The municipalities of Bermuda are the City of Hamilton and the Town of St. George.
The City of Hamilton was established in 1790, as a result of a petition by some merchants from the central and western parishes. It is governed by a mayor, three aldermen, and five councilors. Hamilton became a municipality long after it was incorporated as a town, in Bermuda under the Municipalities Act 1923 of the Bermuda House of Parliament. It has a permanent population of only about 1,800 today. The city is currently 185 acres in size, considerably more than when established. Most of its denizens by day like to live beyond the city, and are daily commuters, as this Bermuda municipality has more than 90 percent of all the employers. About 40% of Bermuda’s working population works in the city.
The Town of St. George is the first established municipality of Bermuda and was established in 1612. Princess Royal, Princess Anne, was present in the Old Town on April 26, 2001, to mark its World Heritage accreditation with appropriate formalities and other dignitaries. This older of the Bermuda Municipalities is most important as the catalyst of British colonial development in North America.
The Bermudian Municipalities are responsible for the collection and disbursal of city taxes and the maintenance of the public utilities supported by them; ranging from the development and maintenance of public parks and parking places to the health and hygiene of the public places. Bermuda Municipalities are very efficient and regular in their work.
Bermuda has two villages as well. Bermuda’s two informal villages are:
- Flatts Village
- Somerset Village
In spite of their names, Jones Village (in Warwick), Cashew City (St. George’s), Clayton (Hamilton), Middle Town (Pembroke), and Tucker’s Town (St. George’s) are merely neighborhoods; Dandy Town and North Village are sports clubs and Harbour View Village is a small public housing development.
Bermuda History