Codfish and Potatoes: A quintessentially Bermudian Sunday breakfast

Bermuda’s vibrant, international culture in a dish

Bermuda—a small, wealthy British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic — doesn’t make much sense. Most locals, when asked to describe what Bermudian culture is, struggle to provide a unified answer. To be American is to worship the flag and freedom. To be British is to be stoic — taking hardship on the chin (and downplaying the god-awful weather). Bermuda, in contrast, has no obvious grand narrative.

The history

The island is historically and officially British. Yet its proximity to America has dictated its economic fortunes, and thus way of life, since it was founded in 1609 as an extension of the Jamestown, Virginia colony. Over time, Bermuda has also been influenced by immigrants from the Caribbean and elsewhere. This melting pot of a society can be tasted on the Bermudian plate.

The mid-19th Century saw the already declining Portuguese empire further decimated by famine. The British Overseas Territory of Bermuda was a colonial backwater during the time between American independence and the Civil War. It was also in desperate need of experienced agricultural labour following Britain’s passage of the Slave Emancipation Act in 1833.