Military of Bermuda

The military of Bermuda is the militia that the island maintains for its own defence, even though defence of Bermuda remains the responsibility of the government of the United Kingdom rather than the local Bermudian Government. Defence was the first concern of Governor Richard Moore when settlers landed in July 1612, and coastal artillery batteries were built first, manned by volunteers and sometimes by convicted criminals sentenced to serve in them. A militia was raised on the English model and grew into a battalion of nine companies, one for each parish, drawing on fit men aged 16 to 60. In later centuries the Royal Navy gave Bermuda new strategic prominence as one of four imperial fortresses.