Bermuda is in the North Atlantic Ocean (seven hundred and seventy-four miles from New York and three thousand miles from London).

Bermuda covers twenty-one square miles and consists of over one hundred and eighty islands and islets.

The highest point in Bermuda is Town Hill (76 m).

Bermuda is named after Juan de Bermudez, a Spanish seafarer, who discovered the island in 1503.

In 1609, after being shipwrecked on reefs off the shores of Bermuda, Admiral Sir George Somers established an English claim to the islands.

Bermuda became an English Colony in 1684.

Bermuda was also known as Somers Islands and the first capital was St. George's.

Hamilton has been the capital of Bermuda since 1815.

The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act (1807) prohibited the slave trade within the British Empire. (Slaves in the British colonies did not gain their freedom until the 1830s. The Abolition of Slavery Act (1833) began the process leading to emancipation).

Bermuda is an Overseas Territory of the UK with internal self-government.

The monarch of the UK is the chief of state of Bermuda and is represented in Bermuda by a governor.

In 1973 the Governor of Bermuda and his aide-de-camp were assassinated.

Bermuda is the oldest remaining British Colony and has one of the oldest parliamentary democracies in the world.

Bermuda is famous for Bermuda shorts, adapted from British military uniform for hot climates.

Tennis was introduced to the United States from Bermuda by an American sportswoman who set up the first US tennis court in Staten Island (New York).

Independence is under discussion in Bermuda but an independence referendum was defeated in 1995.

In 2002 the British Overseas Territories Act granted full British citizenship to Bermudans.

The Bermuda Triangle, a triangular area in the Atlantic, is said to be responsible for mysterious shipwrecks, disappearances and air crashes (the apexes of the triangle are Bermuda, Miami, Florida and San Juan, Puerto Rico).

In September 2003 Hurricane Fabian killed four people.

The Bermuda Independence Commission was set up at the end of 2004; this commission was formed to debate cutting ties with Britain.

In June 2009 Bermuda agreed to comply with internationally agreed tax standards, signing information exchange agreements with several countries.

Hurricane Igor caused flooding and loss of power to thousands of homes in Bermuda in September 2010.