Bermuda
150 small islands, only about 20 of which are inhabited, in the western Atlantic . Bermuda is situated about 920 km (575 miles) east of Cape Hattcras in North Carolina , the nearest point on the North American mainland. The largest island, Great Bermuda , is 21 km (13 miles) long, and is inked to the other main islands by bridges and causeways; their total land area is 53 km 2 (21 sq miles).
The islands were discovered by a Spaniard. Juan Bermudez, in 1503, but were uninhabited until 1609 when a party of British colonists led by Sir George Somcrs was shipwrecked there. In 1684, the British Crown took over the settlement, and today Bermuda is a self-governing colony with one of the oldest parliaments in the Commonwealth, dating from 1620. It adopted a new constitution in 1968. More than half the inhabitants are descendants of African slaves, introduced lo work on the land in the years before the abolition of slavery in 1834.
The hilly, limestone islands are the caps of ancient volcanoes rising from the seabed. Bermuda’s mild Gulf Stream climate, together with its proximity lo the USA , is the basis of a flourishing tourist industry. And a substantial income comes from the US naval and air bases on the islands, leased to the USA for 99 years in 1941. Many foreign banks and financial organizations operate to take advantage of the lenient tax laws for individuals. The capital, Hamilton , stands beside a deep, land-locked harbour on the main island of Great Bermuda .
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