MILITARILY speaking, St. George's Parish was the centre of action for the first two centuries of the settlement of Bermuda. The first fortifications were built there and the Parish always contained the heaviest concentration of forts, even to the end of coastal defence in 1957.

It was also in that eastern extremity that the only shots ever fired in anger were sent whistling seaward from Castle Island in March 1614. Those shots across the bows of two unfortunate Spanish vessels became a legend in the early history of Bermuda.

It might be said that the actions of the bellicose lot at the East End saved, some might say unfortunately, Bermudians from becoming Latinos, the Puerto Ricans or Cubans of the North Atlantic, if you will.

The 19 months of settlement leading up to that momentous occasion had been quite busy for the first permanent residents of the island. The first Governor, Richard Moore, dragooned them into the building of forts, when most wished to put a decent roof over their heads, plant gardens and get on with their new lives.

For the first decade, those military priorities took precedence over civilian goals. By the end of the term of the third Governor, Nathaniel Butler, 11 forts had been constructed.

One of these forts was made of wood and burnt to the ground in October 1619. The others were built of stone, but three have been lost completely. The remainder is part of Bermuda's World Heritage site, three standing almost as built and four as archaeological sites. These ten forts were Bermuda's first stone buildings, the first civilian stone structure being the State House of 1619. Stone houses apparently did not follow for at least half a century.

THE situation by March 1614 saw the presence of only six of those fortifications, not bad going for less than two years of occupation of the island. The first constructed was Paget Fort on Peniston's or Paget Island and Smith's Fort on Governor's Island opposite soon followed.

They guarded the mouth of the channel to St. George's Harbour. Protecting the town itself was St. Catherine's Fort, on the beach where the shipwrecked mariners of the Sea Venture had landed three years before and Warwick Castle, overlooking the village from the heights near the present Unfinished Church.

Out at the entrance to the other east end harbour, the King's Castle and Governor Moore's wooden fort covered the channel into Castle Harbour. It was from here that the first shots were fired, though not by any stretch of imagination were they 'heard round the world'.

Moore had salvaged the guns from the wreck of the Sea Venture for the King's Castle, which fronts the sea and the channel. Early in March 1614, the Blessing and the Star brought new immigrants to Bermuda and the Governor took their names and immediately 'put them all to work on his projects', including the King's Castle.

Meanwhile down south in early February, Captain Domingo de Ulivarri slipped moorings with a fleet of three naos at Santo Domingo, bound for Spain. Taking the best route, the ships sailed north with the Gulf Stream into the latitude of Bermuda, from where the east-blowing trade winds would sweep the fleet home to southern Europe.

Spanish captains were under orders to check out the settlement at Bermuda, as it stood dangerously athwart that sea lane to Europe, though instructions to have these insolent people quicklyannihilated seem fortunately only to be directed at the English colony at Jamestown, Virginia.

A few weeks out, one of the naos sprang a leak and was abandoned, the complement transferred to the other two vessels. The actions of Captain de Ulivarri that occurred thereafter at Bermuda were recorded in a contemporary report.

On 14 March at the 33rd latitude, they woke and found their ships three leagues south of the islands of Bermuda. The captain, knowing that His Majesty desired to know about the English colony, was determined to reconnoitre it. He approached the island from the south until he was in eight fathoms of water. Smoke was spotted on the island and immediately turning towards it, it was found to be emanating from two forts about 100 paces apart. One appeared to be built of mortar and stone and the other of wood. They saw people going from one to the other wielding artillery. There were ten to twelve pieces in both forts. One of the ships sailed into the [Castle harbour. Thinking the visitors English, the colonists put out in a small boat, stopped a musket shot away, and refused to board. When they recognised the ship to be Spanish, the forts fired. The launches that put out to them were newly built and, they judged, of native wood, because it had very red oars of cedar, which is plentiful on that island.

From a Bermudian report, Governor Moore, 'who was a very good gunner', blasted off two cannonballs from the King's Castle, one passing 'through and through' one of the ships, which turned tail and departed for Spain.

THE irony was that there was only one cannonball left in reserve and in firing the others, the good gunners spilled the only cask of gunpowder under the gun. But for luck, the whole lot could have gone up in smoke and the Spaniards could have taken the undefended island and we would be speaking Spanish to this day.

The de Ulivarri account is positive proof of the presence of masonry fortifications at Bermuda from the earliest days of settlement. The King's Castle is one of these outstanding monuments, now a World Heritage Site, but it is daily in a worsening condition from a lack of maintenance and damage sustained in recent hurricanes.

A shot across the bows of all concerned is needed, if this monumental piece of Bermuda heritage is not to sink beneath the waves without trace, like one of de Ulivarri's ships.

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Dr. Edward Harris, MBE, JP, FSA, Bermudian, is the Executive Director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum. The views expressed here are his opinion, not necessarily those of the trustees or staff of the Museum. Comments can be sent to drharrislogic.bm, to PO Box MA 133, Sandys MABX, or by telephone at 799-5480.