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 21 sq miles

 65,500 (July 2000 est)
 Black 58%, White 36%, Other 6%

 $33,000 per capita (2000 est)
 $45,000 per working population (2001 est)
 Negligible

 Bermuda Dollar (BMD)
 BMD per USD - 1.0000 (fixed rate pegged to US Dollar)

 English (official), Portuguese

To some people, the name Bermuda is followed by one of two words: "shorts" or "triangle". Yet to sum up this tiny island 600 miles off the coast of North America in such a dismissive fashion is to neglect a complex culture. Part British, part American, sophisticated and sporty, Bermuda has a distinguished history, beautiful pink beaches, smart shops - and a great deal more.

Bermuda is just 2 hours away by air from US East Coast gateways New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore / Washington and Charlotte, N.C. and seven hours away from London, England. Warmed year round by the Gulf Stream, and protected by barrier reefs, Bermuda comprises 181 named islands islets and rocks.

History

The Isles of Bermuda was first visited, as far as anyone knows, by Juan de Bermudez, a Spaniard, in 1503. While Spain prevaricated for a century over whether Bermuda was worth settling, it was in 1609, when British Admiral, Sir George Somers, was en route from England with supplies for the recent British settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, when his ship, Sea Venture, was wrecked off Bermuda. Finding it a rather pleasant place to be washed up, the admiral built replacement ships of fine Bermuda cedar, sailed off and left a couple of men behind to establish a British claim to the islands. The experience of these temporary British castaways is thought to have inspired Shakespeare to write The Tempest. Somers returned to Bermuda later that same year but died soon after arrival. The British renamed Bermuda the Somers Islands in honor of the admiral, but the name failed to stick.

The Virginia Company took a keen interest in the islands after hearing of their suitability for colonization, particularly in light of Jamestown's hostile relations with the local Indians. Only three years after Somers' misadventure, the company organized 60 settlers to establish a permanent colony on the islands. Unfortunately the islands were not as abundant as was first thought. The shallow topsoil limited agriculture and the lack of water prevented commercial crops like sugar cane from being introduced. The settlers soon became reliant on food imports from the American colonies, which they paid for by supplying sea salt secured from the Turks Islands.

For many years the Virginia Company, and then the Bermuda Company, ran the islands like a fiefdom. This wearied the settlers so much they sued to have the company's charter rescinded, and in 1684 Bermuda became a British crown colony. Now a self-governing British Dependent Territory, Bermuda's legal and legislative bodies are fashioned after Great Britain's West Minister System.

Bermuda currently enjoys a thriving economy as a popular tourist location and a home for International business, most notably, Insurance and Re-Insurance companies.