LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Bermuda
built 657 days ago
The Virginia Company took an interest in Bermuda after hearing of their mild climate and the fact Bermuda was at peace. Three years after Somers' adventure, the company organized 60 settlers to establish a permanent colony on Bermuda. Bermuda were not as abundant as was first thought. The topsoil was shallow and limited agriculture and the lack of water prevented crops like sugar cane from being grown. The settlers soon became dependant on food imports from the American colonies, which they paid for by supplying sea salt secured from other islands.
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In 1867 Bermuda was the final stop on Clemens's voyage to Europe and the Holy Land. In 1910 it was the destination of the final trip of his life: he left Bermuda just nine days before his death. He fled frequently to this refuge in his last years, visiting twice in 1907, twice in 1908, and returning in 1909 and 1910. He was always enchanted by the inhabitants of "that happy little paradise" ("The spectacle of an entire nation grovelling in contentment is an infuriating thing") and by "its peaceful serenities and its incomparable climate" ("The early twilight of a Sunday evening in . . . Bermuda, is an alluring time. There is just enough of whispering breeze, fragrance of flowers, and sense of repose to raise one's thoughts heavenward; and just enough amateur piano music to keep him reminded of the other place"). In Bermuda he found "no rush, no hurry, no money-getting frenzy, no fretting, no complaining, no fussing and quarreling; no telegrams, no daily newspapers, no railroads, no tramways, no subways, no trolleys, no Ls, no Tammany, no Republican party, no Democratic party, no graft, no office-seeking, no elections, no legislatures for sale; hardly a dog, seldom a cat, only one steam-whistle; not a saloon, nobody drunk; no W.C.T.U.; and there is a church and a school on every corner.
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Bermuda has over 100 fortifications built from 1612 through 1944. One of the oldest is Fort St. Catherine, constructed in 1614 by Governor Richard Moore, as a defense for Gate’s Bay, the original landing place of the foundering Sea Venture. The fort was further strengthened throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, the last significant improvements being the mounting of five muzzle-loading guns between 1865 and 1878. Only having ever fired two shots in anger against a passing Spanish vessel in the early 1700’s, the fort was used as a local training ground during the second world war.
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With its limited land area, Bermuda has had difficulty since then with its population growth. In the first two centuries of settlement, it relied on steady emigration to keep the population manageable. Before the American Revolution, more than ten thousand Bermudians emigrated, primarily to the American South, where Great Britain was displacing Spain as the dominant European imperial power. A steady trickle of outward migration continued as, by the end of the eighteenth century, with seafaring being the only real industry, at least a third of the island's manpower was at sea at any one time. This limited land area and resources led to the creation of what may have been the earliest conservation laws of the New World, when in 1616 and 1620 Acts were passed banning the hunting of certain birds and young tortoises[1]
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The islands of Bermuda are located 1000 km off the east coast of the United States in that part of the Western Atlantic known as the Sargasso Sea. Bermuda was created by volcanic eruptions along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge about 100 million years ago. At that time, the Atlantic Ocean was much narrower and Bermuda was in closer proximity to Europe and Africa. Seafloor spreading and the widening of the Atlantic shifted Bermuda away from the Eastern Hemisphere, while maintaining its position relative to the North American coast. During the early Pleistocene (about 1-2 million years ago), the top of the volcanic seamount was eroded down below sea level and corals began to grow around the margins... producing the only atoll in the North Atlantic. Today, the volcanic basement rocks of Bermuda are completely covered by limestone.
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Bermuda's national cricket team participated in the Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies. Their most famous player is a 130 kg (290 lbs, 20½ stone) police officer named Dwayne Leverock. He took a catch against India on the 20 March 2007. However, they now hold the world record for conceding the highest number of runs ever in the history of the World Cup. They conceded 413 runs in a 50 overs, one-day international, game against India. Also very well known is David Hemp, who is the current Glamorgan captain in English first class cricket.
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