Bermuda (UK).
Information.
Bermuda (officially, the Bermudas or Somers Islands) is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Area - 53,3 sq.km. Population - 63 600 (2004). Capital - Hamilton. Bermuda is the oldest and most populous remaining British overseas territory, settled by England a century before the Acts of Union created the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Bermuda's first capital, St George's, was settled in 1612 and is the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the Americas. Bermuda has an affluent economy, with finance as its largest sector followed by tourism, giving it the world's highest GDP per capita in 2005. It has a subtropical climate. Bermuda was discovered in 1505 by Juan de Bermudez. Both Spanish and Portuguese ships used the islands as a replenishment spot for fresh meat and water. For the next century, the island is believed to have been visited frequently but not permanently settled. The first two English colonies in Virginia had failed, and a more determined effort was initiated by King James I of England, who granted a Royal Charter to the Virginia Company. In 1609, a flotilla of ships left England under the Company's Admiral, Sir George Somers, and the new Governor of Jamestown, Sir Thomas Gates, to relieve the colony of Jamestown, settled two years before. Somers had previous experience sailing with both Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh. The flotilla was broken up by a storm, and the flagship, the Sea Venture, was wrecked off Bermuda, leaving the survivors in possession of a new territory. The island was claimed for the English Crown, and the charter of the Virginia Company was extended to include it. St George's was settled in 1612 and made Bermuda's first capital. It is the oldest continually inhabited English town in the New World. Currency - Bermudian dollar (BMD).