Cayman Islands

From ArticleWorld

The Cayman Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the western Caribbean Sea comprising the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman.

The Cayman Islands were first visited by Christopher Columbus in 1503 during his fourth and final voyage to the New World. They were governed as a single colony with Jamaica until 1962 when they became a separate British overseas territory and Jamaica became an independent commonwealth realm.

Although a British dependency, the Cayman Islands are largely self-governing.

The Cayman Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the western Caribbean Sea comprising the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. The Cayman Islands are located in the western Caribbean Sea. The three islands are situated about 480 miles south of Miami, 150 miles south of Cuba, and 180 miles northwest of Jamaica. Grand Cayman is by far the largest, with an area of 76 square miles. The two "Sister Islands" of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are located about 90 miles east of Grand Cayman and have areas of 14 square miles and 10 square miles respectively.

The Cayman Islands - often referred to as The Caymans, or (more correctly) just Cayman - were first visited by Christopher Columbus on May 10, 1503 during his fourth and final voyage to the New World. The first recorded English visitor to the islands was Sir Francis Drake, who landed there in 1586 and named them the Cayman Islands. The islands, along with nearby Jamaica, were ceded to England in 1670 under the Treaty of Madrid. They were governed as a single colony with Jamaica until 1962 when they became a separate British overseas territory and Jamaica became an independent commonwealth realm.

Although it is a British dependency, the Cayman Islands are largely self-governing concerning local affairs. A 15-seat Legislative Assembly is elected by the people every 4 years to handle domestic affairs. A Governor is appointed by the British government to represent the monarch. In modern times, the governor's powers are limited to handling defense, foreign affairs and the police force. Most of these affairs are actually handled by the Chief Secretary, who is the Acting Governor when the Governor is not able to discharge his usual duties for one reason or another, but on a day-to-day basis oversees the Civil Service including the portfolio of Internal & External Affairs.

The Cayman Islands came into popular consciousness due to the novel The Firm by John Grisham, as most of the action in the novel takes place there. The island is shown as an offshore banking haven that is misused by corrupt officials.

The island again came into popular consciousness when the Grand Cayman was severely damaged by the Category Five Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which destroyed many buildings and damaged most of them. Power, water and communications were all disrupted. Ivan was the worst hurricane to hit the islands in 86 years.

The island, however, has made rapid recovery since Ivan, with most of the infrastructure now restored.