A free lecture on Thursday will examine how Bermuda’s history has been told and interpreted through the years.

A spokeswoman for the National Museum of Bermuda said Alexander Goodrich, lecturer at North Carolina State University’s department of history, will deliver the virtual talk, Heritage Tourism and the Politics of Public Memory in Bermuda.

The spokeswoman said: “As tourism expanded in the early 20th century, Bermuda’s historic sites came under increasing pressure, prompting key organisations to decide what would be preserved and shared with the public.

“These choices shaped a curated version of the island’s past, often highlighting colonial connections while overlooking stories of enslavement, inequality and social struggle within a segregated society.”

She added that Dr Goodrich’s presentation, part of NMB’s Bermuda & the Atlantic World lecture series, “explores how these narratives have evolved over time, examining how history has been shaped, challenged and reinterpreted to better reflect Bermuda’s diverse and complex past, and why that matters today.”

Deborah Atwood, NMB curator, said: “History is not simply a timeline of events — it is a human story, complex and often contested.”

Elena Strong, NMB executive director, said: “How we tell our history matters — this lecture invites us to examine the stories we’ve inherited, the voices that have been left out and the importance of continuing to broaden our understanding of Bermuda’s past.”

Members of the public can register for the lecture, set to start at 5.30pm, via Zoom and visit nmb.bm/lecture or the museum’s YouTube channel to watch all previous lectures in the series.

Visit nmb.bm/donate to donate to the museum’s Anchor Fund, which supports NMB’s lectures and education programmes.