Morgan's Island, Bermuda

Last updated April 25, 2019

Morgan's Island was an island of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It was part of the land leased to the United States Government in 1941 for ninety-nine years for the construction of the Naval Operating Base Bermuda, a joint shipping base and naval air station. Morgan's Island was joined by infilling to nearby Tucker's Island, and the two were connected to the Main Island by a narrow infilling, creating a peninsula. The base, by then designated the Naval Air Station Bermuda Annex, was closed in 1995 along with other US bases in Bermuda. After a delay while the issue of toxic waste deposits was argued between the British/Bermudian and US Governments, the land was handed back to the Government of Bermuda and allowed to return to nature pending the clean-up of toxins and a decision on its future. The only user of the area was the Royal Bermuda Regiment, which had begun training there when it was still a US base. Following public outrage at plans to develop a Jumeirah resort hotel at Southlands, then a wooded private estate on the South Shore, the government traded the former US naval base to the developers in exchange for Southlands, most of which was designated as parkland. Morgan's Point, as the former naval base is now called, is currently being cleared to make way for the new resort.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is approximately 1,070 km (665 mi) east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina; 1,236 km (768 mi) south of Cape Sable Island, Nova Scotia; and 1,759 km (1,093 mi) northeast of Cuba. The capital city is Hamilton. Bermuda is self-governing, with its own constitution and its own government, which enacts local laws, while the United Kingdom retains responsibility for defence and foreign relations. As of July 2018, its population is 71,176, the highest of the British overseas territories.

The United States Navy's Naval Operating Base was a seaplane base in Bermuda, the original U S Naval Air Station Bermuda. Following the US Navy's takeover of Kindley Air Force Base, the base was adapted to other uses as an annex to the new USNAS Bermuda, the NAS Annex. Following the end of the Cold War, the base was closed in 1995, along with other US Naval, Royal Naval, and Canadian Armed Forces facilities in Bermuda. At one point, the disused seaplane base/Annex was to be redeveloped into a golf course.

Tucker's Island was an island of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It was part of the land leased to the United States Government in 1941 for ninety-nine years for the construction of the Naval Operating Base Bermuda, a joint shipping base and naval air station. Tucker's Island was joined by infilling to nearby Morgan's Island, and the two were connected to the Main Island by a narrow infilling, creating a peninsula. The base, by then designated the Naval Air Station Bermuda Annex, was closed in 1995 along with other US bases in Bermuda. After a delay while the issue of toxic waste deposits was argued between the British/Bermudian and US Governments, the land was handed back to the Government of Bermuda and allowed to return to nature pending the clean-up of toxins and a decision on its future. The only user of the area was the Royal Bermuda Regiment, which had begun training there when it was still a US base. Following public outrage at plans to develop a Jumeirah resort hotel at Southlands, then a wooded private estate on the South Shore, the government traded the former US naval base to the developers in exchange for Southlands, most of which was designated as parkland. Morgan's Point, as the former naval base is now called, is currently being cleared to make way for the new resort.

Coordinates: 32°17′N64°53′W / 32.283°N 64.883°W / 32.283; -64.883

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

Related Research Articles

The defence of Bermuda remains the responsibility of the United Kingdom Government, rather than of the local Bermudian Government. Despite this, the Bermuda Government was historically responsible for maintaining Militia for the defence of the Colony.

L.F. Wade International Airport, formerly named Bermuda International Airport, is the sole airport serving the British overseas territory of Bermuda in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is located in the parish of St. George's and is 6 NM northeast of Bermuda's capital, Hamilton. In 2016, L.F. Wade International Airport handled about 402,925 passengers, up 5.6% from 2006. It has one passenger terminal, one cargo terminal, eight aircraft stands and can support all aircraft sizes up to and including the Airbus A380. Currently, seven airlines operate seasonal or year-round scheduled services to Bermuda Airport from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In the Destroyers for Bases Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom on September 2, 1940, fifty Caldwell, Wickes, and Clemson class US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy from the United States Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions. Generally referred to as the "twelve hundred-ton type", the destroyers became the British Town class and were named after towns common to both the United States and Britain. Roosevelt used an executive agreement that did not require Congressional approval, but he came under heavy attack from antiwar political elements.

The North America and West Indies Station was a formation or command of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy stationed in North American waters from 1745 to 1956. The North American Station was separate from the Jamaica Station until 1830 when the two combined to form the North America and West Indies Station. It was briefly abolished in 1907 before being restored in 1915. It was renamed the America and West Indies Station in 1926. It was commanded by the Commander-in-Chief, North America and West Indies Station and subsequently by the Commander-in-Chief, America and West Indies Station.

Kindley Air Force Base was a United States Air Force base in Bermuda from 1948–1970, having been operated from 1943 to 1948 by the United States Army Air Forces as Kindley Field.

The Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, A Fairmont Managed Hotel is one of the grandest and most famous hotels in Bermuda, located in Pembroke Parish just outside the City of Hamilton. It also happens to be the oldest hotel in the Fairmont chains. One of the largest in Bermuda it has over 400 rooms. It is one of two Fairmont Hotels on the island, the second being the Fairmont Southampton which was originally opened as the Southampton Princess.

Boaz Island, formerly known as Gate's Island or Yates Island, is one of the six main islands of Bermuda. It is part of a chain of islands in the west of the country that make up Sandys Parish, lying between the larger Ireland Island and Somerset Island, and is connected to both by bridges. Its east coast forms part of the edge of the Great Sound. Boaz Island was part of the Royal Naval base, which included the HM Dockyard on Ireland Island.

Darrell's Island is a small island within the Great Sound of Bermuda. It lies in the southeast of the sound, and is in the north of Warwick Parish. The island is owned by the Bermuda Government.

HMD Bermuda was the principal base of the Royal Navy in the Western Atlantic between American independence and the Cold War. Bermuda had occupied a useful position astride the homeward leg taken by many European vessels from the New World since before its settlement by England in 1609. French privateers may have used the islands as a staging place for operations against Spanish galleons in the 16th century. Bermudian privateers certainly played a role in many Imperial wars following settlement. Despite this, it was not until the loss of bases on most of the North American Atlantic seaboard threatened Britain's supremacy in the Western Atlantic that the island assumed great importance as a naval base. In 1818 the Royal Naval Dockyard, Bermuda officially replaced the Royal Naval Dockyard, Halifax as the British headquarters for the North America and West Indies Station.

The Royal Air Force (RAF) operated from two locations in Bermuda during the Second World War. Bermuda's location had made it an important naval station since US independence, and, with the advent of the aeroplane, had made it as important to trans-Atlantic aviation in the decades before the Jet Age. The limited, hilly land mass had prevented the construction of an airfield, but, with most large airliners in the 1930s being flying boats, this was not initially a limitation.

The former US Naval Air Station Bermuda Annex was located on Morgan's Point, a peninsula that had been created by the United States Navy between 1941 and 1943 by infilling between Morgan's Island, Tucker's Island, and the Main Island to create what was originally known as the Naval Operating Base Bermuda. This was a joint surface vessel and seaplane base that ultimately became an annex to the Naval Air Station Bermuda between 1970 and the closure of all US bases in Bermuda in 1995. It was returned to Bermuda in 1995 with the premature termination of the US Navy's 99 year lease. The base had functioned as a way station for ships and seaplanes for over 50 years but the end of the Cold War saw cutbacks in troop deployment throughout the world and the base was no longer needed

The 'Airport Security Police' is the police force of the Bermuda International Airport.

The United Kingdom is formally responsible for Bermuda's foreign and defense policy. American policy toward the United Kingdom is the basis of US–Bermudian relations. In the early 20th century, as modern transportation and communication systems developed, Bermuda became a popular destination for wealthy American, British, and Canadian tourists. While the tariff enacted in 1930 by the US against its trading partners ended Bermuda's once-thriving agricultural export trade – primarily fresh vegetables to the US, it helped spur the overseas territory to develop its tourist industry, which is second only to international business in terms of economic importance to the island.

Canadian Forces Station Bermuda, commonly shortened to CFS Bermuda and popularly known as Daniel's Head, was a Canadian Forces Station in Bermuda that was operational from 1963 until 1992. A previous base, HMCS Somers Isles had existed during the Second World War.

The United States Naval Station Whites Island was a United States Navy (USN) facility located on White's Island in Hamilton Harbour, in the British Colony of Bermuda, 640 miles off the coast of North Carolina.

The Bermuda Base Command was a command of the United States Army, established to defend the British Colony of Bermuda, located 640 miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It was created in April 1941 when United States Army troops were sent to the island.

References

This Bermuda location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] Morgan’s Point land swap deal signed. By Sam Strangeways. The Royal Gazette. 26 June, 2012

[2] Morgan’s Point. The Royal Gazette. 28 June, 2012

[3] MORGAN’S POINT RESORT ACT 2014. Bermuda Laws