Bermuda was discovered in the early 1500s by Spanish explorer Juan de Bermúdez.[10][11][page needed] Bermuda had no Indigenous population when it was discovered, nor during initial British settlement a century later.[12] It was mentioned in Legatio Babylonica, published in 1511 by historian Pedro Mártir de Anglería, and was included on Spanish charts of that year.[13] Both Spanish and Portuguese ships used the islands as a replenishment spot to take on fresh meat and water. Shipwrecked Portuguese mariners are now thought to have been responsible for the 1543 inscription on Portuguese Rock, previously called Spanish Rock.[14] Legends arose of spirits and devils, now thought to have stemmed from the calls of raucous birds (most likely the Bermuda petrel, or cahow)[15] and loud nocturnal noises from introduced wild hogs.[16] With its frequent storm-racked conditions and dangerous reefs, the archipelago became known as the "Isle of Devils".[17] Neither Spain nor Portugal attempted to settle it. Settlement by the British[edit] John Smith wrote one of the first histories of Bermuda in 1624 (combined with Virginia and New England). For the next century, the island was frequently visited but not settled. The English began to focus on the New World, initially settling in Virginia, starting British colonisation in North America, establishing a colony at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. Two years later, a flotilla of seven ships left England with several hundred settlers, food, and supplies to relieve the Jamestown colony.[18] However, the flotilla was broken up by a storm and the flagship, the Sea Venture, drove onto Bermuda's reef to prevent her sinking, resulting in the survival of all her passengers and crew.[19][10] The settlers were unwilling to move on, having now heard about the true conditions in Jamestown from the sailors, and made multiple attempts to rebel and stay in Bermuda. They argued that they had a right to stay and establish their own government. The new settlement became a prison labour camp, and built two ships, the Deliverance and the Patience.[20] In 1612, the English began settlement of the archipelago, officially named Virgineola,[21] with arrival of the ship the Plough. New London (renamed St. George's Town) was settled that year and designated as the colony's first capital.[22][13] It is the oldest continuously inhabited English town in the New World.[22] In 1616 and 1620 acts were passed banning the hunting of certain birds and young tortoises.[23] The archipelago's limited land area and resources led to the creation of what may be the earliest conservation laws of the New World.[citation needed] Slavery in Bermuda[edit] In 1615, the colony, which had been renamed the Somers Isles in commemoration of Sir George Somers, was passed on to the Somers Isles Company.[24][25] As Bermudians settled the Carolina Colony and contributed to establishing other English colonies in the Americas, several other locations were named after the archipelago. During this period the first slaves were held and trafficked to the islands. These were a mixture of native Africans who were trafficked to the Americas via the African slave trade and Native Americans who were enslaved from the new world colonies.[10] The first two slaves arrived in Bermuda in 1616, not from Africa but from the West Indies, one being Black and the other Native American, after Bermuda Governor Tucker had sent the ship "Edwin" to the West Indies to find slaves to dive for pearls in Bermuda.[26] There proved to be no pearls to dive for. More black slaves were later trafficked to the island in large numbers, originating from America and the Caribbean.[27] As the black population grew, so did the fear of insurrection among the white settlers. In 1623, a law to restrain the insolence of the Negroes was passed in Bermuda. It forbade blacks to buy or sell, barter or exchange tobacco or any other produce for goods without the consent of their master. Unrest among the slaves predictably erupted several times over the next decades. Major rebellions occurred in 1656, 1661, 1673, 1682, 1730 and 1761. In 1761 a conspiracy was discovered that involved the majority of the blacks on the island. Six slaves were executed and all black celebrations were prohibited.[28][29] Civil War[edit] Main article: English overseas possessions in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms Map of Bermuda by Vincenzo Coronelli, 1 January 1692 In 1649, the English Civil War was taking place and King Charles I was beheaded in Whitehall, London. The conflict spilled over into Bermuda, where most of the colonists developed a strong sense of devotion to the Crown. The royalists ousted the Somers Isles Company's Governor and elected John Trimingham as their leader (see Governor of Bermuda). Bermuda's civil war was ended by militias, and dissenters were pushed to settle The Bahamas under William Sayle.[30] The rebellious royalist colonies of Bermuda, Virginia, Barbados and Antigua, were the subjects of an Act of the Rump Parliament of England.[31] The royalist colonies were also threatened with invasion. The Government of Bermuda eventually reached an agreement with the Parliament of England which retained the status quo in Bermuda. In 1655 fifty-four Bermudians became the first English subjects to permanently settle on the Island of Jamaica, followed by a further (200) Bermudians in 1658, following Cromwell's Invasion of Jamaica.[32][33][34] Later 17th century[edit] Bermuda Gazette of 12 November 1796, calling for privateering against Spain and its allies; it has advertisements for crew for two privateer vessels. In the 17th century, the Somers Isles Company suppressed shipbuilding, as it needed Bermudians to farm to generate income from the land. The Virginia colony, however, far surpassed Bermuda in quality and quantity of tobacco produced. Bermudians began to turn to maritime trades relatively early in the 17th century, but the Somers Isles Company used all its authority to suppress turning away from agriculture. This interference led to islanders demanding, and receiving, revocation of the company's charter in 1684, and the company was dissolved.[10] Bermudians rapidly abandoned agriculture for shipbuilding, replanting farmland with the native juniper trees (Juniperus bermudiana, called Bermuda cedar). Establishing effective control over the Turks Islands, Bermudians deforested their landscape to begin the salt trade. It became the world's largest and remained the cornerstone of Bermuda's economy for the next century. Bermudians also vigorously pursued whaling, privateering, and the merchant trade.[citation needed] Some islanders, especially in St David's, still trace their ancestry to Native Americans, and others are unaware that they have such ancestry. Hundreds of Native Americans were shipped to Bermuda. The best-known examples were the Algonquian peoples such as Pequots, Wampanoags, Podunks, Nipmucks, Narragansetts and others who were exiled from the New England colonies and sold into slavery in the seventeenth century, notably in the aftermaths of the Pequot War and King Philip's War; some are believed to have been brought from as far away as Mexico.[