I have just come back from vacation in Bermuda. Beautiful island with few, if any, natural advantages. Originally, the island had vast cedar forests, which provided its first competitive advantage. In the mid-1700s the Bermudans realized that the rate of cedar harvesting would deplete the forests in a very short time. In the mid-1700s they passed a law that regulated the timber industry. This is the first legislative act I know of that demonstrated environmental awareness. Too bad the idea did not catch on.
Another legislative milestone for Bermuda is that they may have been one of the first governments in the western hemisphere to totally abolish slavery in 1832 (although some claim Chile under Spanish rule abolished slavery in 1683). What I find interesting is that the Bermudans not only abolished slavery but also passed a law that prevented discrimination based on race. I am not sure that laws can prevent discrimination but I admire the Bermudans for the foresight to realize that slavery alone was not the issue.
