How to turn a deserted island in the middle of the ocean into a global financial center?
The answer is similar to the one for an English lawn: just water and trim for 500 years, and it will grow on its own. Surprisingly, there was no native population on the island because it is located too far away from all continents, and there is no shallow sea with small islands around it to travel across. There is also a lack of fresh water on the island, and the first European colonizers did not stay here at first. It took them some time and a shipwreck to start using the island as a repair base. While they were repairing, news reached them that the conditions in the American colonies were not as rosy as advertised in the brochures in Liverpool docks. They decided to stay on the island.
Trade and maneuvering developed in a similar vein on the island since then. Pathetic attempts by British authorities to grow and export anything failed. But the slave trade thrived, which was quite in line with the times. Even today, half of the island's population has dark skin, and their ancestors were not lucky to meet European civilization at the time. During the American colonies' struggle for independence, the island remained part of the British crown but cleverly traded government gunpowder to the American side. They had to survive under the embargo, so there was no room for sentimentality. Even now, the warm humid air of Bermuda carries this curious mixture of British and American: British history sprouting through the American present, topped with expats from the former (not quite) metropolis. The governor's house still occupies hectares on a hill with the best view, and only recently, the governor's private beach was transferred to public ownership. Fragments of past glory still sparkle.
A new era on the island began around the 70s, when the government decided to attract international capital. What does one need to have in order for serious people to agree to bring their money? A warm climate is not enough. Even low taxes and simplified registration procedures are not enough. Reliability is needed. Safety is needed. Understanding that local gangs won't appropriate your capital under the guise of "within the law" or without it - what's the difference if the essence remains the same? Transparency and the jurisdiction of English courts with precedential law. These courts are not perfect, but to paraphrase Churchill, they are the best so far.
As a result, the island became a base for reinsurance companies, and there are dozens of them in Bermuda, all within walking distance. Their employees don't wear dark suits: the standard business attire is knee-length shorts, polo shirts with collars, and comfortable moccasins. A healthy complexion, a friendly tone, and welcoming faces. Perhaps it's because there are no traffic jams, no need to spend long hours on trains commuting to work, as is customary in London and New York? On the island, you can live five minutes away from the office. Paradoxically, this leads to longer working hours, but it doesn't leave people with the familiar expression of exhaustion seen in Europe.
Perhaps it's all in the air. It's consistently warm and humid, and this humidity is felt everywhere, in all corners of any room. It's fought with constantly running air conditioners: outside it's 20 degrees and warm, inside it's 20 degrees and cold. So it's better to be outside, unless you've landed in the season of tropical rains, which we almost did.
No one complains about the rains, because it's good to work in the rain, and besides, rains bring water. The system for collecting and storing fresh water deserves a separate song: the stepped roofs of houses, resembling the inverted bottoms of the sailboats of the first colonizers, the drainage system and reservoirs, a separate reservoir for each house plus public reserves. As a result, the island is self-sufficient in terms of fresh water, and there is enough not only to quench thirst, but also for a relaxed swim in a small pool at home. In general, it's not so bad to live here. Just during a hurricane, don't forget to put all the garden furniture in the pool. Hurricanes come in the fall, sometimes the epicentre passes through the island: not pleasant, but the stone constructions of the houses are quite stable. Dorothy Gale’s house would not have been carried away to the magical Land of Oz had she lived in Bermuda. Sometimes, there are a couple of days without electricity, but that's the worst-case scenario. This doesn't prevent billion-dollar deals from being concluded on napkins in local bars and on the lawns of numerous golf clubs.
So, now you know how to turn a tropical island into a global financial center, so why don’t you get started?
