| Hamilton, Bermuda | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — City — | |||
| Front Street in Hamilton. | |||
|
|||
| Map showing location within Bermuda | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United Kingdom | ||
| overseas territory | Bermuda | ||
| Founded | 1790 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Charles R. Gosling | ||
| Population | |||
| • Total | 969 | ||
| Website | The Corporation of Hamilton | ||
Hamilton is the capital of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is the territory's financial centre and a major port and tourist destination. It's also one of the smallest capital cities by population.
Contents |
The history of Hamilton began in 1790 when the Bermuda Government set aside 145 acres (59 ha) for its future seat, and was officially incorporated in 1793 by an Act of Parliament. The Colony's capital relocated to Hamilton from St. George's in 1815. The City lay at the political and military heart of Bermuda over the last two centuries. In addition to the parliament within it, Government House sits to its north, the former Admiralty House of the Royal Navy to its west (both in Pembroke, and the British Army garrison headquarters at Prospect Camp to its East.
The Town of Hamilton became a City in 1897, ahead of the consecration of the Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity (Church Of England), which was under construction at the time, in 1911. A Catholic cathedral was later constructed. Today, the city overlooking Hamilton Harbour is primarily a business district, with few structures other than office buildings and shops. The City of Hamilton has long maintained a building limit, which states that no buildings may obscure the Cathedral, but in recent months buildings have been planned and areas have started construction on buildings as high as 10 storeys in the city. Bermuda's local newspaper The Royal Gazette reports "If you don't recognise the city, from 15 years ago, we don't blame you as it has changed so much".
Hamilton is located on the north side of Hamilton Harbour, and is Bermuda's main port. Although there is a parish of the same name, the city of Hamilton is in the parish of Pembroke. The City is named after Sir Henry Hamilton, governor from 1786 to 1793. The parish of Hamilton pre-dates it.
In spite of being the administrative capital of Bermuda, Hamilton only has a permanent population of only approximately 13,500 (2010), however 40% (27,000 of the population in Bermuda (69,000) work here. Hamilton is the only incorporated city in Bermuda, but actually is smaller than the historic town of St. George's. A more representative measure of Bermuda population tends to be by parish.
Hamilton's antipode is located 45 kilometres west of Point Peron near Rockingham, Western Australia, an outer suburb of Perth.
As the offshore domicile of many foreign companies, Bermuda has a highly-developed international business economy; it is a financial exporter of financial services, primarily insurance, reinsurance, investment funds and special purpose vehicles (SPV). Finance and international business now constitute the largest sector of Bermuda's economy, and virtually all of this business takes place within the borders of Hamilton.
Large numbers of leading international insurance companies are based in Hamilton, making it a global reinsurance centre. Those internationally owned and operated businesses that are physically based in Bermuda - of which there are around four hundred - are represented by the Association of Bermuda International Companies (ABIC). In total, over 1,500 exempted or international companies are currently registered with the Registrar of Companies in Bermuda.
The city is the registered headquarters of the spirits manufacturer Bacardi, outsourcing company Genpact, telecommunications company Global Crossing and insurance company XL Group. Similarly, Hamilton is known as the headquarters of many international shipping companies, such as DryShips Inc, Frontline Ltd. and Dockwise among others.
In addition, the corporate headquarters of the Bermuda grocery store chain The MarketPlace is located within the chain's Hamilton MarketPlace location,[1][2] the largest grocery store in Bermuda.[3]
The coat of arms of the city of Hamilton incorporate shield featuring a golden sailing ship, representing the Resolution, surrounded by three five-petalled flowers, two above the ship and one below, also in gold, all on a plain blue background. This shield is supported by a mermaid and heraldic sea horse (i.e., demi-horse, demi-fish), and is placed on a mount in front of which is a scroll containing the motto "Sparsa Collegit". The shield is topped by a crest featuring a closed helm topped with a torque above which an heraldic seahorse is emerging from the sea holding a flower.[4] The city's full motto is Hamilton sparsa collegit, ("Hamilton has assembled the scattered").[5]
The city's flag is a banner of arms, featuring the same details as on the shield of the city's coat of arms, but with the flowers in white rather than gold.[4]
The city of Hamilton has many parks for its size. Probably the most notable park in the city is Victoria Park. This park occupies a whole block and was named after the former Queen Victoria. Other parks in the city are Par La Ville Park, Barr's Park, All Buoy's Point Park, and the hidden Cedar Park.
Despite being located a good distance north of the tropics, Hamilton features a warm humid subtropical climate that falls just short of being a true tropical climate. It is warm enough for coconut palms and other tropical palms to grow, although they may not fruit properly due to the lack of heat. A primary reason why Hamilton experiences such uncharacteristically warm temperatures despite its more northerly latitude (32°N) is the influence of the nearby Gulf Stream. Hamilton features warm and humid summers and very mild “winters”. However, temperatures are moderated by the Atlantic Ocean, so it seldom gets very hot or very cold in the city. Precipitation is plentiful throughout the course of the year and Hamilton does not have a dry season month, a month where on average less than 60 mm of precipitation falls. In essence, Hamilton would feature a tropical rainforest climate if it met the minimum threshold of a tropical climate, a distinct oddity for a city far removed from the equator where tropical rainforest climates are typically found. Hamilton sees on average just above 1400 mm of precipitation annually.
| Climate data for Hamilton, Bermuda | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 77.7 (25.4) |
79 (26) |
79 (26) |
81 (27) |
86 (30) |
90 (32) |
91.6 (33.1) |
93 (34) |
91.8 (33.2) |
89 (32) |
84 (29) |
80 (27) |
93 (34) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 68.7 (20.4) |
67.8 (19.9) |
68.6 (20.3) |
70.8 (21.6) |
75.4 (24.1) |
80.6 (27.0) |
84.6 (29.2) |
85.7 (29.8) |
83.8 (28.8) |
79.4 (26.3) |
74.5 (23.6) |
70.6 (21.4) |
75.9 (24.4) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 60.9 (16.1) |
59.9 (15.5) |
60.2 (15.7) |
62.5 (16.9) |
67.8 (19.9) |
73.0 (22.8) |
75.3 (24.1) |
76.1 (24.5) |
74.3 (23.5) |
70.6 (21.4) |
65.7 (18.7) |
61.7 (16.5) |
67.3 (19.6) |
| Record low °F (°C) | 46 (8) |
44 (7) |
45 (7) |
48 (9) |
55 (13) |
64 (18) |
68 (20) |
68 (20) |
66 (19) |
58 (14) |
54.3 (12.4) |
50 (10) |
44 (7) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 5.06 (128.5) |
4.54 (115.3) |
4.33 (110) |
3.46 (87.9) |
3.26 (82.8) |
5.13 (130.3) |
4.51 (114.6) |
5.15 (130.8) |
5.09 (129.3) |
6.35 (161.3) |
4.12 (104.6) |
4.50 (114.3) |
55.50 (1,409.7) |
| Source: Bermuda Weather Service[6] | |||||||||||||
Hamilton has a host of excellent beaches which provide many opportunities for water sports including surfing, wind surfing, water skiing, jet skiing, sailing and diving, however the highlight of the calender is the Bermuda Gold Cup (or Argo Group Gold Cup as it is currently known)[7] a sailing event which is a key stage of the World Match Racing Tour one of only 3 sailing championships to be sanctioned by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF)[8] with 'Special Event' status. The Argo cup brings the world's best match racing sailors (including world champions and Olympic sailors)to Bermuda for 5 days of adrenaline fueled one-on-one 'match racing'. Points accrued during the event contribute to the World Match Racing Tour and ultimately a chance to race in the final event, the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia, where the winner is crowned ISAF World Match Racing Champion. Unlike a lot of water based sports which are too far out to see from the shore 'match racing' is a great spectators sport with the racing happening only 15m from the shore. Spectators can expect a heart of the action view point from the comfort of the shore.
The history of the modern Bermuda Gold Cup event dates back to the very beginning of the match racing style of sailing. The first 'match race' in a one-design racing yacht i.e. technically identical boats, was the King Edward VII Gold Cup[9] in Bermuda (now known as the Argo Gold Cup), that was first sailed in 1937. The Argo Gold Cup is still a key event in the World Match Racing Tour calendar.
The King Edward VII Cup itself was originally given at the Tri-Centenary Regatta at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1907 by King Edward VII in commemoration of the 300th Anniversary of the first permanent settlement in America. C. Sherman Hoyt won that regatta and was the first sailor to accept the historic trophy.
Hoyt held the Gold Cup for three decades before donating it to the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and proposing an annual one-on-one match-race series in 6-Meter yachts. In his letter he expressed the propriety of "my returning a British Royal trophy to the custody of your club, with its long record of clean sportsmanship and keenly contested races between your Bermuda yachts and ours of Long Island Sound, and elsewhere..."[10] The first winner of the Cup in its new format was Briggs Cunningham in 1937. He was also the first skipper to win the America's Cup in a 12-Meter racing yacht.
</ref> [1]
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||||