Today marks Bermuda’s other 400th anniversary — that of the official settlement of Bermuda on July 11, 1612.Three years ago, Bermuda celebrated the 400th anniversary of the wreck of the Sea Venture, which marked the beginning of continuous human settlement of Bermuda.But that line of settlement was only held by a thread, given that when the Patience and Deliverance departed for Jamestown, they left behind just two men, deserters Christopher Carter and Edward Waters. As every schoolboy should know, this pair would remain, along with Edward Chard, when Matthew Somers left again with the body of Sir George Somers after the great Admiral died in Bermuda having returned from Jamestown to get food.And the trio would still be here on July 11, 1612 when the Plough arrived in Bermuda to settle the Island under the auspices of the Virginia Company. It’s curious then that the presence of two rather disreputable characters from 1609 to 1612 would be seen as the launch pad for Bermuda’s history.That Carter would betray his fellows over ambergris and thus ensure his own future adds to the mystery. It’s why descendants of Carter feel a slight twinge of embarrassment over their descent from the roguish “first Bermudian” — not least because when he was later Governor for a month, no work was done whatsoever.From these strands, Bermuda gets some of its character. For centuries, Bermudians have had a stubborn, independent streak, slipping occasionally into lawlessness. Indolence is not unknown, but is countered by the knowledge that the Island’s limited resources mean survival depends on work and ingenuity.Similarly, it is no coincidence that Bermuda was first settled by the Virginia Company and later administered by the Bermuda Company for several decades. Although that experiment failed, its spirit has survived and grown. Business and enterprise have always been central to Bermuda’s ethos. The Island’s geography and the early and arbitrary division of the Island into shares have determined its development. So 1612 is perhaps the more important date in Bermuda’s history, although the arrival of the Plough is far less romantic than the Sea Venture survivors’ sojourn.But it was in 1612 that the first early foundations of the Island’s settlement were laid down, warts and all. Had Bermuda not been colonised in 1612, Carter and his friends would have sailed away, ambergris safely stowed, leaving Bermuda empty once again. Carter would have been a castaway, not a settler. And if Bermuda had not been settled by the Virginia Company, it is unlikely that the first slaves would have come to Bermuda in 1616 and 1619 on English ships, thus beginning the second shameful strand of Bermuda’s history, which has done so much to shape the Island’s history and present.At the same time, the institutions which still form the lawful framework of Bermuda also date from 1612. It was the beginning of government, and the House of Assembly would hold its first session just eight years after the arrival of the Plough. Thus, rule of law based on self-government can trace its beginnings to 1612 as can the rest of Bermuda’s institutions.Few of these institutions have been perfect through the years, but today we can celebrate their steady progress to a greater state of liberty, health and prosperity than almost anyone in 1612 would have recognised or imagined possible.