Bermuda

Bermuda ( pron.: / b ɜr ˈ m juː d ə / ), also referred to as the Bermudas or the Somers Isles,[4] [5] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-samplelaw_6-0" style="line-height:1em;">[6] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-apostille_7-0" style="line-height:1em;">[7]  is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean, located off theeast coast of the United States. Its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 kilometres (640 mi) to the west-northwest. It is about 1,239 kilometres (770 mi) south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia, and 1,770 kilometres (1,100 mi) northeast of Miami. Its capital city is Hamilton.

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">Bermuda was discovered in 1505 by Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez, after whom the islands are named. He claimed the apparently uninhabited islands for the Spanish Empire. Although he paid two visits to the archipelago, Bermúdez was persuaded never to set foot on any of the islands by the dangerous reef surrounding them. Subsequent Spanish or other visitors are believed to have released the feral pigs that were abundant on the island when settlement began. In 1609, the Virginia Company, which had established Virginia and Jamestown on the American continent two years earlier, established a settlement on behalf of England. Initially, it was administered as an extension of Virginia by the Company until 1614, before its successor, the Somers Isles Company, took over until 1684, when the company's charter was revoked and the Crown took over administration of Bermuda. It became a British colony following the 1707 unification of the parliaments of Scotland and England, which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. After Newfoundland became part of Canada in 1949, Bermuda became the oldest (and, since the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the most populous) remaining British overseas territory. Its first capital, St. George's, was established in 1612 and is the oldest continuously-inhabited, English-speaking town in the New World.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Smithsonian_8-0" style="line-height:1em;">[8]

<p style="margin-top:0.4em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:19.1875px;font-family:sans-serif;">Bermuda's economy is primarily made up of offshore insurance and reinsurance and tourism. Offshore finance and tourism are its two largest economic sectors.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-Smithsonian_8-1" style="line-height:1em;">[8] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1em;">[9]  In 2005, Bermuda claimed to once have the world's highest GDP per capita, but, as Bermuda is classified as a British overseas territory rather than as an independent country, these statistics are difficult to verify. It has a subtropical climate.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-climate_10-0" style="line-height:1em;">[10]  Bermuda makes up the eastern- and northernmost point of the so-called Bermuda Triangle, a region of sea in which, according to urban legend, a number of aircraft and surface vessels have disappeared under supposedly unexplained or mysterious circumstances. The island is prone to severe weather, including powerful hurricanes. These have, at times, led to widespread power outages.