AS I indicated in last week's the factors that led to the creation of the great Independence movement that swept the globe in the post-World War Two era left Bermuda behind.

The desire that led so many other peoples to seek self-determination will never be a factor in any movement towards Independence for this country. At first glance this would seem to be an impediment for those of us who would like to see Bermuda gain its sovereignty.

I know that for myself the question of how a pro-Independence movement might be effective enough to convince a majority of Bermudians to support sovereignty has long been a fixture in my thoughts. For instance, the concept of national pride associated with becoming an Independent country is considered by some to be nothing more than a cliche as far as the potential future status of Bermuda is concerned.

And I fully understand why such cynicism exists in Bermuda. While we want all of those things which one would normally associate with an Independent country, culturally we remain reluctant to take that final step that would officially see us become citizens of a sovereign Bermuda rather than citizens of a British overseas territory. So collectively we lampoon the concepts of nationalism and national pride, demeaning their potential value ? and making it far less likely that we as a people would ever embrace them.

Then there is also the question as to whose country this actually is. And as long as I am considered to technically be a status Bermudian ? just like those who may not have been born here but acquired Bermuda status after moving to the island ? then the question of who is actually a Bermudian remains unanswered.

For that reason, along with a number of others, I will always reject the notion that Bermuda under the constitutional status quo is a country in its own right and I will always support the concept that we should chart our future course as an Independent nation.

We are constantly told by people who do not want to see an Independent Bermuda that the island could not possibly exist on its own. But the reality is no country really exists on its own. All countries will seek trading relations with their neighbours. That has been the one constant of man's existence on this planet.

The reality of trade between peoples and nations has existed for thousands of years along with cross-border cultural influences and, regrettably, warfare. Such interactions between far-flung people and nations is the norm.

It is ironic but I have always considered that generations long past had more confidence in themselves and their ability to exist as Bermudians on the world stage than the current generation. It is hard for me to envision that those Bermudians who built ships and earned their livelihoods from trade with other lands would fail to give themselves credit for standing on their own two legs and taking their business to the rest of the world when the rest of the world was bypassing Bermuda. Somehow between those times and today we, as a people, have lost that tremendous confidence in ourselves and our abilities.

Today, despite the fact the prosperous and world-renowned Bermuda we see today would not exist if Bermudians had not built and maintained its infrastructure, we are more willing than ever to give the credit to outsiders rather than taking that credit for ourselves. Modern Bermuda really is a monument to what past generations have done to create the sophisticated Bermudian society that we see today.

It is true that we have had waves of immigrants who have had their impact on Bermuda. But I have always been able to put such influxes of outsiders into a broader historical context and I realise that the story of Bermuda is no different than that of other countries that have come into being over the last 500 years or so.

The only difference is that virtually all of those other communities have gone on to develop into Independent nation states while Bermuda, as a dependent territory, remains an aberration in the modern world.

would have us believe that in the 21st century the concept of the nation state, if not actually dead, is on its death bed. They will point to developments like the North American Free Trade Agreement and the rise of the European Union as evidence that the nation state is on its last legs.

But such a mind-set ignores the continued existence of powerful sovereign states like the United States of America, which it could be argued had its start as a confederation of other, Independent states but is today the most powerful single player on the world stage in its own right and is likely to remain so for the forseeable future.

Then there are India and China, which in the future will become great nation states and will exert tremendous influence on world affairs. Even Britain, despite being a member of the EU, is reluctant to give up its identity as a nation state and continues to act independently to further what it sees as in its sovereign interests.

There currently exist in this world many entities which are considered to be micro-states and Bermuda, despite having not officially declared itself as an Independent country, falls into this category.

As this world continues to stumble towards a more equitable trading system, these micro-states have found if they are going to exist at all, than that existence must be predicated on their pursuit of what are called "niche" markets ? areas which they can use to create trading relationships with the rest of the world. And some have done very well, creating economies based on everything from tourism to offshore business ? just as we have done.

It is interesting that while Bermuda sets such great economic store by what we call "international business" and are wary of threats to it that may come from the United States, we don't seem to be mindful that such threats could also come from Europe.

look at the policies of the EU. Europe is not particularly enamoured with the concept of off-shore business jurisdictions as domiciles like the Channel Islands have discovered to their dismay. The Channel Islands are now being forced to comply with EU business regulations, a development that has hurt their off-shore business sector.

This raises an interesting question in my mind. Will our continued links with Britain help us or will they actually help to facilitate greater EU control over what we allow here?

This possibility serves to remind me of the maxim concerning relations between countries ? there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests. It is also useful to remember that when Britain saw fit, it removed us from its sterling currency area without the benefit of a warning.

In the future Bermuda may find that it will have to decide if its vital interests are best protected by being an Independent state with some limited leeway to act in its own interests or whether it will be wise to have those interests depend on the benevolence of a so-called Mother Country which has proved in the past that it will act in its own interests rather than ours if the need is there.

I have always maintained that through it all, Bermuda's destiny lies in the West and not in Europe. It is the Western Hemisphere where we currently have our strongest trading links; family ties and cultural influences.