| The
Cayman Islands - often referred to as The Caymans, just Cayman - were first
sighted by Christopher Columbus on May 10, 1503 during his disastrous 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
after the Neo-Taíno nations term (caiman) for crocodile (Zayas, 1914). The first recorded
permanent inhabitant of the Cayman Islands, Isaac Bodden, was born on
Grand Cayman around 1700. He was the grandson of the original settler
named Bodden who was likely one of Oliver Cromwell's soldiers at the
taking of Jamaica in 1655. The islands, along with nearby Jamaica, were
ceded to England in 1670 under the Treaty of Madrid. The Caymans 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. The island of Grand Cayman was severely damaged by the Category
Five Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which destroyed many buildings and
damaged 70% of the island. Power, water and communications were all disrupted.
Ivan was the worst hurricane to hit the islands in 86 years. The island
has made rapid recovery since Ivan, with the bulk of the infrastructure now
restored. |
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