Bermuda

"Me ship was a tidy little schooner name of Cobra. We were sailin’ in waters north of Bermuda, on our way back from an encounter we'd had with a Frenchy barque. Took a nice haul, we did. Ivory. We were ridin' low in the water, so laden we be."

- Hector Barbossa to assembled pirates at Shipwreck Cove

Bermuda is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, one of many British colonies around the world.

History
Bermuda takes its name from the Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermúdez, who sighted the uninhabited islands either in 1503 or 1515. The Spanish did not claim the islands, but they soon became an important navigational landmark for galleons crossing the Atlantic between Spain and the New World. Since Bermuda was surrounded by dangerous reefs, nautical misadventures cast the Spanish ashore on several occasions and littered the sea bed with enough booty for some people to consider scuba diving in Bermuda more than a recreational sport.

In 1609 Admiral Sir George Somers was en route from England with supplies for the English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, when his ship, Sea Venture, was wrecked off Bermuda. Finding it a rather pleasant place to be washed up, the admiral built replacement ships of fine Bermuda cedar, sailed off and left a couple of men behind to establish a English claim to the islands. Somers returned to Bermuda later that same year but died soon after arrival. The Engliish renamed Bermuda the Somers Islands in honor of the admiral, but the name failed to stick.

The Virginia Company took a keen interest in the islands after hearing of their suitability for colonisation, particularly in light of Jamestown's hostile relations with the local Indians. Only three years after Somers' misadventure, the company organized 60 settlers to establish a permanent colony on the islands. Unfortunately the islands were not as abundant as was first thought. The shallow topsoil limited agriculture and the lack of water prevented commercial crops like sugar cane from being introduced. The settlers soon became reliant on food imports from the American colonies, which they paid for by supplying sea salt secured from the Turks Islands.

For many years the Virginia Company, and then the Bermuda Company, ran the islands like a fiefdom. This wearied the settlers so much they sued to have the company's charter rescinded, and in 1684 Bermuda became a British crown colony. Slaves were first introduced in 1616, most of them brought forcibly from Africa though some were American Indians. They lived in degrading conditions but were generally employed as domestic servants or tradespeople rather than agricultural laborers.

Appearances
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Price of Freedom