The coat of arms of

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

depicts a red lion holding a shield that has a depiction of a wrecked ship upon it. The red lion is a symbol of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

and alludes to Bermuda's relationship with that country. The

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...

under the coat of arms, ''Quo Fata Ferunt'', means "Whither the Fates Carry s. The wrecked ship is the ''

Sea Venture ''Sea Venture'' was a seventeenth-century English sailing ship, part of the Third Supply mission to the Jamestown Colony, that was wrecked in Bermuda in 1609. She was the 300 ton purpose-built flagship of the London Company and a highly unusual ...

''. The arms were formally granted by Royal Warrant on 4 October 1910, but had been in use since at least 1624. The coat of arms first appears on the cover of the 1624 edition of ''

The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles ''The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles'' (often abbreviated to ''The Generall Historie'') is a book written by Captain John Smith, first published in 1629. The book is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, his ...

''. The "Somers Isles" is another name for Bermuda, named after Sir

George Somers Sir George Somers (before 24 April 1554 – 9 November 1610) was an English privateer and naval hero, knighted for his achievements and the Admiral of the Virginia Company of London. He achieved renown as part of an expedition led by ...

, the colony's founder.

Blazon

The heraldic

blazon In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

is: ''Argent, on a mount vert a lion sejant affronté gules supporting between the fore-paws an antique shield azure thereon a representation of the wreck of the ship''

''proper.''

''Sea Venture''

Main article:

On 10 April 1591, three ships sailed from Plymouth, England for the East Indies. They were the ''Penelope'', the ''Merchant Royal'', and the ''Sea Venture''. On 2 June 1609, ''Sea Venture'' set sail from Plymouth as the flagship of a seven-ship fleet (towing two additional pinnaces) destined for Jamestown, Virginia as part of the Third Supply, carrying 500 to 600 people (it is unclear whether that number includes crew, or only settlers). On 24 July, the fleet ran into a strong storm, likely a hurricane, and the ships were separated. A pinnace, ''Catch'', went down with all aboard lost. ''Sea Venture'' however, fought the storm for three days. Comparably sized ships had survived such weather, but ''Sea Venture'' had a critical flaw in her newness: her timbers had not set. The caulking was forced from between them, and the ship began to leak rapidly. All hands were applied to bailing, but water continued to rise in the hold. The ship's starboard-side guns were reportedly jettisoned to raise her buoyancy, but this only delayed the inevitable. The Admiral of the Company himself,

Sir George Somers Sir George Somers (before 24 April 1554 – 9 November 1610) was an English privateer and naval hero, knighted for his achievements and the Admiral of the Virginia Company of London. He achieved renown as part of an expedition led by ...

, was at the helm through the storm. When he spied land on the morning of 25 July, the water in the hold had risen to 9 feet (2.7 m), and crew and passengers had been driven past the point of exhaustion. Somers deliberately had the ship driven onto the reefs of Discovery Bay, in what later proved to be eastern Bermuda, in order to prevent its foundering. This allowed 150 people, and one dog, to be landed safely ashore. The survivors, including several company officials (Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Gates, the ship's captain

Christopher Newport Christopher Newport (1561–1617) was an English seaman and privateer. He is best known as the captain of the ''Susan Constant'', the largest of three ships which carried settlers for the Virginia Company in 1607 on the way to found the settle ...

, Sylvester Jordain, Stephen Hopkins, later of ''

Mayflower ''Mayflower'' was an English ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After a grueling 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, r ...

'', and secretary William Strachey), were stranded on Bermuda for approximately nine months. The crew cut down Bermuda cedar trees and built a seaworthy craft of eighteen tons. They caulked her seams with lime salvaged from the ship and oil extracted from local turtles they caught for food. They ate turtle meat fish, birds - and wild hogs.

Flag of Bermuda

On 4 October 1910, the coat of arms (without the banner holding the motto) was added to the Red ensign to create the current

Flag of Bermuda The flag of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda as a Red Ensign, red ensign was first adopted on 4 October 1910. It is a British Red Ensign with the Flag of the United Kingdom, Union Flag (which is the national flag) in the upper left cor ...

. The coat of arms replaced a badge which had been in use on the Bermuda red ensign before October 1910. The badge was based on a sketch, made in 1869, of the 1817 seal, which depicted a wet dock of the time showing with some boats in the background. It is assumed that the scene alludes to the fact that the islands were a stopover base for the sailing ships when the badge was approved by the Admiralty.

References

External links

Coat of arms of Bermuda In The World All Countries Coat of arms
{{Navboxes , list = {{British coat of arms {{Coat of arms of North America {{Bermuda topics

Bermudian culture

Blazon

''Sea Venture''

Flag of Bermuda

See also

References

External links