Bermuda

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Bermuda, formerly Somers Is 320N 650 W, pop (1995e) 62 000; area 53 sq km/20 sq mi. A British overseas territory in the W Atlantic c.900 km/560 mi E of Cape Hatteras, N Carolina; c.150 low-lying coral islands and islets, 20 inhabited, seven linked by causeways and bridges; largest island (Great) Bermuda; highest point, Gibb's Hill (78 m/256 ft); capital, Hamilton; time zone GMT -4; two-thirds black population, remainder of British or Portuguese stock; main religions, Anglican (37%), Roman Catholic (14%); official language, English; unit of currency, Bermuda dollar of 100 cents; subtropical climate, generally humid, rain throughout year, summers warm to hot, winters mild; discovered by Spanish mariner, Juan Bermudez, in early 16th-c; colonized by English settlers, 1612; important naval station, and (to 1862) penal settlement; internal self-government, 1968; movement for independence caused tension in the 1970s, including assassination of the governor, 1973; British monarch represented by a governor; bicameral legislature; economy mainly year-round tourism; increasingly an international company business centre. >> Hamilton (Bermuda)

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