vouchers with work permits, allowing only temporary residence. 'Patrials' (those with close UK associations) were exempted from the act.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Migration's effect on Britain - government. Post-war British laws for and against immigration, 1945-1972: Immigration Act 1971 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z8sdbk7/revision/4 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911144833/https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z8sdbk7/revision/4 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=BBC News |quote=This Act moved away from the employment vouchers scheme and established temporary work permits. The Act also introduced the category of 'patrial' which was a 'grandfather' clause: if you had a grandparent born in the UK then you were exempt from the immigration controls.}}</ref>

The [[British Nationality Act 1981]], which entered into force on 1 January 1983,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The British Nationality Act 1981 (Commencement) Order 1982 |url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1982/933/made |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401134239/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1982/933/made |archive-date=1 April 2019 |access-date=18 March 2019}}</ref> abolished British Subject status, and stripped colonials of their full British Citizenship of the United Kingdom and Colonies, replacing it with British Dependent Territories Citizenship, which entailed no right of abode or to work anywhere. This left Bermudians and most other erstwhile British colonials as British nationals without the rights of British citizenship.<ref>{{Cite Hansard |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/2001/jul/10/british-overseas-territories-bill-hl |speaker=Lord Waddington |title=British Overseas Territories Bill |house=House of Lords |date=10 July 2001 |column_start=1014 |column_end=1037 }} {{Cite web |title=British Overseas Territories Bill [H.L.] (Hansard, 10 July 2001) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/2001/jul/10/british-overseas-territories-bill-hl |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230160030/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/2001/jul/10/british-overseas-territories-bill-hl |archive-date=30 December 2016 |work=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=10 July 2001 |access-date=24 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="Warwick"/>

The exceptions were the [[Gibraltar]]ians (permitted to retain British Citizenship to also retain [[Citizenship of the European Union]]) and the [[Falkland Islands|Falkland Islanders]], who were permitted to retain the same new British Citizenship that became the default citizenship for those from the United Kingdom and the [[Crown Dependencies]].

The stripping of citizens' birthrights from Bermudians by the British Government in 1968 and 1971, and the change of their citizenship in 1983, violated the rights granted them by [[Royal Charter]]s at the founding of the colony. Bermuda (fully The Somers Isles or Islands of Bermuda) had been settled by the [[London Company]] (which had been in occupation of the archipelago since the 1609 wreck of the [[Sea Venture]]) in 1612, when it received its Third Royal Charter from [[James VI and I|King James I]], amending the boundaries of the [[Virginia Colony|First Colony of Virginia]] far enough across the Atlantic to include Bermuda. The citizenship rights guaranteed to settlers by King James I in the original Royal Charter of 10 April 1606, thereby applied to Bermudians:<ref>{{cite executive order |number=1 |title=Royal Charter of King James I to the Virginia Company of London |date=10 April 1601 |language=English |post=King of England}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=No. 1: First Charter of Virginia |url=https://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=K7GRIUBKMVRBL76 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911153733/https://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=K7GRIUBKMVRBL76 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=www.originalsources.com |publisher=Western Standard Publishing Company}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=No. 2: Second Charter of Virginia |url=https://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=KEPRJAXF2IKNNY6 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911153731/https://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=KEPRJAXF2IKNNY6 |archive-date=11 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=www.originalsources.com |publisher=Western Standard Publishing Company}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=No. 3: Third Charter of Virginia |url=https://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=K5WQWAFPH3Y9A4N |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911153729/https://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=K5WQWAFPH3Y9A4N |archive-date=11 September 2021 |access-date=11 September 2021 |website=www.originalsources.com |publisher=Western Standard Publishing Company}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Alsoe wee doe, for us, our heires and successors, declare by theise presentes that all and everie the parsons being our subjects which shall dwell and inhabit within everie or anie of the saide severall Colonies and plantacions and everie of theire children which shall happen to be borne within the limitts and precincts of the said severall Colonies and plantacions shall have and enjoy all liberties, franchises and immunites within anie of our other dominions to all intents and purposes as if they had been abiding and borne within this our realme of Englande or anie other of our saide dominions.<ref>[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36181/36181-h/36181-h.htm The Three Charters of the Virginia Company of London: the First Charter April 10, 1606, with an introduction by Samuel M. Bemiss, President, Virginia Historical Society. Virginia 350th Anniversary Celebration Corporation, Williamsburg, Virginia 1957] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414034703/https://www.gutenberg.org/files/36181/36181-h/36181-h.htm |date=14 April 2021 }}, Gutenberg.org</ref>}}

These rights were confirmed in the Royal Charter granted to the London Company's spin-off, the [[Somers Isles|Company of the City of London for the Plantacion of The Somers Isles]], in 1615 on Bermuda being separated from Virginia:

{{blockquote|And wee doe for vs our heires and successors declare by these Pnts, that all and euery persons being our subjects which shall goe and inhabite within the said Somer Ilandes and every of their children and posterity which shall happen to bee borne within the limits thereof shall haue and enjoy all libertyes franchesies and immunities of free denizens and natural subjectes within any of our dominions to all intents and purposes, as if they had beene abiding and borne within this our Kingdome of England or in any other of our Dominions<ref>Letters Patent of King James I, 1615. ''Memorials of the Discovery and Early Settlement of The Bermudas or Somers Islands'', Volume 1, by Lieutenant-General Sir John Henry Lefroy, Royal Artillery, [[Governor of Bermuda|Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda]] 1871–1877. The Bermuda Memorials Edition, 1981. The Bermuda Historical Society and The Bermuda National Trust (First Edition, London, 1877)</ref>}}

Bermuda is not the only territory whose citizenship rights were laid down in a Royal Charter. In regards to [[Saint Helena|St. Helena]], [[Tim Beaumont|Lord Beaumont of Whitley]] in the [[House of Lords]] debate on the British Overseas Territories Bill on 10 July 2001, stated:<ref>{{Cite web |title=British Overseas Territories Bill [H.L.] (Hansard, 10 July 2001) |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/2001/jul/10/british-overseas-territories-bill-hl |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230160030/http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/2001/jul/10/british-overseas-territories-bill-hl |archive-date=30 December 2016 |access-date=8 January 2021 |website=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |date=10 July 2001}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Citizenship was granted irrevocably by Charles I. It was taken away by Parliament because of growing opposition to immigration at the time.}}

Some Conservative Party backbenchers stated that it was the unpublished intention of the Conservative British Government to return to a single citizenship for the United Kingdom and all of the remaining territories once Hong Kong had been handed over to China. Whether this was so will never be known as by 1997 the Labour Party was in Government. The Labour Party had declared prior to the election that the colonies had been ill-treated by the British Nationality Act 1981, and it had made a pledge to return to a single citizenship for the United Kingdom and the remaining territories part of its election manifesto. Other matters took precedence, however, and this commitment was not acted upon during Labour's first term in Government. The House of Lords, in which multiple former colonial Governors sat (including former Governor of Bermuda Lord Waddington), lost patience and tabled and passed its own bill, then handed it down to the House of Commons to confirm in 2001. As a result, the British Dependent Territories were renamed the [[British Overseas Territory|British Overseas Territories]] in 2002 (the term 'dependent territory' had caused much ire in the former colonies, especially well-heeled and self-reliant Bermuda, as it implied not only that British Dependent Territories Citizens were 'other than British', but that their relationship to Britain and to 'real British people' was both inferior and parasitic).<ref name="FAC">[[#refFAC|House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee Overseas Territories Report]], pp. 145–47</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Warwick |first=Professor John |date=24 September 2007 |title=Professor John Warwick: Race and the development of Immigration policy during the 20th century |url=https://john-warwick.blogspot.com/2007/09/race-and-development-of-immigration.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128160137/http://john-warwick.blogspot.com/2007/09/race-and-development-of-immigration.html |archive-date=28 January 2021 |access-date=8 January 2021 |website=John-warwick.blogspot.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=May 2018 |title=Windrush scandal shows how 'Britishness' stinks |url=https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/46509/Windrush+scandal+shows+how+Britishness+stinks |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116063521/https://socialistworker.co.uk/art/46509/Windrush+scandal+shows+how+Britishness+stinks |archive-date=16 November 2020 |access-date=8 January 2021 |website=Socialistworker.co.uk}}</ref>

At the same time, although Labour had promised a return to a single citizenship for the United Kingdom, Crown dependencies, and all remaining territories, British Dependent Territories Citizenship, renamed British Overseas Territories Citizenship, remained the default citizenship for the territories, other than the Falkland Islands and Gibraltar (for which British Citizenship is still the default citizenship). The bars to residence and work in the United Kingdom that had been raised against holders of British Dependent Territories Citizenship by The British Nationality Act 1981 were, however, removed, and British Citizenship was made attainable by simply obtaining a second British passport with the citizenship recorded as British Citizen (requiring a change to passport legislation as prior to 2002, it had been illegal to possess two British Passports).<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/2001/jul/10/british-overseas-territories-bill-hl British Overseas Territories Bill [H.L.&#x5D]; House of Lords Debate, 10 July 2001. Volume 626, cc1014-37. UK Parliament website. [https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/2001/jul/10/british-overseas-territories-bill-hl]</ref>

In March 2021, the government implemented a new visa policy towards foreigners, through which residency can be obtained by way of investing at least $2.5&nbsp;million in "real estate, Bermuda government bonds, a contribution to the island's debt relief fund or the Bermuda Trust Fund, and charity", among other options. According to the Labour Minister, Jason Hayward, this step had to be taken to relieve some of the country's debt resulting from the Covid pandemic.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Konkina |first=Alina |title=Foreigners Can Obtain Residency In Bermuda By Investing From US$2.5 Million |url=https://www.ntltrust.com/news-/news-crbi/foreigners-can-obtain-residency-in-bermuda-by-investing-from-us25-million |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727083214/https://www.ntltrust.com/news-/news-crbi/foreigners-can-obtain-residency-in-bermuda-by-investing-from-us25-million |archive-date=27 July 2022 |access-date=27 July 2022 |website=NTL Trust |date=22 February 2021 |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Administrative divisions===
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Bermuda}}
[[File:Bermuda-divmap.png|thumb|Parishes of Bermuda]]

Bermuda is divided into nine [[Parish (administrative division)|parishes]] and two incorporated municipalities.<ref name="World Factbook" />

Bermuda's nine parishes are:
* [[Devonshire Parish|Devonshire]]
* [[Hamilton Parish|Hamilton]]
* [[Paget Parish|Paget]]
* [[Pembroke Parish|Pembroke]]
* [[Sandys Parish|Sandys]]
* [[Smith's Parish|Smith's]]
* [[Southampton Parish, Bermuda|Southampton]]
* [[St. George's Parish, Bermuda|St George's]]
* [[Warwick Parish|Warwick]]

Bermuda's two incorporated municipalities are:
* [[Hamilton, Bermuda|Hamilton]] (city)
* [[St. George's, Bermuda|St George's]] (town)

Bermuda's two informal villages are:
* [[Flatts Village, Bermuda|Flatts Village]]
* [[Somerset Village, Bermuda|Somerset Village]]

Jones Village in Warwick, Cashew City (St. George's), Claytown (Hamilton), Middle Town (Pembroke), and [[Tucker's Town]] (St. George's) are neighbourhoods (the original settlement at Tucker's Town was replaced with a golf course in the 1920s and the few houses in the area today are mostly on the water's edge of Castle Harbour or the adjacent peninsula); Dandy Town and North Village are sports clubs, and Harbour View Village is a small public housing development.

===International relations===
As a British Overseas Territory, Bermuda does not have a seat in the [[General Assembly of the United Nations|United Nations]]; it is represented by Britain in matters of [[Foreign and Commonwealth Office|foreign affairs]].<ref name="World Factbook" /> To promote its economic interests abroad, Bermuda maintains [[Representative of Bermuda, London|representative offices]] in London<ref>[http://www.londonoffice.gov.bm/ Bermuda Government office in London] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101018180412/http://www.londonoffice.gov.bm/ |date=18 October 2010 }}. Londonoffice.gov.bm. Retrieved 15 August 2012.</ref> and Washington, D.C.<ref>[http://www.dcoffice.gov.bm/ Bermuda Government office in Washington, D.C.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511073944/http://www.dcoffice.gov.bm/ |date=11 May 2011}}, Dcoffice.gov.bm. Retrieved 15 August 2012.</ref> Only the [[List of diplomatic missions of the United States#Europe|United States]] and Portugal have full-time diplomatic representation in Bermuda (the U.S. maintains a Consulate-General, and Portugal maintains a Consulate), while 17 countries maintain honorary consuls in Bermuda.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Embassies & consulates in Bermuda |date=12 July 2016 |website=Go to Bermuda |publisher=Bermuda Tourism Authority |url=https://www.gotobermuda.com/article/embassies-consulates-bermuda |url-status=live |access-date=27 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210927185725/https://www.gotobermuda.com/article/embassies-consulates-bermuda |archive-date=27 September 2021}}</ref>

Bermuda's proximity to the US had made it attractive as the site for summit conferences between British prime ministers and US presidents. The first summit was held in December 1953, at the insistence of Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]], to discuss relations with the [[Soviet Union]] during the [[Cold War]]. Participants included Churchill, US president [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] and French premier [[Joseph Laniel]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Young |first=John |date=1996 |chapter=The Western Summit at Bermuda, December 1953 |editor-last=Dunn |editor-first=David H. |title=Diplomacy at the Highest Level: The Evolution of International Summitry |series=Studies in Diplomacy |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK |isbn=978-1-349-24915-2 |pages=165–181 |doi=10.1007/978-1-349-24915-2_11 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1957 a second summit conference was held. The British prime minister, [[Harold Macmillan]], arrived earlier than President Eisenhower, to demonstrate they were meeting on British territory, as tensions were still high regarding the [[Suez Crisis|previous year's conflict over the Suez Canal]]. Macmillan returned in 1961 for the third summit with President [[John F. Kennedy]]. The meeting was called to discuss Cold War tensions arising from construction of the [[Berlin Wall]].<ref name="Visitors" />

The most recent summit conference in Bermuda between the two powers occurred in 1990, when British prime minister [[Margaret Thatcher]] met US president [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref name="Visitors">{{Cite web |last=Forbes |first=Keith |title=Bermuda's distinguished visitors over the years |url=http://www.bermuda-online.org/specialvisitors.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071009051111/http://www.bermuda-online.org/specialvisitors.htm |archive-date=9 October 2007 |access-date=22 September 2007 |website=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]]}}</ref>

Direct meetings between the president of the United States and the [[premier of Bermuda]] have been rare. The most recent meeting was on 23 June 2008, between Premier [[Ewart Brown]] and President [[George W. Bush]]. Prior to this, the leaders of Bermuda and the United States had not met at the White House since a 1996 meeting between Premier David Saul and President [[Bill Clinton]].<ref name="rg">{{Cite news |last=Kent |first=Jonathan |date=24 June 2008 |title=Premier meets the President |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20080624/NEWS/306249953 |access-date=4 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905065224/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20080624/NEWS/306249953 |archive-date=5 September 2018}}</ref>

Bermuda has also joined several other jurisdictions in efforts to protect the [[Sargasso Sea]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Shaw |first=David |date=27 May 2014 |title=Protecting the Sargasso Sea |url=http://www.sciencediplomacy.org/letter-field/2014/protecting-sargasso-sea |url-status=live |journal=Science & Diplomacy |volume=3 |issue=2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714164604/http://www.sciencediplomacy.org/letter-field/2014/protecting-sargasso-sea |archive-date=14 July 2014 |access-date=27 May 2014}}</ref>

In 2013 and 2017 Bermuda chaired the [[United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Jones, Simon |date=3 February 2013 |title=Bermuda rep elected chair of UKOTA |work=Bermuda Sun Ltd. |url=http://bermudasun.bm/Content/NEWS/Year-in-Review-2013/Article/Bermuda-rep-elected-chair-of-UKOTA/24/1332/63143 |url-status=live |access-date=24 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125193536/http://bermudasun.bm/Content/NEWS/Year-in-Review-2013/Article/Bermuda-rep-elected-chair-of-UKOTA/24/1332/63143 |archive-date=25 January 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1 February 2017 |title=Bermuda Elected Chair Of Territories Association |work=Bernews |url=http://bernews.com/2017/02/bermuda-elected-chair-of-territories-association/ |url-status=live |access-date=24 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125134702/http://bernews.com/2017/02/bermuda-elected-chair-of-territories-association/ |archive-date=25 January 2018}}</ref>

====Asylum offer to four former Guantánamo detainees====
{{main|1=Uyghur detainees at Guantanamo Bay#Bermuda|l1=Uyghur detainees at Guantanamo Bay: Bermuda}}

On 11 June 2009, four [[Uyghur people|Uyghurs]] who had been held in the United States [[Guantánamo Bay detention camp]], in [[Cuba]], were transferred to Bermuda.<ref name="AssociatedPress2009-06-11">{{Cite news |last=Barrett, Devlin |date=11 June 2009 |title=4 Chinese Muslims released from Guantanamo |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hXh3uNX3sav1yJUl6k1XFvjZaycgD98OG1R01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20191220225403/https://www.webcitation.org/5hS9ZCaJA?url=http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hXh3uNX3sav1yJUl6k1XFvjZaycgD98OG1R01 |archive-date=20 December 2019}}</ref><ref name="RadioFreeAsia2009-06-11">{{Cite news |date=11 June 2009 |title=Four Uyghur Detainees Released |publisher=[[Radio Free Asia]] |url=http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/release-06112009074832.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090614062626/http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/release-06112009074832.html |archive-date=14 June 2009}}</ref><ref name="RoyalGazette2009-06-11a">{{Cite news |date=11 June 2009 |title=Breaking News: Premier's statement on Guantanamo Bay |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d965ba30030000&sectionId=60 |access-date=11 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616154053/http://www.royalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d965ba30030000&sectionId=60 |archive-date=16 June 2009}}</ref><ref name="RoyalGazette2009-06-11b">{{Cite news |date=11 June 2009 |title=Breaking News update: Guantánamo decision taken "without permission" Governor to assess implications |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d965be30030000&sectionId=60 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630224929/http://www.royalgazette.com/siftology.royalgazette/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d965be30030000&sectionId=60 |archive-date=30 June 2009}}</ref> The four men were among 22 Uyghurs who claimed to be refugees who were captured in 2001 in Pakistan after fleeing the [[American aerial bombardment of Afghanistan]]. They were accused of training to assist the [[Taliban]]'s military. They were cleared as safe for release from Guantánamo in 2005 or 2006, but US domestic law prohibited deporting them back to China, their country of citizenship, because the US government determined that China was [[human rights in China|likely to violate]] their human rights.

In September 2008, the men were cleared of all suspicion and Judge Ricardo Urbina in Washington ordered their release. Congressional opposition to their admittance to the United States was strong<ref name="AssociatedPress2009-06-11" /> and the US failed to find a home for them until Bermuda and [[Palau]] agreed to accept the 22 men in June 2009.

The secret bilateral discussions that led to prisoner transfers between the US and the devolved Bermuda government sparked diplomatic ire from the United Kingdom, which was not consulted on the move despite Bermuda being a British territory. The British Foreign Office issued the following statement:

{{blockquote|We've underlined to the Bermuda Government that they should have consulted with the United Kingdom as to whether this falls within their competence or is a security issue, for which the Bermuda Government do not have delegated responsibility. We have made clear to the Bermuda Government the need for a security assessment, which we are now helping them to carry out, and we will decide on further steps as appropriate.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Leonard |first=Tom |date=11 June 2009 |title=British anger over Bermuda decision to take Guantanamo detainees |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/bermuda/5507926/British-anger-over-Bermuda-decision-to-take-Guantanamo-detainees.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=22 April 2017 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/centralamericaandthecaribbean/bermuda/5507926/British-anger-over-Bermuda-decision-to-take-Guantanamo-detainees.html |archive-date=10 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref>}}

In August 2018, the four Uyghurs were granted limited citizenship in Bermuda. The men now have the same rights as Bermudians except the right to vote.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bell |first=Jonathan |date=28 August 2018 |title=Uighur refugees granted citizenship |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/politics/article/20180827/uighur-refugees-granted-citizenship |url-status=live |access-date=31 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831191450/http://www.royalgazette.com/politics/article/20180827/uighur-refugees-granted-citizenship |archive-date=31 August 2019}}</ref>

====British North America, British West Indies and the Caribbean Community====
The British Government originally grouped Bermuda with North America (given its proximity, and Bermuda having been established as an extension of the [[Colony of Virginia]], and with [[Carolina Colony]], the nearest landfall, having been settled from Bermuda). After the acknowledgement by the British Government of the independence of [[Thirteen Colonies|thirteen continental colonies]] (including Virginia and the Carolinas) in 1783, Bermuda was generally grouped regionally by the British Government with [[The Maritimes]] and [[Newfoundland and Labrador]] (and more widely, as part of [[British North America]]), substantially nearer to Bermuda than is the Caribbean.

From 1783 through 1801, the British Empire, including British North America, was administered by the [[Home Office]] and by the [[Home Secretary]], then from 1801 to 1854 by the [[War Office]] (which became the ''War and Colonial Office'') and Secretary of State for War and Colonies (as the [[Secretary of State for War]] was renamed). From 1824, the [[British Empire]] was divided by the War and Colonial Office into four administrative departments, including ''North America'', the ''West Indies'', ''Mediterranean and Africa'', and ''Eastern Colonies'', of which the North American department included Bermuda.<ref>{{cite book |last=Young |first=Douglas MacMurray |date=1961 |title=The Colonial Office in The Early Nineteenth Century |publisher=Longmans |location=London, UK |page=55}}</ref> The [[Colonial Office]] and War Office, the [[Secretary of State for the Colonies]] and the Secretary of State for War, were all separated in 1854.<ref name="Maton95">{{Cite web |last=Maton |first=William F. |year=1998 |title=British Columbia Terms of Union |series=The Solon Law Archive |website=Solon.org |url=http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/bctu.html |url-status=live |access-date=22 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807080143/http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/bctu.html |archive-date=7 August 2011 |ref=Terms of Union}}</ref><ref name=Maton98>{{cite web |last=Maton |first=William F. |date=8 December 1995 |title=Prince Edward Island Terms of Union |series=The Solon Law Archive |website=Solon.org |url=http://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/peitu.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201127014912/https://www.solon.org/Constitutions/Canada/English/peitu.html |archive-date=27 November 2020 |ref=Edward}}</ref> The War Office, from then until the 1867 [[Canadian Confederation|confederation]] of the Dominion of Canada, split the military administration of the British colonial and foreign stations into nine districts with ''North America and North Atlantic'' including the station of ''Bermuda''.<ref>
{{Cite book |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Meteorological Observations at the Foreign and Colonial Stations of the Royal Engineers and the Army Medical Department 1852—1886. |date=1890 |publisher=Eyre and Spottiswoode |location=London, UK}}
</ref> The Colonial Office, by 1862, oversaw eight Colonies in British North America, which included Bermuda separately.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=1 October 1862 |title=Colonial Governors and Bishops |page=7 |work=The Wiltshire County Mirror |location=Salisbury, Wiltshire, England |quote=Our North American colonies are eight in number, - Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Bermuda, Vancouver Island, and British Columbia}}</ref> By 1867, administration of the [[South Atlantic Ocean]] archipelago of the [[Falkland Islands]], which had been colonised in 1833, had been added to the remit of the North American Department of the Colonial Office.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Birch |first1=Arthur N. |last2=Robinson |first2=William |date=1867 |title=The Colonial Office List for 1867 |location=London |publisher=Harrison |page=8 |quote=}}</ref> Following the 1867 [[Confederation of Canada|confederation]] of most of the British North American colonies to form the [[Dominion of Canada]], Bermuda and Newfoundland remained as the only British colonies in North America (although the Falkland Islands also continued to be administered by the North American Department of the Colonial Office).<ref>{{cite book |last=Fairfield |first=Edward |date=1878 |title=The Colonial Office List for 1878 |location=LONDON |publisher=Harrison and Sons |at=Page 17, PART II. — COLONIES .-- Colonies. North American. |quote=CANADA: PROVINCES OF CANADA-Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, North-west Territories, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island; NEWFOUNDLAND; BERMUDA; FALKLAND ISLANDS}}</ref> The reduction of the territory administered by the British Government would result in re-organisation of the Colonial Office. In 1901, the departments of the Colonial Office included the ''North American and Australasian'' department to which Bermuda was a part.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mercer |first1=W. H. |last2=Collins |first2=A. E. |date=1901 |title=The Colonial Office List for 1901 |location=LONDON |publisher=Harrison and Sons |page=xiii}}</ref> In 1907, the [[Colony of Newfoundland]] became the [[Dominion of Newfoundland]], leaving the [[Imperial fortress]] of Bermuda as the sole remaining British North American colony.

Bermuda, with a land mass totalling less than 21 square miles and a population of 17,535, could hardly constitute an Imperial administrative region on its own. By 1908, the Colonial Office included two departments (one overseeing dominion and [[British protectorate|protectorate]] business, the other colonial): The Crown Colonies Department was made up of a West Indian Division that included Bermuda, as well as Jamaica, Turks Islands, British Honduras, British Guiana, Bahamas, Bermuda, Trinidad, Barbados, Windward Islands, Leeward Islands, Falkland Islands, and St. Helena.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mercer |first1=W. H. |last2=Collins |first2=A. E. |date=1908 |title=The Colonial Office List for 1901 |location=London |publisher=Waterlow and Sons Limited |page=xiii }}</ref>

[[File:Military Governors and Staff Officers in British North America and West Indies 1778 and 1784.jpg|thumb|Military Governors and Staff Officers in British North America and West Indies, 1778 and 1784]]
Following Canadian confederation in 1867, the British political, naval and military hierarchy in Bermuda became increasingly separated from that of the Canadian Government (the [[Royal Navy]] headquarters for the [[North America and West Indies Station]] had spent summers at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and winters at Bermuda, but settled at Bermuda year round with the [[Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax]] finally being transferred to the [[Royal Canadian Navy]] in 1907, and the [[Bermuda Garrison]] had been placed under the military Commander-in-Chief America in New York during the American War of Independence, and had been part of the Nova Scotia Command thereafter, but became the separate ''Bermuda Command'' from the 1860s with the Major-General or Lieutenant-General appointed as Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda also filling the civil role of [[Governor of Bermuda]]), and Bermuda was increasingly perceived by the British Government as in, or at least grouped for convenience with, the British West Indies (although the established [[Church of England]] in Bermuda, which from 1825 to 1839 had been attached to the See of [[Nova Scotia]]) remained part of the [[Diocese of Newfoundland|Diocese of Newfoundland and Bermuda]] until 1879, when the Synod of the Church of England in Bermuda was formed and a Diocese of Bermuda became separate from the Diocese of Newfoundland, but continued to be grouped under the ''Bishop of Newfoundland and Bermuda'' until 1919, when Newfoundland and Bermuda each received its own bishop.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Piper |first=Liza |date=2000 |title=The Church of England |url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/anglicanism.php |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817010608/https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/anglicanism.php |archive-date=17 August 2021 |access-date=17 August 2021 |website=Heritage Newfoundland and Labrador |publisher=Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |date=<!--Not stated--> |title=Our History |url=https://anglicanenl.net/home/our-history |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210928125032/https://anglicanenl.net/home/our-history/ |archive-date=28 September 2021 |access-date=17 August 2021 |website=Anglican East NL |publisher=Anglican Diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador}}</ref> Newfoundland attained Dominion status in 1907, leaving the nearest other territories to Bermuda that were still within the [[Commonwealth realm|British Realm]] (a term which replaced ''Dominion'' in 1952 as the dominions and a number of colonies moved towards full political independence) as the British colonies in the [[British West Indies]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1812 |title=CIVIL LIST OF THE PROVINCE OF LOWER-CANADA 1828: GOVERNOR |magazine=The Quebec Almanack and British American Royal Kalendar for the Year 1828 |location=Quebec |publisher=Neilson and Cowan, No. 3 Mountain Street}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=1812 |title=STAFF of the ARMY in the Provinces of Nova-Scotia, New-Brunswick, and their Dependencies, including the Island of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward and Bermuda |magazine=The Quebec Almanack and British American Royal Kalendar for the Year 1828 |location=Quebec |publisher=Neilson and Cowan, No. 3 Mountain Street}}</ref>

Other denominations also at one time included Bermuda with Nova Scotia or Canada. Following the separation of the Church of England from the [[Roman Catholic Church]], Roman Catholic worship was outlawed in England (subsequently ''Britain'') and its colonies, including Bermuda, until the [[Roman Catholic Relief Act 1791]], and operated thereafter under restrictions until the Twentieth Century. Once Roman Catholic worship was established, Bermuda formed part of the [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth|Archdiocese of Halifax, Nova Scotia]] until 1953, when it was separated to become the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda|Apostolic Prefecture of Bermuda Islands]].<ref name="romancatholicbermuda_about-us">{{Cite web |last=<!--Not stated--> |title=A History Of Our Church |url=https://www.romancatholicbermuda.bm/about-us |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923114348/https://www.romancatholicbermuda.bm/about-us |archive-date=23 September 2021 |access-date=28 August 2021 |website=Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda |publisher=The Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda |quote=The Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda was established in 12th June 1967. Bermuda was served by the Diocesan clergy of Halifax until 1953, after which pastoral responsibility transferred to the Congregation of the Resurrection.}}</ref> The congregation of the first [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]] in Bermuda (St. John African Methodist Episcopal Church, erected in 1885 in [[Hamilton Parish, Bermuda|Hamilton Parish]]) had previously been part of the [[British Methodist Episcopal Church]] of Canada.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chudleigh |first=Diana |url=https://www.bnt.bm/shop1/bermudas-architectural-heritage/bermuda-39-s-architectural-heritage-hamilton-parish-detail |title=Bermuda's Architectural Heritage: Hamilton Parish |date=2002 |publisher=The Bermuda National Trust |location=Bermuda |access-date=11 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828012312/https://www.bnt.bm/shop1/bermudas-architectural-heritage/bermuda-39-s-architectural-heritage-hamilton-parish-detail |archive-date=28 August 2021}}</ref><ref name="romancatholicbermuda_about-us"/>

An appreciable number of British West Indians immigrated to Bermuda during the course of the 20th Century, with some filling qualified roles and integrating into the community, but others working as labourers and often derided as criminals or "''jump ups''" competing for jobs and pushing down the cost of labour.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=23 August 2002 |title=Celebrating Jamaicans put 'jump-ups' tag behind them |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/article/20110203/celebrating-jamaicans-put-jump-ups-tag-behind-them |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=23 July 2024 |quote=JAMAICANS in Bermuda have come a long way in only a few years. Once laughingly dismissed as "jump-ups", they have since established themselves as pillars of our community, gaining recognition for the many worthy contributions they have made to the island.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Campbell |first=Sandra |url=https://www.thebermudian.com/heritage/heritage-heritage/power-prejudice-the-story-of-the-1902-dockyard-riots-the-reverend-charles-monk-trial |title=Power & Prejudice: The Story of the 1902 Dockyard Riots & The Reverend Charles Monk Trial |date=2 March 2023 |magazine=The Bermudian |location=Bermuda |publisher=The Bermudian }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Ziral |first=James A. |date=16 March 2023 |title=A Forgotton Chapter: Blacks in the Building of Dockyard |url=https://www.thebermudian.com/heritage/heritage-heritage/a-forgotton-chapter-blacks-in-the-building-of-dockyard/ |magazine=The Bermudian |location=Bermuda |publisher=The Bermudian |access-date=5 January 2024 |archive-date=13 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240713185234/https://www.thebermudian.com/heritage/heritage-heritage/a-forgotton-chapter-blacks-in-the-building-of-dockyard/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Shorto |first=Lieutenant-Colonel A. Gavin |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/article/20110204/the-roots-of-creole-charm/ |date=4 February 2011 |title=The roots of Creole charm |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=30 March 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Wilson |first=Ceola |date=24 August 2012 |title=Tributes for icon of Bermuda's West Indian community |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20120824/NEWS/708249993 |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=8 May 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Stovell |first=E. McNeil |date=8 December 2018 |title=Our Caribbean neighbours deserve more respect |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/opinion/article/20181208/our-caribbean-neighbours-deserve-more-respect |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=8 May 2024 }}</ref> In recent decades, West Indians also came to be associated in Bermuda with law enforcement. The difficulty faced by the [[Bermuda Police Service]] in obtaining recruits locally had long led to recruitment of constables from the British Isles, which resulted in criticism of the racial make up of the force not reflecting that of the wider community. Consequently, in 1966 the Bermuda Police Force (as it was then titled) began also recruiting constables from British West Indian police forces, starting with seven constables from Barbados.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=25 February 1966 |title=BERMUDA POLICE FORCE TRAINING SCHOOL |page=1 |work=The Bermuda Recorder |location=Bermuda }}</ref> Although the practice of recruiting from the British West Indies would continue, it was not deemed entirely successful. As the ''"Bermuda Report for the year 1971"'' recorded:

{{Blockquote|More recently police have been recruited from the Caribbean with a view to correcting the racial imbalance in the force. This has not been particularly successful, Bermudians regarding West Indians as much, if not more, expatriate as recruits from the United Kingdom, which has been and remains the main source of recruitment.<ref>{{cite report |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=1975 |title=Bermuda Report for the year 1971 |publisher=Her Majesty's Stationery Office (Printed in Bermuda by the Island Press Ltd) |at=pages 23 and 24 |isbn=0-11-580164-2}}</ref>}}
Despite the traditional antipathy some Bermudians had for West Indians, and despite Bermuda not being in the Caribbean region, Bermuda became an associate member of the [[Caribbean Community]] (CARICOM) in July 2003.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bermuda Government today |url=http://bermuda-online.org/bdagovt.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100702140057/http://www.bermuda-online.org/bdagovt.htm |archive-date=2 July 2010 |access-date=9 July 2010 |website=Bermuda-Online.org |quote=In July 2003, Bermuda formally joined the Caribbean Community as an Associate Member (non-voting member)...}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Jacobs |first=Stevenson |date=3 July 2003 |title=Premier signs Caricom deal |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20030703/NEWS/307039988 |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110114416/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20030703/NEWS/307039988 |archive-date=10 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Strengthening Bermuda's Links to the Caribbean: Associate Membership of the Caribbean Community |url=http://www.gov.bm/portal/erver.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_2043_223_990_43/http%3B/ptpublisher.gov.bm%3B7087/publishedcontent/publish/cabinet_office/central_policy_unit/dept___cpu___reports/articles/caricom_discussion_paper_3.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110114104/http://www.gov.bm/portal/erver.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_2043_223_990_43/http%3B/ptpublisher.gov.bm%3B7087/publishedcontent/publish/cabinet_office/central_policy_unit/dept___cpu___reports/articles/caricom_discussion_paper_3.pdf |archive-date=10 November 2012 |publisher=Government of Bermuda |type=Discussion paper}}</ref>

CARICOM is a [[socio-economic]] bloc of nations in or near the [[Caribbean Sea]] established in 1973. Other outlying member states include the Co-operative Republic of [[Guyana]] and the Republic of [[Suriname]] in South America, and [[Belize]] in Central America. The [[Turks and Caicos Islands]], an associate member of CARICOM, and the Commonwealth of [[The Bahamas]], a full member of CARICOM, are in the Atlantic, but close to the Caribbean. Other nearby nations or territories, such as the United States, are not members (although the US Commonwealth of [[Puerto Rico]] has [[observer status]], and the [[United States Virgin Islands]] announced in 2007 that they would seek ties with CARICOM). Bermuda has minimal trade with the Caribbean region, and little in common with it economically, being roughly {{convert|1000|mi|km|order=flip}} from the Caribbean Sea; it joined CARICOM primarily to strengthen cultural links with the region.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}}

Among some scholars,{{Who|date=August 2010}} "the Caribbean" can be a socio-historical category, commonly referring to a cultural zone characterised by the legacy of slavery (a characteristic Bermuda shared with the Caribbean and the US) and the plantation system (which did not exist in Bermuda). It embraces the islands and parts of the neighbouring continent, and may be extended to include the Caribbean Diaspora overseas.<ref name="acs-aec.org">[[Norman Girvan|Girvan, Norman]] (2001), {{Cite web |title=Reinterpreting the Caribbean |url=http://www.acs-aec.org/About/SG/Girvan/Speeches/rei1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110615225544/http://www.acs-aec.org/About/SG/Girvan/Speeches/rei1.htm |archive-date=15 June 2011 |access-date=5 August 2010}} In ''New Caribbean Thought'', Folke Lindahl and Brian Meeks (eds), UWI Press, pp. 3 ff. [https://books.google.com/books?id=mUC4PA7ZedYC&pg=PA3 Google Books] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412174947/https://books.google.com/books?id=mUC4PA7ZedYC&pg=PA3 |date=12 April 2016 }} {{ISBN|976-640-103-9}}</ref>

The PLP, which was the party in government when the decision was made to join CARICOM, has been dominated for decades by West Indians and their descendants. The prominent roles of West Indians among Bermuda's black politicians and labour activists predated party politics in Bermuda, as exemplified by [[E. F. Gordon]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 June 2011 |title=Dr EF Gordon – fought tirelessly for equal rights for black Bermudians |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110616/ISLAND11/706149914/-1 |url-status=live |access-date=14 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026051055/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110616/ISLAND11/706149914/-1 |archive-date=26 October 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hill, René |date=15 August 2011 |title=President aims to make West Indian Association more cohesive, responsive |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110815/ISLAND02/708159968 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140314000453/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20110815/ISLAND02/708159968 |archive-date=14 March 2014 |access-date=13 March 2014 |website=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]]}}</ref> The late PLP leader, Dame [[Lois Browne-Evans]] (whose parents and grandparents emigrated to Bermuda from [[Nevis]] and [[St. Kitts]] in 1914), and her [[Trinidad and Tobago|Trinidadian]]-born husband, John Evans (who co-founded the ''West Indian Association of Bermuda'' in 1976),<ref name="royalgazette.com">{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Ceola |date=24 August 2012 |title=Tributes for icon of Bermuda's West Indian community |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20120824/NEWS/708249993 |access-date=13 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313195214/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20120824/NEWS/708249993 |archive-date=13 March 2014}}</ref> were prominent members of this group. A generation later, PLP politicians included [[Premier of Bermuda|Premiers]] Dr. [[Ewart Brown]] (raised in Jamaica, with two Jamaican grandparents)<ref>{{cite news |last=Hainey |first=Raymond |date=1 November 1999 |title=Patterson tells Jamaicans they can aid their country  |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/business/article/20110208/patterson-tells-jamaicans-they-can-aid-their-country |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=23 July 2024 |quote=Transport Minister Dr. Ewart Brown, who went to school in Jamaica, and had two Jamaican grandparents, said he hoped Mr. Patterson's visit, the first by a Jamaican PM, would put an end to strains in the relationship between Atlantic Bermuda and its Caribbean neighbours. Dr. Brown said: "Tonight perhaps we can put to rest our ambivalent and sometimes schizoid attitude to West Indians." He added that the only school named after a black teacher in Bermuda was Victor Scott – who was a Jamaican.}}</ref> and [[Edward David Burt]] (whose mother is Jamaican),<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=23 July 2017 |title=New Bermuda premier a "miracle baby" |url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20170723/new-bermuda-premier-miracle-baby |work=The Gleaner |location=Jamaica |access-date=24 July 2024 |quote=An older sister of Bermuda's new Premier David Burt says he was a "miracle baby" as their Jamaican mother, Merlin, suffered complications during her pregnancy.}}</ref> Deputy Premier Walter Roban (son of Matthew Roban, from [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|St. Vincent and the Grenadines]]),<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |date=8 December 1998 |title=Roban: Happy to work in the shadows: He works quietly, believing in the gentle art of persuasion rather than decree. But, as Roger Crombie discovers, there  |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/business/article/20110209/roban-happy-to-work-in-the-shadows-he-works-quietly-believing-in-the-gentle-art-of-persuasion-rat |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=15 August 2024 |quote=Mr. Roban's father, Matthew Roban, came to Bermuda from St. Vincent and the Grenadines. He married Charlotte Pavey and the couple had two children, Walter and his sister Teresa Pavey Roban.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Jonathan Kent |date=15 August 2003 |title=Roban denies that PLP ran a racist campaign |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/other/article/20110203/roban-denies-that-plp-ran-a-racist-campaign |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=15 August 2024 |quote=He denied any PLP involvement with printed material that Mr. Swan said had appeared on sports club noticeboards and in the mail suggesting that UBP candidates were "carrying out the slavemaster's agenda". "Speaking as one of the campaign managers, I can say that no such material was produced by the PLP," said Mr. Roban. "This had nothing to do with the PLP. "Mr. Swan should be very careful about who he is aiming these accusations against. He seems to be accusing the people who operate these clubs. "Race plays a role in many aspects of Bermuda life and we are aware of that and deal with it with sensibility. We do not deal with it lightly, certainly not in a way that could abuse or insult people."}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Sékou Hendrickson |date=15 August 2024 |title=OBA leader says Walter Roban's criticisms are worn-out |url=https://www.royalgazette.com/politics/news/article/20240815/oba-leader-says-walter-robans-criticisms-are-worn-out |work=The Royal Gazette |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=15 August 2024 |quote=The Leader of the Opposition has hit back at an opinion piece by the former Deputy Premier, accusing its criticisms of being a repeat of old claims. Jarion Richardson added that Walter Roban's article, published in yesterday's edition of The Royal Gazette, reminded his party of how not to act. He said: "To Bermuda, we in the OBA double our commitment to not act like this Progressive Labour Party Government, to simplify government and governing, to exist solely to serve the interests of others.}}</ref> and Senator Rolfe Commissiong (son of Trinidadian musician [[Rudolph Patrick Commissiong]]).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Commissiong |first=Rudolph Patrick |date=2020 |title=Meet Rudolph Commissiong – a pioneer of steelband music – Arranger & Captain of Esso Dixie Stars – UpClose! |url=https://www.panonthenet.com/upclose/1950s/rudolph-commissiong.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210408181021/https://www.panonthenet.com/upclose/1950s/rudolph-commissiong.htm |archive-date=8 April 2021 |access-date=4 March 2022 |website=Pan on the Net }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--not stated--> |date=20 September 2011 |title=PLP Candidates: Commissiong & Rabain |work=BerNews |location=Bermuda |url=https://bernews.com/2011/09/plp-candidates-rolfe-commissiong-diallo-rabain |url-status=live |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801142427/http://bernews.com/2011/09/plp-candidates-rolfe-commissiong-diallo-rabain/ |archive-date=1 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=<!--not stated--> |date=10 October 2020 |title=Rolfe Commissiong No Longer In Cabinet |work=BerNews |location=Bermuda |url=https://bernews.com/2020/10/rolfe-commissiong-no-longer-in-cabinet/ |url-status=live |access-date=4 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220131130613/https://bernews.com/2020/10/rolfe-commissiong-no-longer-in-cabinet/ |archive-date=31 January 2022}}</ref> They have emphasised Bermuda's cultural connections with the West Indies. A number of Bermudians, both black and white, who lack family connections to the West Indies have objected to this emphasis.<ref name="royalgazette.com" /><ref>Wells, Phillip, [http://www.limeyinbermuda.com/2005/09/bic_releases_fi/comments/page/7/ "BIC releases final report"], ''A Limey in Bermuda'', 15 September 2005. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313212406/http://www.limeyinbermuda.com/2005/09/bic_releases_fi/comments/page/7/ |date=13 March 2014 }}</ref><ref>Wells, Philip, [http://www.limeyinbermuda.com/2005/11/open_mike_3/comments/page/3/ "Open mike: Bermuda and the Caribbean"], ''A Limey in Bermuda''. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140313223014/http://www.limeyinbermuda.com/2005/11/open_mike_3/comments/page/3/ |date=13 March 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Khalid al Wasi |date=12 April 2002 |title=The West Indianisation of Bermuda |url=https://archive.org/details/2002-04-12-mon-w-indianisation-of-bermuda-kalid-al-wasi |work=[[Mid-Ocean News]] |location=City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda |access-date=15 August 2024 |quote=}}</ref>

The decision to join CARICOM stirred up a huge amount of debate and speculation among the Bermudian community and politicians.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Karen |last2=Breen |first2=Stephen |date=14 December 2002 |title=Caricom set to pass |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20021214/NEWS/312149994 |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110114057/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20021214/NEWS/312149994 |archive-date=10 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=19 December 2002 |title=Welcome to Caricom |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20021219/COMMENT/312199980 |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110120332/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20021219/COMMENT/312199980 |archive-date=10 November 2012}}</ref> Opinion polls conducted by two Bermudian newspapers, ''[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]]'' and ''[[The Bermuda Sun]]'', showed that clear majorities of Bermudians were opposed to joining CARICOM.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Karen |last2=Breen |first2=Stephen |date=16 December 2002 |title=The 'ayes' have it in the great Caricom debate |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20021216/NEWS/312169990 |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110120625/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20021216/NEWS/312169990 |archive-date=10 November 2012}}</ref>

The UBP, which had been in government from 1968 to 1998, argued that joining CARICOM was detrimental to Bermuda's interests, in that:<ref>{{Cite news |last=Johnson |first=Ayo |date=18 June 2003 |title=UBP takes 'wait-and-see' stance on Caricom |work=[[The Royal Gazette (Bermuda)|The Royal Gazette]] |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20030618/NEWS/306189976 |access-date=15 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110114530/http://www.royalgazette.com/article/20030618/NEWS/306189976 |archive-date=10 November 2012}}</ref>
* Bermuda's trade with the West Indies is negligible, its primary economic partners being the US, Canada, and UK (it has no direct air or shipping links to Caribbean islands);
* CARICOM is moving towards a single economy;
* the Caribbean islands are generally competitors to Bermuda's already ailing tourism industry; and
* participation in CARICOM would involve considerable investment of money and the time of government officials that could more profitably be spent elsewhere.

===Police===
{{main|Bermuda Police Service}}
Law enforcement in Bermuda is provided chiefly by the [[Bermuda Police Service]] and is also supported with the Customs Department and Immigration Department. During certain times the [[Royal Bermuda Regiment]] can be called in to assist law enforcement personnel.

===Military and defence===
{{main|Military of Bermuda}}
{{more citations needed section|date=August 2019}}
[[File:BVRC-Great-War-Contingent 1914.jpg|thumb|The First [[Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps]] Contingent, raised in 1914. By the war's end, the two BVRC contingents had lost over 75% of their combined strength.]]
[[File:Rembrance Day Parade Bermuda.jpg|thumb|Remembrance Day Parade, Hamilton, Bermuda]]

A former [[Imperial fortress]] [[British Overseas Territory|colony]] once known as "the Gibraltar of the West" and "Fortress Bermuda", defence of Bermuda, as part of the British [[sovereign state]], is the responsibility of the British Government.

For the first two centuries of settlement, the most potent armed force operating from Bermuda was its merchant shipping fleet, which turned to [[privateering]] at every opportunity. The Bermuda government maintained a local (infantry) militia and fortified coastal artillery batteries manned by volunteer artillerymen. Bermuda tended toward the Royalist side during the [[English overseas possessions in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms|English Civil War]], being the first of six colonies to recognise [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] as King on the execution of his father, [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], in 1649, and was one of those targeted by the [[Rump Parliament]] in [[An Act for prohibiting Trade with the Barbadoes, Virginia, Bermuda and Antego]], which was passed on 30 October 1650. With control of the "army" (the militia and coastal artillery), the colony's Royalists deposed the Governor, Captain Thomas Turner, elected John Trimingham to replace him, and exiled a number of its Parliamentary leaning [[Independent (religion)|Independents]] to settle the [[Bahamas]] under [[William Sayle]] as the [[Eleutheran Adventurers]]. Bermuda's barrier reef, coastal artillery batteries and militia provided a defence too powerful for the fleet sent in 1651 by Parliament under the command of Admiral Sir [[George Ayscue]] to capture the Royalist colonies. The Parliamentary Navy was consequently forced to blockade Bermuda for several months 'til the Bermudians negotiated a peace.

After the [[American Revolutionary War]], Bermuda was established as the Western Atlantic headquarters of the ''North America Station'' (later called the [[North America and West Indies Station]], and later still the ''America and West Indies Station'' as it absorbed other stations) of the [[Royal Navy]]. Once the Royal Navy established a base and dockyard defended by regular soldiers, however, the militias were disbanded following the [[War of 1812]]. At the end of the 19th century, the colony raised volunteer units to form a reserve for the [[Bermuda Garrison|military garrison]].

Due to its isolated location in the [[North Atlantic Ocean]], Bermuda was vital to the Allies' war effort during both [[world war]]s of the 20th century, serving as a marshalling point for trans-Atlantic convoys, as well as a naval air base. By the Second World War, both the Royal Navy's [[Fleet Air Arm]] and the [[Royal Air Force]] were operating [[Seaplane]] bases on Bermuda.

In May 1940, the US requested base rights in Bermuda from the United Kingdom, but British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]] was initially unwilling to accede to the American request without getting something in return.<ref>Martin Gilbert, ''Churchill and America''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.</ref> In September 1940, as part of the [[Destroyers for Bases Agreement]], the UK granted the US base rights in Bermuda. Bermuda and [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]] were not originally included in the agreement, but both were added to it, with no war material received by the UK in exchange. One of the terms of the agreement was that the airfield the US Army built would be used jointly by the US and the UK (which it was for the duration of the war, with RAF Transport Command relocating there from [[Royal Air Force, Bermuda, 1939-1945|Darrell's Island]] in 1943). The US Army established the [[Bermuda Base Command]] in 1941 to co-ordinate its [[USAAF|air]], anti-aircraft, and [[United States Army Coast Artillery Corps|coast artillery]] assets during the war. The US Navy operated a [[USN Submarine Base, Ordnance Island, Bermuda|submarine base]] on [[Ordnance Island, Bermuda|Ordnance Island]] from 1942 through 1945.<ref name="bermuda-online.org" />

Construction began in 1941 of two airbases consisting of {{cvt|5.8|km2|1}} of land, largely reclaimed from the sea. For a number of years, Bermuda's bases were used by [[US Air Force]] transport and refuelling aircraft and by [[US Navy]] aircraft patrolling the Atlantic for enemy submarines, first [[Kriegsmarine|German]] and, later, [[Soviet Navy|Soviet]]. The principal installation, [[Kindley Air Force Base]] on the eastern coast, was transferred to the US Navy in 1970 and redesignated [[Naval Air Station Bermuda]]. As a naval air station, the base continued to host both transient and deployed USN and USAF aircraft, as well as transitioning or deployed Royal Air Force and [[Canadian Forces]] aircraft.

The original [[NAS Bermuda]] on the west side of the island, a [[seaplane]] base until the mid-1960s, was designated as the Naval Air Station Bermuda Annex. It provided optional anchorage and dockage facilities for transiting US Navy, [[US Coast Guard]] and [[NATO]] vessels, depending on size. An additional US Navy compound known as [[Naval Facility Bermuda]] (NAVFAC Bermuda), a submarine-detecting [[SOSUS]] station, was located to the west of the Annex near a Canadian Forces communications facility in the Tudor Hill area; it was converted from a US Army coast artillery bunker in 1954 and operated until 1995. Although leased for 99 years, US forces withdrew in 1995, as part of the wave of base closures following the end of the [[Cold War]].

Canada, which had operated a war-time naval base, [[HMCS Somers Isles|HMCS ''Somers Isles'']], on the old Royal Navy base at Convict Bay, St George's, also established a radio-listening post at Daniel's Head in the West End of the islands during this time.

In the 1950s, after the end of World War II, the Royal Naval dockyard and the military garrison were closed. A small Royal Navy supply base, [[HMS Malabar (shore establishment)|HMS ''Malabar'']], continued to operate within the dockyard area, supporting transiting Royal Navy ships and submarines until it, too, was closed in 1995, along with the American and Canadian bases.

[[File:HMS Ambuscade in Bermuda.jpg|thumb|[[HMS Ambuscade (F172)|HMS ''Ambuscade'']] at the [[Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda|Royal Naval Dockyard in 1988]]]]
Bermudians served in the British armed forces during both [[World War I]] and World War II. After the latter, Major-General [[Glyn Gilbert|Glyn Charles Anglim Gilbert]], Bermuda's highest-ranking soldier, was instrumental in developing the Royal Bermuda Regiment. A number of other Bermudians and their descendants had preceded him into senior ranks, including Bahamian-born Admiral [[James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier|Lord Gambier]], and Bermudian-born [[Royal Marines]] Brigadier A. John Harvey. When promoted to brigadier at age 38, following his wounding at the [[Allied invasion of Sicily]], Harvey became the youngest-ever Royal Marine Brigadier. The [[Cenotaph]] in front of the Cabinet Building (in Hamilton) was erected in tribute to Bermuda's Great War dead (the tribute was later extended to Bermuda's Second World War dead) and is the site of the annual [[Remembrance Day]] commemoration.

Today, the only military unit remaining in Bermuda, other than [[Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps|naval]] and army cadet corps, is the [[Royal Bermuda Regiment]], an amalgam of the voluntary units originally formed toward the end of the 19th century. Although the Regiment's predecessors were voluntary units, until 2018 the modern body was formed primarily by conscription: balloted males were required to serve for three years, two months part-time, once they turn 18. Conscription was abolished 1 July 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |date=23 June 2018 |title=MPs Pass Bill To Abolish Regiment Conscription |url=http://bernews.com/2018/06/mps-pass-bill-to-abolish-regiment-conscription/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220804054247/http://bernews.com/2018/06/mps-pass-bill-to-abolish-regiment-conscription/ |archive-date=4 August 2022 |access-date=15 March 2020 |website=Bernews}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Johnston |first=Paul |date=23 June 2018 |title=House votes to end conscription {{!}} The Royal Gazette:Bermuda News |url=http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20180623/house-votes-to-end-conscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190910053536/http://www.royalgazette.com/news/article/20180623/house-votes-to-end-conscription |archive-date=10 September 2019 |access-date=15 March 2020 |website=The Royal Gazette |language=en-US}}</ref>

In early 2020 the Royal Bermuda Regiment formed the Bermuda Coast Guard. Its 24-hour on-duty service includes search and rescue, counter-narcotics operations, border control, and protection of Bermuda's maritime interests. The Bermuda Coast Guard will interact with the rest of the Royal Bermuda Regiment and the Bermuda Police Service.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 February 2020 |title=Launch of Bermuda Coast Guard |url=https://www.gov.bm/articles/launch-bermuda-coast-guard |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308115633/https://www.gov.bm/articles/launch-bermuda-coast-guard |archive-date=8 March 2021 |access-date=8 January 2021 |website=Gov.bm}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-02-14 |title=Minister Caines On Bermuda Coast Guard |url=https://bernews.com/2020/02/bermuda-coast-guard/ |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=Bernews}}</ref>