idents typically add bleach to make the water safe to drink. Average annual temperature of the sea is 23 °C (73 °F), from 20 °C (68 °F) in January to 28 °C (82 °F) in August.[9] Climate data for Hamilton – capital of Bermuda Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high °C (°F) 20 (68) 19 (66) 20 (68) 21 (70) 24 (75) 27 (81) 29 (84) 29 (84) 28 (82) 26 (79) 23 (73) 21 (70) 24 (75) Daily mean °C (°F) 18 (64) 17 (63) 18 (64) 19 (66) 22 (72) 24 (75) 26 (79) 27 (81) 26 (79) 23 (73) 21 (70) 18 (64) 22 (72) Average low °C (°F) 16 (61) 15 (59) 15 (59) 16 (61) 19 (66) 22 (72) 24 (75) 24 (75) 23 (73) 21 (70) 18 (64) 16 (61) 19 (66) Precipitation mm (inches) 128.5 (5.059) 115.3 (4.539) 110.0 (4.331) 87.90 (3.4606) 82.80 (3.2598) 130.3 (5.13) 114.6 (4.512) 130.8 (5.15) 129.3 (5.091) 161.3 (6.35) 104.6 (4.118) 114.3 (4.5) 1,409.7 (55.5) Avg. precipitation days (= 0.01 inch) 17 15 15 12 10 12 13 14 15 16 13 17 171 Sunshine hours 155 145 155 240 248 270 279 279 240 186 180 124 2,501 Source: Bermuda Weather Service[10], weather2travel.com[9] for data of sunshine hours Climate data for Hamilton – capital of Bermuda Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high °C (°F) 20 (68) 20 (68) 20 (68) 21 (70) 23 (73) 27 (81) 29 (84) 30 (86) 28 (82) 26 (79) 23 (73) 21 (70) 24 (75) Daily mean °C (°F) 18 (64) 17 (63) 18 (64) 19 (66) 22 (72) 25 (77) 27 (81) 27 (81) 26 (79) 24 (75) 21 (70) 19 (66) 22 (72) Average low °C (°F) 16 (61) 15 (59) 15 (59) 17 (63) 20 (68) 22 (72) 25 (77) 25 (77) 24 (75) 22 (72) 19 (66) 17 (63) 20 (68) Precipitation mm (inches) 120 (4.72) 110 (4.33) 100 (3.94) 80 (3.15) 70 (2.76) 120 (4.72) 110 (4.33) 120 (4.72) 120 (4.72) 160 (6.3) 100 (3.94) 110 (4.33) 1,400 (55.12) Source: Weatherbase[11] Flora and fauna Young Bermuda cedar at Ferry Reach. Main article: Flora and fauna in Bermuda When discovered, Bermuda was uninhabited and mostly dominated by forests of Bermuda cedar (Juniperus bermudiana), with mangrove swamps along its shores. Only 165 of the island's current 1000 vascular plant species are considered native, and of those 15, including the cedar, are endemic. The only indigenous mammals of Bermuda are five species of bats, all of which also occur in the eastern United States—Lasionycteris noctivagans, Lasiurus borealis, Lasiurus cinereus, Lasiurus seminolus, and Perimyotis subflavus.[12] Other commonly known fauna of Bermuda includes its national bird, the Bermuda Petrel, and the Bermuda Rock Skink. The skink was long thought to have been the only indigenous land vertebrate of Bermuda, discounting the marine turtles that lay their eggs on its beaches. It has recently been discovered, however, that a species of terrapin, which had been assumed to have been introduced, predated the arrival of humans on the archipelago. As this species spends most of its time in brackish ponds, there is some question as to whether it negates the skink's claim to be the only indigenous land vertebrate. History Main article: History of Bermuda Pre-settlement Bermuda was discovered in 1505 by Spanish explorer Juan de Bermudez.[13] It is mentioned in Legatio Babylonica, published in 1511 by historian Pedro Mártir de Anglería, and was also included on Spanish charts of that year. Both Spanish and Portuguese ships used the islands as a replenishment spot for fresh meat and water. Legends of spirits and devils, now thought to have stemmed from the callings of raucous birds (most likely the Bermuda Petrel, or Cahow) and the loud noise heard at night from wild hogs, combined with perpetual storm-wracked conditions and a surrounding ring of treacherous reefs, led to the archipelago being called the Isle of Devils, and may have contributed to the lack of any attempt at permanent settlement. Settlement by the British John Smith wrote one of the first Histories of Bermuda (in concert with Virginia and New England) For the next century, the island is believed to have been visited frequently but not settled. After the failure of the first two English colonies in Virginia, a more determined effort was initiated by King James I of England (James VI of Scotland), 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 (as depicted on the territory's coat of arms), leaving the survivors in possession of a new territory. (William Shakespeare's play The Tempest is thought to have been inspired by William Strachey's account of this shipwreck.) [14] The island was claimed for the English Crown, and the charter of the Virginia Company was extended to include it. Most of the survivors of the Sea Venture carried on to Jamestown in 1610 aboard two Bermuda-built ships. Among them was John Rolfe, who left a wife (Sarah Hacker) and child buried in Bermuda before marrying Pocahontas, a daughter of Powhatan, in Jamestown. Intentional settlement of Bermuda began with the arrival of the Plough, in 1612. 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.[4] In 1615, the colony was passed to a new company, the Somers Isles Company (The Somers Isles remains an official name for the colony, named after Admiral Somers, just as Gate's Bay and Fort Gates are named after Sir Thomas Gates), formed by the same shareholders. The close ties with Virginia were commemorated even after Bermuda's separation by reference to the archipelago in many Virginian place names, such as Bermuda City, and Bermuda Hundred. The first British coins in America were struck here. Company colony Because of its limited land area, Bermuda has had difficulty with over-population. In the first two centuries of settlement it relied on steady human emigration to keep the population manageable. It is often claimed that, before the American Revolution more than ten thousand Bermudians (over half of the population) 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. With seafaring being the only real industry, by the end of the 18th century at least a third of the island's manpower was at sea at any one time. The archipelago's limited land area and resources led to the creation of what may be the earliest conservation laws of the New World. In 1616 and 1620 acts were passed banning the hunting of certain birds and young tortoises.[15] In 1649, the English Civil War raged and King Charles I was beheaded in Whitehall, London. The execution resulted in the outbreak of a Bermudian civil war; it was ended by militias. This created a strong sense of devotion to the crown for the majority of colonists and it forced those who did not swear allegiance, such as Puritans and independents, into exile in the Bahamas.[16] Bermuda Gazette of 12 November 1796, calling for privateering against Spain and its allies, and with advertisements for crew for two privateer vessels. In the 17th century the Somers Isles Company suppressed shipbuilding, as it needed Bermudians to farm in order to generate income from the land. Agricultural production met with only limited success, however. The Bermuda cedar boxes used to ship tobacco to England were reportedly worth more than their contents.[citation needed] The colony of Virginia far surpassed Bermuda in both quality and quantity of tobacco produced. Bermudians began to turn to maritime trades relatively early in the 17th century, but the Somers Isles Company used all its authority to suppress turning away from agriculture. This interference led to the islanders demanding, and receiving, the revocation of the Company's charter in 1684, the Company itself being dissolved. Maritime economy After the dissolution of the Somers Isle Company, Bermudians rapidly abandoned agriculture for shipbuilding, replanting farmland with the native juniper (Juniperus bermudiana, called Bermuda cedar) trees that grew thickly over the whole island. Establishing effective control over the Turks Islands, Bermudians deforested their landscape to begin the salt trade that became the world's largest and remained the cornerstone of Bermuda's economy for the next century. Bermudian sailors relied on more than salt, however. They vigorously pursued whaling, privateering, and the merchant trade. Vessels sailed the normal shipping routes, but were required to engage an enemy vessel no matter the size or strength, and as a result many ships were destroyed. The Bermuda sloop became highly regarded for speed and maneuverability. The Bermuda sloop HMS Pickle, one of the fastest vessels in the Royal Navy, brought the news of the victory at Trafalgar and the death of Admiral Nelson back to England. Fortress Bermuda An illustration of Devonshire Redoubt, Bermuda, 1614 After the American Revolution, the Royal Navy began improving the harbours and in 1811 started building the large dockyard on Ireland Island, in the west of the chain, to serve as its principal naval base guarding the western Atlantic Ocean shipping lanes. During the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States, the British attacks on Washington, D.C. and the Chesapeake (which prompted the writing of The Star-Spangled Banner) were planned and launched from Bermuda, where the headquarters of the Royal Navy's 'North American Station' had recently been moved from Halifax, Nova Scotia. The First Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps Contingent, raised in 1914. By the war's end, the two Bermuda contingents had lost over 75% of their combined strength. In 1816, James Arnold, the son of Benedict Arnold, fortified Bermuda's Royal Naval Dockyard against possible U.S. attacks.[17] Today, the "Maritime Museum" occupies the Keep of the Royal Naval Dockyard, including the Commissioner's House, and exhibits artefacts of the base's military history. As a result of Bermuda's proximity to the southeastern U.S. coast, it was regularly used by Confederate States blockade runners during the American Civil War to evade Union naval vessels and bring desperately needed war goods to the South from England. The old Globe Hotel in St George's, which was a centre of intrigue for Confederate agents, is preserved as a museum open to the public. Economic and political development In the early 20th century, as modern transport and communication systems developed, Bermuda became a popular destination for wealthy American, Canadian and British tourists arriving by frequent steamship service. In addition, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act enacted by the United States against its trading partners in 1930, cut off Bermuda's once-thriving agricultural export trade (primarily lilies and fresh vegetables to the U.S.), spurring the overseas territory to develop its tourist industry. Bermuda mid-1920s After several failed attempts, in 1930 the first aeroplane reached Bermuda. A Stinson Detroiter seaplane flying from New York, it had to land in the ocean once because of darkness and then again to refuel. Navigation and weather forecasting improved in 1933 when the Royal Air Force established a station at Bermuda and operated float planes from the harbour in coordination with the British fleet. In 1936 Luft Hansa began to experiment with seaplane flights from Berlin via the Azores with continuation to New York City.[18] In the late 1930s, Imperial Airways and Pan American World Airways began operating scheduled flying-boat airline services from New York and Baltimore to Darrell's Island, Bermuda. In 1948, regularly scheduled commercial airline service by land-based aeroplanes began to Kindley Field (now L.F. Wade International Airport), helping tourism to reach its peak in the 1960s–1970s. By the end of the 20th century, international business had supplanted tourism as the dominant sector of Bermuda's economy (see Economy of Bermuda). The S.S. Queen of Bermuda in Hamilton Harbour, December 1952 or January 1953 The S.S. Queen of Bermuda departing the island in December 1952 or January 1953 The Royal Naval Dockyard, and the attendant military garrison continued to be an important component of Bermuda's economy until the mid-20th century. In addition to considerable building work, the armed forces needed to source food and other materials from local vendors. Beginning in World War II, U.S. military installations also were located in Bermuda (see "Military" section, below, and Military of Bermuda). Universal adult suffrage and the development of a two-party political system occurred in the 1960s. Before universal suffrage, adopted as part of Bermuda's Constitution in 1967, voting was based on property ownership (see "Politics" section, below, and Politics of Bermuda). On 10 March 1973, then-Governor of Bermuda Richard Sharples was assassinated by local Black Power militants during a period of civil unrest in the 1970s. Parishes and municipalities Main article: Administrative divisions of Bermuda Parishes of Bermuda Bermuda is divided into nine parishes and two municipalities. Bermuda's nine parishes: Devonshire Hamilton Paget Pembroke St George's Sandys Smith's Southampton Warwick Bermuda's two incorporated municipalities: Hamilton (city) St George (town) Bermuda's two informal villages: Flatts Village Somerset Village Despite their names, Jones Village (in Warwick), Cashew City (St. George's), Claytown (Hamilton), Middle Town (Pembroke) and Tucker's Town (St. George's) are merely neighborhoods; Dandy Town and North Village are sports clubs and Harbour View Village is a small public housing development. Politics Main article: Politics of Bermuda Executive authority in Bermuda is vested in the monarch and is exercised on her behalf by the Governor. The governor is appointed by the Queen on the advice of the British Government. The current governor is Sir Richard Hugh Turton Gozney KCMG CVO; he was sworn in on 12 December 2007.[19] There is also a Deputy Governor (currently David ArkleyJP).[20] Defence and foreign affairs remain the responsibility of the United Kingdom, which also retains responsibility to ensure good government. It must approve any changes to the Constitution of Bermuda. Bermuda now exists as an overseas territory of Britain, but it is the oldest British colony. In 1620, a Royal Assent granted Bermuda limited self-governance, thus making the Parliament of Bermuda the fifth oldest in the world, behind only the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Tynwald of the Isle of Man, the Althing of Iceland and Sejm of Poland.[21] Of these, it is the only one to have met continuously as a legislature since its inception through to today. The State House, the home of Bermuda's parliament 1620–1815 Sessions House, current home of the House of Assembly and the Supreme Court The Constitution of Bermuda came into force on 1 June 1967 and was amended in 1989 and 2003. The head of government is the premier. A cabinet is nominated by the premier and appointed officially by the governor. The legislative branch consists of a bicameral parliament modelled on the Westminster system. The Senate is the upper house consisting of 11 members appointed by the governor on the advice of the premier and the leader of the opposition. The House of Assembly, or lower house, has 36 members elected by the eligible voting populace in secret ballot to represent geographically defined constituencies. Elections must be called at no more than five-year intervals. The Progressive Labour Party won the most recent general election held on 18 December 2007, winning 22 of 36 seats in the House of Assembly.[22] Following her victory at the Progressive Labour Party delegates' conference in October 2010, the current premier is Paula Cox. The One Bermuda Alliance serves in opposition. The Progressive Labour Party leadership favours independence from the United Kingdom, although polls have indicated that this is not supported by the population. While a referendum in 1995 on independence was defeated by a substantial margin, the Bermuda Industrial Union and the Progressive Labour Party (then in the Opposition) had called for a boycott of the referendum, having an unquantified impact on the result. There are few accredited diplomats in Bermuda. The United States maintains the largest diplomatic mission in Bermuda, comprising both the United States Consulate and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Services at the L.F. Wade International Airport. The current U.S. Consul General is Grace Shelton, who replaced Gregory W. Slayton as the U.S. Chief of Mission in Bermuda in August 2009. Given that the United States is by far Bermuda's largest trading partner (providing over 71% of total imports, 85% of tourist visitors, and an estimated $163 billion of U.S. capital in the Bermuda insurance/re-insurance industry alone, and the fact that an estimated 5% of Bermuda residents are U.S. citizens, which represents 14% of all foreign-born persons), American diplomatic presence is seen as an important element in the Bermuda political landscape. A General Election must be held in Bermuda every five years. Following the PLP's re-election in 2007, the next election must be held no later than 2012. Role in international relations As a British Overseas Territory, Bermuda has no seat in the United Nations and is represented by Britain in matters of foreign affairs. To promote its economic interests abroad Bermuda maintains representative offices in key influential cities such as London[23] and Washington D.C..[24] Bermuda's proximity to the United States has made it the site of past summit conferences between British Prime Ministers and U.S. Presidents. The first summit was held in December 1953, at the insistence of Prime Minister Winston Churchill, to discuss relations with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Participants at the conference included Churchill, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower and French Premier Joseph Laniel. In 1957, a second summit conference was held; this time British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan arrived earlier than President Eisenhower, to make it clear that they were meeting on British territory, as tensions were still high regarding the previous year's conflict over the Suez Canal. It was said the two discussed the general situation of the world. Macmillan returned in 1961 for the third summit with President John F. Kennedy, who was familiar with Bermuda, having made numerous personal visits. The meeting was called to discuss Cold War tensions arising from construction of the Berlin Wall. The most recent summit conference in Bermuda between the two powers occurred in 1990, when British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher met U.S. President George Bush.[25] Direct meetings between the President of the United States and the Premier of Bermuda have been rare. The most recent meeting was on 23 June 2008, between Premier Ewart Brown and President George W. Bush. Prior to this, the leaders of Bermuda and the United States had not met at the White House since a 1996 meeting between Premier David Saul and President Bill Clinton.[26] Asylum offered to four former Guantánamo detainees Main article: Uyghur detainees in Guantanamo #Bermuda On 11 June 2009, four Uyghurs who had been held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantánamo Bay detention camp, in Cuba were deported to Bermuda.[27][28][29][30] The four men were among 22 Uyghurs who claimed to be refugees, who were captured in 2001 in Pakistan after fleeing the American aerial bombardment of Afgha