The Somers Isles Company was formed in 1615 to operate the English colony of the Somers Isles, also known as Bermuda, as a commercial venture. Ba (officially The Bermuda Islands or The Somers Isles) is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. It held a Royal Charter for Bermuda until 1684, when it was dissolved, and the Crown assumed responsibility for the administration of the Colony.
Bermuda under the Virginia Company
Bermuda had been settled, inadvertently, in 1609 by the Virginia Company when its flagship, the Sea Venture, was wrecked on the reefs to its east. The Generall Historie of Virginia New-England and the Summer Isles is a book written by Captain John Smith, first published in 1624 Captain Sir John Smith (c January 1580– June 21 1631) Admiral of New England was an English Soldier, Sailor The Virginia Company refers collectively to a pair of English joint stock companies chartered by James I in 1606 with the purposes of establishing The Sea Venture was a 17th-century English sailing ship the wrecking of which in Bermuda is widely thought to have been the inspiration for Shakespeare's The Admiral of the Company, Sir George Somers, was at the helm as the ship fought a storm that had broken apart a relief fleet destined for Jamestown, the Virginian settlement established by the Company two years earlier. Admiral Sir George Somers (1554-1610 was a British naval hero Jamestown, located on Jamestown Island in the Virginia Colony, was founded on May 14 1607 He had deliberately driven the ship onto the reefs to prevent its foundering, thereby saving all aboard. The settlers and seamen spent ten months in Bermuda while they built two new ships to continue the voyage to Jamestown. During the building, the Sea Venture's longboat was fitted with a mast and sent to find Jamestown. Neither it, nor its crew, was ever seen again. When the Deliverance and Patience set sail for Jamestown, they left several people behind, some to maintain Somers' claim of the islands for England, some dead. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland Those aboard the two ships included Sir Thomas Gates, the military commander and future governor of Jamestown, William Strachey, whose account of the wrecking may later have inspired Shakespeare's "The Tempest", and John Rolfe, who would found Virginia's tobacco industry, and who left a wife and child buried in Bermuda. Sir Thomas Gates (fl 1585 - 1621) followed George Percy as governor of Jamestown the English colony of Virginia (now the Commonwealth of Virginia William Strachey (1572 – before June 21, 1621) was an English writer whose works are among the primary sources for the early history of the English colonization William Shakespeare ( baptised The Tempest is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. It is generally dated to 1610-11 and accepted as the last play written solely by him although John Rolfe (c 1585 &ndash 1622 was one of the early English settlers of North America. Rolfe would find a new bride in Powhatan princess, Pocahontas. The Powhatan (also spelled Powatan and Powhaten) or Powhatan Renape (literally the "Powhatan Human Beings" is the name of a Pocahontas (c 1595 – March 21 1617 was a Native American woman who married an Englishman John Rolfe, and became a celebrity in London in the last year of her
Jamestown, and the 60 survivors of its original 500 settlers, were found in such poor state that it was decided to abandon the settlement and return everyone to England. However, the timely arrival of another reflief fleet from England granted the colony a reprieve. However, the food shortage was made more critical by the newly arrived bellies. Somers decided to return to Bermuda aboard the Patience, captained by his nephew, Matthew, for provisions. He died in Bermuda, however, in 1610. Matthew Somers was keen to receive his inheritance (Sir George and his wife were childless, but had raised his two nephews,) and took the Patience to Somers' hometown, Lyme Regis, and not to Virginia.
When news reached England of the adventures of the Sea Venture's survivors, the royal charter of the Virginia Company was officially extended to include Bermuda, subsequently known also as The Somers Isles (and also as Virgineola). A Governor, Richard Moore, arrived in 1612 with settlers, aboard the Plough, to join those left behind by the Sea Venture and the Patience. The new settlers were primarily tenant farmers, who gave seven years of indentured servitude to the Company in exchange for the cost of transport. Although the primary industry was envisioned to be agriculture, the early Governors enthusiastically, if mostly unsuccessfully, attempted to develop other industries also. These included pearl diving (there are no pearls in Bermuda), and ambergris. The first two slaves to arrive in Bermuda, one black, one Native American, were brought in for their skills as pearl divers.
Formation of The Somers Isles Company
The Virginia Company ran Bermuda until 1614, when the Crown briefly took over the Colony's administration. The adventurers (shareholders) of the Virginia Company formed a second company, the Somers Isles Company, to which Bermuda was transferred in 1615. The Virginia Company was dissolved in 1622, with the administration of its continental colony passing to the Crown. The Somers Isles Company, with its separate charter, continued to administer Bermuda for another six decades.
Bermuda as a company colony
Most of Bermuda was subdivided into eight equally-sized tribes, later called parishes. These were named for shareholders in the Company, and were further divided (by tribe roads) into lots which equated to shares in the Company. The Company's return on investment came specifically from cash crops raised on that land. A ninth subdivision, now the eastern-most parish, was Saint George's, comprising Saint George's Island, Saint David's Island, part of the Main Island, and various smaller islands and islets around Castle Harbour (then known as Southampton Harbour) and Saint George's Harbour. St George's Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named in honour of the patron saint of England, though it is indirectly regarded as being named St George's Island is one of the main islands of the territory of Bermuda. St David's Island is one of the main islands of Bermuda. It is located in the far north of the territory one of the two similarly sized islands that makeup the majority of Castle Harbour is a large natural harbour in Bermuda. It is located between the northeastern end of the main island and St St George's Harbour is a natural harbour in the north of Bermuda. This area was held as common, or King's land, and was not subdivided for exploitation by the Company. This was where the capital, Saint George's Town was located. St George's (formally the Town of St George, or St George's Town) located on the island and within the parish of the same names was the first permanent settlement The choice of this location followed the original settlement created by the Sea Venture survivors, and was also determined by the two eastern harbours being the only ones then readily accessible to shipping. A surveyor, Richard Norwood, was hired to produce a survey of the colony, which also served as a census. This was completed in 1616, although he made later updates. In the process, he discovered that the total landmass of the eight commercial parishes was greater than originally estimated. He appropriated a choice piece of land, equivalent to the excess land, for himself.
Local government under the company
The Company continued to appoint governors until its dissolution in 1684. In 1620, however, a colonial parliament was created, the House of Assembly. The House of Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Bermuda. Suffrage was restricted to male land owners, and there was no upper house. An appointed council, composed primarily from the leading merchant families of the Colony, came to fill a role similar to both an upper house, and a cabinet, and often proved the true repository of power in Bermuda.
The immediate concern of the first governors was for the colony's protection from a feared Spanish or Dutch attack, and the building of fortifications, and the raising of militias, was sustained throughout the company's administration, and beyond. Bermuda Militias 1612-1815 Bermuda was settled inadvertently in 1609 by the Virginia Company. A review of the colony's defences was carried out by Captain John Smith. Captain Sir John Smith (c January 1580– June 21 1631) Admiral of New England was an English Soldier, Sailor
Immigration and demographics under the company
Immigration of indentured servants continued throughout the Company's administration, also, and this pool of cheap labour meant that Bermuda never developed the slavery-based economy that came to characterise other English agricultural colonies. Although the bulk of the population remained Anglo-Saxon at the end of the 17th century, a number of minority groups were established under the Company's management. For their language see Anglo-Saxon language. Anglo-Saxon is the term usually used to describe the invading Tribes in the south As England began to challenge Spain's supremacy in Florida and the West Indies, Spanish-speaking Blacks began to emigrate from territories taken from Spain. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. These immigrants arrived under the same conditions of indenture as most English immigrants, but the white majority soon became uneasy with the increasing numbers of blacks. The terms of indenture for black West Indian immigrants were consequently raised successively from seven years to ninety-nine. An attempt was also made to encourage Blacks to emigrate under threat of being enslaved. Numbers of Black slaves were also being imported to Bermuda, primarily as the result of shipwrecks, or as part of the prizes taken by privateers, although Bermudian vessels went as far as Africa specifically to acquire slaves. A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping As England's settlements in New England expanded, large areas were ethnically cleansed to make way for European expansion. History See also History of New England New England's earliest inhabitants were Algonquian -speaking Native Americans including the This resulted in various Algonquian peoples being shipped to Bermuda and sold into slavery, notably after the Pequot War and Metacomet's War. The Algonquian (also Algonkian, and pronounced both and) languages are a subfamily of Native American languages that includes most of the languages in the Algic The Pequot War was an armed conflict in 1636-1637 between an alliance of Massachusetts Bay and Plymouth colonies with Native American allies (the King Philip's War, sometimes called Metacom 's War or Metacom's Rebellion was an armed conflict between Native American inhabitants of A great many Native American slaves were being brought to Bermuda by other means, also, possibly from as far as Mexico. For indigenous peoples in the United States other than Hawaii and Alaska see also Native Americans in the United States. The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The third main minority group was composed of Irish prisoners-of-war (POW), and ethnically-cleansed civilians, shipped to the Colony and sold into slavery following Cromwell's bloody adventure in Ireland in the 1650s (see Cromwellian conquest of Ireland). Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɾlənd/ Éire) is the third largest island in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649-53 refers to the re-conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell Smaller numbers of Scottish POWs were also sent as a result of Cromwell's forcing his 'protectorship' on Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain.
Bermuda had tended towards the Royalist side in the English Civil War, perhaps because the shareholders of the Somers Isles Company were primarily nobles, but was largely spared the effects and the aftermath of that conflict. Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War ( 1642 &ndash 1651 The English Civil War (1642-1651 was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists. Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime
Economy and industry under the company
Agriculture remained the mainstay of the economy under the Somers Isles Company. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture An economic system is a System that involves the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services between The primary cash crop was tobacco, but the quantity and quality produced were very poor. Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. The Bermuda cedar boxes in which the tobacco was shipped to England were said to be worth more than their contents, and much of the tobacco was destroyed on arrival. Juniperus bermudiana is a species of Juniper endemic to Bermuda. The Colony also had little success with other export crops. Additionally, the several acres of arable land that had been cut from the forest meant that each farmer had only a very small area under cultivation, by comparison to the 50 acres granted to each settler in Virginia. Bermudian farmers had to raise as many as three crops a year in order to be economically viable. This meant that they could not allow fields to lie fallow, and the soil, already high in alkaline and low in magnesium (used by plants to form chlorophyll), became depleted. In Chemistry, an alkali (from Arabic: Al-Qaly القلي القالي) is a basic, ionic salt of an Alkali metal Magnesium (mægˈniːziəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Mg, Atomic number 12 Atomic weight 24 Chlorophyll is a green Pigment found in most Plants Algae and Cyanobacteria. Bermudians began to turn away from agriculture quite early, building boats and developing the Bermuda sloop to pursue maritime trades. The Bermuda sloop is a type of fore-and-aft rigged sailing vessel developed on the islands of Bermuda in the 17th century As the Company derived no income, except from agriculture, it acted to stymie these activities. The building of vessels was banned without its license, and the first laws to protect the Bermuda cedar, which were passed early in the seventeenth century, may have been intended more to restrict shipbuilding than to conserve the resource. Juniperus bermudiana is a species of Juniper endemic to Bermuda.
Revocation of charter and dissolution of the company
It was this interference by the Company into the livelihoods of the islanders which led to its dissolution, following protests to the Crown. There was also discontent caused by the attempt of the last Company-appointed governor to rule without the consent of the colonial parliament. The Company's Royal Charter was revoked in 1684, and from then on the Crown assumed responsibility for appointing the Colony's governors (it first re-appointed the last company governor). Freed of the Company's restraints, the local merchant class came to dominate and shape Bermuda's progress, as Bermudians abandoned agriculture en masse and turned to the sea.
See also
- Virginia Company
- Virginia Company of London
- Sea Venture
- History of Bermuda
- Jamestown, Virginia
- History of Virginia
External links
- Roots Web Richard Norwood’s Survey of the Land and Landholder’s of Bermuda. The Virginia Company refers collectively to a pair of English joint stock companies chartered by James I in 1606 with the purposes of establishing The London Company (also called the Charter of the Virginia Company of London) was an English Joint stock company established by royal charter by The Sea Venture was a 17th-century English sailing ship the wrecking of which in Bermuda is widely thought to have been the inspiration for Shakespeare's This is the History of Bermuda. See also the History of Virginia, History of the Americas, History of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Jamestown, located on Jamestown Island in the Virginia Colony, was founded on May 14 1607 The recorded History of Virginia began with settlement of the geographic region now known as the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States thousands of years ago
- Bermuda Yellow Pages History of Bermuda.
- Dan Byrnes. Com The Business of Slavery - Chapter 9.
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