Discovering Somers Isles: A Guide to Bermuda's History 1500-1615

The fact that Bermuda was discovered at all might seem amazing: the tiny cluster of islands sits almost in the middle of 20,000,000 square miles of the North Atlantic. But sixteenth-century trade routes to the West Indies brought hundreds of ships through the turquoise waters surrounding its desolate shores - and left countless shipwrecks on its uncharted reefs. It is no small wonder that the Bermudas were once known as "Devil's Isles.

On the way to the struggling colony at Jamestown in May of 1609, the flagship of an English convoy was driven onto those reefs by a hurricane. Battered and sinking, the "Sea Venture" was run aground by Admiral George Somers and miraculously, all 150 passengers survived. Their story, and how Bermuda came to be settled, is a remarkable tale of survival and perseverance.

This guide uses their words, together with maps and images, to allow readers to envision those shores with "seventeenth-century eyes," and discover for themselves what the settlers called "Somers Isles."