2 Best Sights in Bermuda

Erected as a governor's mansion around 1700, this building became a hotbed of activity during the American Civil War and is now a museum focusing on the island's history. From here, Confederate major Norman Walker coordinated the surreptitious flow of guns, ammunition, and war supplies from England, through Union blockades, and into American ports.

It saw service as the Globe Hotel during the mid-19th century and became a National Trust property in 1951. A short video, Bermuda, Centre of the Atlantic, recounts the history of Bermuda, and a memorabilia-filled exhibit entitled "Rogues & Runners: Bermuda and the American Civil War" describes St. George's when it was a port for Confederate blockade runners. This is also the location of the Trustworthy Gift Shop. Check the website for opening days and times.

The history, trials, and accomplishments of Black Bermudians are highlighted in this museum in a converted 1840s warehouse. Photographs of early Black residents including enslaved Bermudians, freedom fighters, and professionals line the walls, and the works of Black artisans are proudly exhibited.

In particular, look for the display about the Enterprise, a slave ship that was blown off course to Bermuda while sailing from Virginia to South Carolina in 1835. Since slavery had already been abolished on the island, the 78 enslaved on board were technically free—and the Local Friendly Societies (grassroots organizations devoted to liberating and supporting enslaved people) worked to keep it that way. Society members obtained an injunction to bring the case into court and escorted the "human cargo" to their hearing in Hamilton, where many spoke in their own defense. All except one woman and her four children accepted the offer of freedom.

Today countless Bermudians trace their ancestry back to those who arrived on the Enterprise. Appropriately enough, the museum building was once home to one of the Friendly Societies.