A self-made businessman, and philanthropist, James "Dick" Richards overcame the loss of his parents at an early age and a childhood of poverty in his native Jamaica to become one of Bermuda's richest black men.

He was reportedly the first black person in Bermuda to have a hotel licence and was the Island's oldest bar owner at the time of his death.

The Canadian Hotel, a hotel turned boarding house on Reid Street, Hamilton, was the business enterprise he was mostly identified with, and the most notable of the properties he amassed.

A colourful personality, he died at age 92 while playing cards with friends at the Canadian Hotel.

Richards had seen active service in Africa before he was posted to Bermuda in 1903 with the Third Battalion of the West India (Indies) Regiment. The soldiers were called 'Bully Roosters' because of their colourful costumes.

> Read more

Seventy-two U.S. slaves began a new life in Bermuda following a Supreme Court case that gave them their freedom.

The episode, which captivated Bermudians for a week, began on February 11, 1835, when the Enterprise, a U.S. brig with 78 slaves on board, landed in Bermuda after encountering bad weather. The ship was on its way to Charleston, South Carolina from Alexandria, Virginia.

Slavery had been abolished in Bermuda seven months earlier, in August 1834, and Richard Tucker, an enterprising hotelier and president of the Young Men's Friendly Institution, sprang into action after Bermuda authorities took steps to prevent the ship from leaving
.
He applied to the Supreme Court in a bid to have the slaves set free because they were in a country where slavery was no longer legal. During a packed Supreme Court hearing, the slaves were asked, one by one, what they wished to do. All but six said they wanted to remain on the Island. The Court granted them their wish.

They were warmly welcomed by Bermudians, who took up a collection for them right after the court case. Their descendants include retired teacher Verona Trott, who spoke about her ancestor Mahalay Warfield in Lucinda Spurling's documentary The Lion and the Mouse.

On February 18, 2010 — the175th anniversary of the landmark ruling — Chesley Trott's statue We Arrive [pictured left] was unveiled at Barr's Bay Park, the site of the landing.

Sources: Bermuda—Five Centuries by Rosemary Jones; Heritage by Dr. Kenneth E. Robinson