Bermuda History

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Bermuda

History

The islands were discovered by Juan Bermúdez, probably in 1503, but were uninhabited until colonists under Sir George Somers were wrecked there in 1609. A company was formed for the ‘Plantation of the Somers’ Islands’, and in 1684 the Crown took over the government. A referendum in August 1995 rejected independence from the United Kingdom. Bermuda consists of a group of 138 islands and islets.^[1]

Timeline

Local Histories

Hayward, Walter Brownell. Bermuda Past and Present: A Descriptive and Historical Account of the Somer Islands. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1912. Digital version at DLOC - free.

Lefroy, John Henry. Memorials of the Discovery and Early Settlement of the Bermudas or Somers Islands, 1515-1687. 2 vols. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1877, 1879. Digital versions at Google Books: Vol. 1 | Vol. 2 - both free.

References

↑ The Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Family History Record Profile: West Indies,” Word document, private files of the FamilySearch Content Strategy Team, 1999.

[profile-1] The Family History Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, “Family History Record Profile: West Indies,” Word document, private files of the FamilySearch Content Strategy Team, 1999.

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