The Cayman Islands were first seen and recorded by Christopher Columbus on one of his voyages to the new world. Columbus named these islands "Las Tortugas" because of the islands large number of turtles. In the late 1500s, and for hundreds of years after, ships would stop at Great Cayman which was uninhabited at the time to stock on turtle meat as a source of food. Due to this large amount of hunting, the turtle population on the Cayman Islands started to deplete. People still eat turtle meat on the Cayman Islands; however, it is seen as a delicacy because of the high price.
The islands remained uninhabited for years to come. This was, in large part, due to numerous pirates in the area. Some of the most infamous pirates in history dwelled in the areas around the Cayman Islands. The most notorious of which was Edward Teach, otherwise known as Blackbeard. Because of the history of pirates, there is a holiday known as "pirate week" in which they host mock pirate invasions from the sea.
The Cayman Islands were permanently inhabited in the 1730s. Many inhabitants of the Cayman Islands were not free. In fact, about half of the early settlers in the Cayman islands were African slaves. The other half of the population mainly consisted of the British and deserters from the Jamaican army.
After the emancipation of slaves in the Cayman Islands in 1835, citizens were practically forced to live entirely off the sea. Things like plants for soaps, fish skin as basic materials for cleaning, and silver thatch palms were used for hats, roofs, and baskets. Following the years leading up to the World War I and for many years after, many citizens left the islands to find new opportunities in the surrounding islands or the Americas. Many of those citizens sent gifts back to their families on the islands and returned to visit or settle down once again. This process helped diversify the Cayman Islands with people of many different backgrounds calling the islands home.
source:explorecayman.com| Country | Percent |
|---|---|
| Cayman Islands | 35.4% |
| Jamaica | 24.8% |
| Philippines | 5.5% |
| United Kingdom | 5.3% |
| United States | 5.2% |
| Honduras | 4.2% |
| Canada | 3.3% |
| Other | 16.3% |