A Short History of

Bermuda

*found at AncestryInstitution.com

Bermuda was discovered by accident, literally. The first recorded sighting of the islands is in 1503 by the Iberians. Nothing was done as far as exploration because of the dangerous reef surrounding the islands and it was thought to be inhabited by evil spirits. The sea birds inhabiting the islands are what gave this impression with their loud cries. It was because of this the islands were given the initial name of Islands of Devils by the Spanish even though Juan Bermudez is credited with the discovery of the islands which bear his name. 

In the hundred years between the discovery and actual settlement of the islands, several ships of various nations were lost upon the shores. Survivors of these wrecks managed to either salvage enough of their vessels or were able to build smaller, new ones from the timber on the islands and make their way to the mainland and eventually to their homes.

The wreck which was instrumental in the settlement of  Bermuda came about in 1609. In June of that year, seven relief ships bound for Jamestown sailed from England with Admiral Sir George Somers in command. A sudden storm off the Azores caused the ships to become separated from each other. Then after more than seven weeks at sea, a hurricane struck. All seemed lost for the flag ship, the Sea Venture, when land was sighted where no land was supposed to be. Sir Somers managed to drive his ship towards the coast and striking the submerged reef, became stuck there. When the hurricane blew itself out, the crew lowered their longboats and landed all 150 persons safely ashore along with the tools from their stricken vessel.

The castaways launched one of the longboats in an effort to reach the mainland but it was lost and never heard from again. Meanwhile, they had not pinned all their hopes on just one small boat but had started building another ship of about 80 tons from materials of the Sea Venture. This new boat was christened the Deliverance. It was clear that the Deliverance would not be able to carry all the persons to Virginia so Sir Somers had a smaller vessel of about 30 tons also built from the cedars growing on the larger island. This ship they named the Patience and both were ready to sail in May 1610.

They sailed on May 10 and arrived in Jamestown two weeks later on the 24th of May. Their arrival caused a sensation first because they had been thought lost at sea and secondly, here they were, tanned, well fed while the 500 settlers of Jamestown had been decimated to am mere 60 either by starvation or killed by the Indians. Because of their desperate situation, Sir Somers set sail once again, this time for Bermuda to stock up on food supplies for the settlers.

Sir Somers was so exhausted by this time that he died on November 9th, 1610 on the island they had landed upon the previous year. His heart is buried on the island with his body being transported by the Patience back to England. This island is known as St. George's Island. It was from this time on that the islands were known as Somers or Summers Islands. 

Sir Thomas Gates had sailed from Jamestown in July 1610 for England with a very descriptive letter concerning the Bermuda adventure which was surly passed among the Virginia Company stockholders as they sought and received a new charter from King James for the settlement of this area. The Charter was dated 16 July 1612 and was the third Virginia Charter and with the payment of two thousand pounds it became the property of George Berkely, Richard Chamberlain, Martin, Robert Offeley, George Scott, William Wade, John Wolstenholme; also Henry, Earl of Southampton, William, Earl of Pembroke, William, Lord Paget, William, Lord Cavendish, Sir Robert Mansell, Sir Edwin Sandys; and Sir Thomas Smith as Governor of the Company (1)

The first permanent settlers, sixty in all, left on the 9th of May 1612 in the Plough with the first appointed Governor, Richard Moore. In 1613 the Elizabeth arrived with thirty settlers and the Martha with sixty. By 1615 a separate company was formed known as The Somers Island Company and was granted a separate Charter by King James.

When the original survey of the islands was made the land was divided into eight tribes (parishes) with each tribe containing 50 shares of 25-acre plots with the tribes being names for the principal shareholders of the Company. This survey was begun in 1616 and completed by 1617.

The first religion in the islands was the Church of England to which all had to pledge allegiance. As time went on however, in Bermuda as well as in England people were drifting away from the Church of England and were becoming Independent and Presbyterian. The Quakers started settling in Bermuda tho they were in minority and were a disapproved-of sect.

The mid to late 17th century saw Scottish prisoners being sent to Bermuda and sold as slaves. These people brought their superstitions of witchcraft with them. Captain Josias Forster was the Governor at the time and was fascinated by these beliefs and zestfully took part in the trials and persecutions of individuals accused of witchcraft. If a neighbors stock died or a child pined away after a friends visit you could be accused. Things such as a wart between the toes, failing to drown when thrown in the sea or a blue mark which wouldn't bleed could be cause enough for the hangman's noose. The first trial was in 1651 and the last in 1696 with 22 trials all together.