Dear Sir,

It is a quirk of history that this island became a British colony. If the King of Spain had decided to send colonists here in 1520, when I believe Juan de Bermúdez was the first person to record the existence of the island on a chart, we would be speaking Spanish. That does not exclude the possibility of some other maritime nation knowing about the island, such as the Portuguese or the Vikings. We must not forget St Brendan might have come across “Bermuda” in the sixth century. (We could be speaking Gaelic!)

It is one of the few places in the world that did not have an indigenous population, which makes Bermuda unique. While some families may claim their ancestors arrived 500 to 600 years ago, everyone is an “expatriate”.

I believe all members of the legislature affirm their allegiance to the Crown. Does that affirmation mean anything? It is a question of, “don’t do as I do, but do as I say”.

I will remind the legislature: you get respect when you show respect. Need I say more.

ANTONY SIESE

Paget