Nobody Knows Precisely when Bermuda was Discovered Bermuda takes its name from Juan de Bermudez, who we know was able to thread his way through the reefs in 1515 and anchor his ship, La Garza, close to land. But as the Island appears on a map published by Peter Martyr in 1511, there is a theory that Bermudez might have been our first return visitor. On his 1515 voyage, he had a distinguished historian aboard, a man called Gonzales Ferdinando d’Oviedo, who wrote a brief account of the call. Foul weather, he said, prevented a planned landing. . |
Bermuda is known to have been populated by wild hogs when Henry May and the company of the Sea Venture were wrecked here. One writer says the 140 Sea Venture survivors dined on them for nine months, and didn’t seem to make much of a dent in their number. Perhaps in thanks, the first coins issued in Bermuda were called Hog Money. On the obverse face were a wild boar and the words Sommer Islands, and on the reverse, a ship under sail, with the Cross of St George at each masthead. |
Pastel Bermuda cottages are often regarded as a hallmark of the island, along with pink beaches and Bermuda shorts; the style has even been described as the country's only indigenous art form. In addition to the local style, historical military buildings and forts and modern office buildings are highly visible. The historical architecture of Bermuda has received recognition from UNESCO, with the Town of St. George and some twenty-two forts and military facilities in St. George's Parish being declared World Heritage Sites.