When I was last in Bermuda a few years ago I remember reading that during WWII Great Britain assigned a lease to the US for Bermuda for something like 50 years. The large US Navy base was still there, but there was a debate about what should be done when the agreement came to a close. Does anyone know how this turned out?
Thanks,
A Cando

Sure, you bet, glad to hep you out. We've got an option on the entire sucker, and I'm thinking of going for statehood. Probably share a star with nj.

In 1941, the United States signed a lend-lease agreement with the United Kingdom giving the British surplus U.S. Navy destroyers in exchange for 99-year lease rights to establish naval and air bases in Bermuda.

The bases consisted of 5.8 square kilometers (2.25 sq. mi.) of land largely reclaimed from the sea. The U.S. Naval Air Station was on St. David's Island, while the U.S. Naval Air Station Annex was at the western end of the island in the Great Sound. Effective September 1, 1995, both bases were closed and the land returned to the Government of Bermuda. Only a tracking facility of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) remains in Bermuda, at Copper's Island in St. David's.

Bermudian merchants seized the opportunity to get rich quick during the U.S. Civil War. They renewed their ties with Americans by running Union blockades for the Confederacy even though Bermuda had abolished slavery in 1834. After the Civil War the islands were quiet until World War I, when many Bermudian volunteers fought in France and others joined resident British forces in defending the islands.

Bermuda and the United States were once again linked by American reaction to Prohibition. The Volstead Act brought thousands of American tourists to the islands in search of whiskey. They spent large amounts of money, changing Bermudian life forever. And in the year 1940 a 99-year lend-lease agreement between Britain and the United States granted the U.S. about one-tenth of the land area of Bermuda for the development of military bases.

During World War II the colony played a fascinating role. In the cellars of the Hamilton Princess Hotel were some 1,200 British experts who intercepted mail and messages between the United States and the Continent. These men and women, known as trappers, had been recruited in England and trained to decipher microdot messages. In order to trap German spies in the U.S., they removed letters from refueling ships and planes, steamed them open and resealed them. Among other accomplishments the Bermudian trappers saved a collection of 270 Impressionist paintings stolen by the Nazis in France.

In the ensuing years many British, American and Canadian firms set up headquarters here because of low taxation. During the ‘70s the number of so-called exempt companies using Bermuda as a base for offshore operations more than doubled, and the insurance and reinsurance sectors developed a stronghold in Bermuda. Today international business is a prime player in Bermuda’s economy and the islands’ most important industry.

Tourism has also played an important role in modern-day Bermuda. Since the second half of the 19th century Americans and Europeans have come to Bermuda in search of rest and relaxation. Tourism eventually replaced farming and the onion trade as the second most important industry in Bermuda.

Excellent! Much better than I ever hoped for. Thank you all.