Sir Henry Tucker will stand out as one of the principle visionaries for 20th-century Bermuda. Born in 1903, he was a young man when he returned to the island after a stint working for the banks and brokerage firms in New York. Having spent a short time in school in England, Sir Henry’s experiences imbued him with a real perspective of Bermuda in the context of the world.

The 1930s was not a lucrative time for Bermuda, we were at the threshold of much emerging technological change that would begin questions such as “should we have cars” and “who should have rights to own them”. There were no doubt larger issues about access to capital and investments, which led to items such as the Tucker’s Town development.

The young Henry Tucker was embraced by the establishment and as general manager of the Bank of Bermuda, which — from its humble origins when he entered — grew and ultimately became a global institution. His influence did not end inside the bank walls: he became a leading player in the political and social development of the country.

The key point is that he had the ability and was granted the licence to execute his vision of Bermuda. When power and vision meet, there are measurable results. It is therefore critically important to understand the ingredients of that vision.

Somewhere around 1964, a young Stanley Ratteray, who hitherto, was part of the secret Progressive Group that led the famous 1959 Theatre Boycott, came out of a meeting with Sir Henry and proclaimed to his first cousin, Robert Adams, a silent co-activist, that “the whole world has changed”.

Obviously, the young Stanley was very excited and had been impressed by the declarations expressed in that meeting by Sir Henry, then a Member of Parliament and bank manager. There was enough said to convince the young activist that his dream of a mutual and integrated Bermuda was now being entertained by the very halls of power.

The political history of Sir Henry up to that point as a contemporary rival in the E.F. Gordon era — with frequent tussles with the likes of Arnold Francis — was anything but progressive. Therefore, this seeming change of his and leap towards a more progressive political stance was not fully understood by young Stanley, whose hopes outweighed any circumspection and who did not appreciate that this was simply a display of the pragmatism of Sir Henry.

He knew the world was changing and that Bermuda could not withstand the tides of change, which meant integration, extension of voting rights and universal adult suffrage. The issue for Sir Henry was how to get ahead of the inevitable change and to regulate its implementation in such fashion as to keep the power base intact.

Aside from the mid to late 1960s’ political façade of racial unity, there were two elements at work: the systematic destruction of the black merchant class and the simultaneous affirmative action, which led to a huge injection of capital applied to bolster white business; the Portuguese, in particular, were beneficiaries of that effort.

The “black caucus” was a direct retaliation to perceived broken promises for the unrewarded political support given to Sir Henry’s vision of integration. The sad reality of his vision is couched in some of his own words: “Coloured people will eventually gain power, but not in my lifetime.”

This is the 21st century, filled with new challenges relevant to this age; litigating the past is not the way forward. We need to bend to a new vision of a greater Bermuda. The big question of relevance is: can it happen again with a new combination where vision meets power? Or will progress be achieved only through attrition?

There needs to be a fresh look at Bermuda and its economic landscape, much as Sir Henry would have done in his day.

Naturally, there are other persons, with one major difference: they are coming from the undercapitalised sector. Yet they may posses ideas with the intellectual capital to transform Bermuda into a more inclusive society.

Wealth creation is best left as a private-sector initiative; the energy and vision must come from entrepreneurs. Governments should facilitate only and not attempt to manipulate or direct the market.

We have been living from a template of the vision of business leaders from 50 or more years ago. These old merchants are all but gone. Bermuda, as do all economies, relies on market leaders and the looming question is: who will be the next market thinkers and visionaries?

Sir Henry was a son of the soil whose history dates back to Bermuda’s beginnings. Will there be another native “son of the soil” to provide vision for this 21st century?