Page "History of Bermuda" Paragraph 42

When thirteen of these colonies rebelled, entering a war of secession, the strong bonds of blood, commerce, and history meant that most Bermudians sympathised with the rebels.

It is entirely probable that, if Bermuda had not been so remote from the continental coastline, and had the Royal Navy not enjoyed near supremacy on the ocean, Bermuda would have been the fourteenth colony to join the rebellion.

As this was not possible, Bermudians initially assisted the colonists by selling them Bermuda sloops via neutral ports to use as privateers.

The number is unclear, but seems to have been very many, with British authorities reporting up to a thousand, although this number is clearly impossible given other sources state the number of ships built in Bermuda during the entire century numbered a thousand.

Some historians state that the Bermudian-built privateers played a decisive role in the Americans achieving independence.

With trade between the rebelling colonies and the rest of the Empire banned by both sides, Bermudians were faced with the threat of starvation, as well as the destruction of their trade.

The Americans were dependent on Bermuda for salt, which the islanders offered the rebels in exchange for food.

The Americans insisted on receiving gunpowder.

Benjamin Franklin and Henry Tucker Sr. ( a colonel of the Bermuda Militia, and a former President of the Privy Council, whose son, Henry Tucker, was then President of the Privy Council and son-in-law to Governor Breure, and whose other two sons were a colonel in the Virginia Militia and a politician in the rebel administration ), orchestrated the theft of a hundred barrels of gunpowder from a magazine in St. George's, which was supplied to the Americans.

Following this, the Continental Congress authorised trade with Bermuda ( although this trade remained illegal in Bermuda ).