Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands

Flag of the Cayman Islands Coat of Arms of the Cayman Islands
National motto: He Hath Founded It upon the Seas
Principal language	English
Political status	Overseas territory of the United Kingdom
Capital	George Town
Governor	Bruce Dinwiddy
Leader of Government Business	Kurt Tibbetts
Area  - Total  - % water	Ranked 221st 260 km² 1.6%
Population  - Total (2005 est.)  - Density	Ranked 212th 44,270 140/km²
Currency	Cayman dollar
Time zone	Universal Time -5
Internet TLD	.ky
Country Calling Code	1-345

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.

Geography

The Cayman Islands are an island nation located in the British dependency. Comprised of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman the Cayman Islands are a three-island archipelago resting in the Caribbean Sea. The islands are 240 km south of Cuba and 268 km northwest of Jamaica with its geographic coordinates being 19°30 north, 80°30 west, lying the Cayman Islands between Cuba and Central America. Having a land area of 259 km² (101.2 square miles), the islands are about 1.5 times the size of Washington, D.C., with a coastline of 160 km (99 miles). These islands make a maritime claim of a 200-nautical mile exclusive fishing zone which includes 12 nautical miles of territorial sea.

The Cayman Islands' lowest elevation is sea level meeting the Caribbean Sea. The highest point is known as "The Bluff," a limestone coastal cliff of 43 meters (141 feet) above sea level on the eastern end of Cayman Brac. "Brac" in Gaelic translates to "Bluff" given in the name Cayman Brac. The terrain is mostly the low-lying limestone base, surrounded by coral reefs. In 2005 an estimate of land use determined that the Cayman Islands had only 3.85 percent fertile land and no permanent crops.

The Cayman Islands have a tropical marine climate, with a wet season of warm but rainy summers lasting from May all the way through October. And a dry season with relatively cool winters lasting from November straight though to April. Although a serious environmental issue is the lack of fresh water resources. The demand of drinking water is supplied only by catching of rainwater and desalination, which is the proccess of removing salt from water. Another problem are the tropical cyclones that form during the Atlantic hurricane season from July to November, which is the islands' end of the summer season lasting until the beginning of the winter season.

History

Christopher Columbus discovered the Cayman Islands on May 10, 1503 and named them Las Tortugas after the numerous sea turtles there. Columbus had found the two small islands (Cayman Brac and Little Cayman) and it was these 2 islands that he named "Las Tortugas."

A 1523 map of the islands referred to them as Lagartos, meaning alligators or large lizards, but by 1530 they were known as the Caymanas after the Carib word for the marine crocodile which also lived there.

The first recorded English visitor was Sir Francis Drake in 1586, who reported that the caymanas were edible, but it was the turtles which attracted ships in search of fresh meat for their crews. Overfishing nearly extinguished the turtles from the local waters.

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.

A variety of people settled on the islands: pirates, refugees from the Spanish Inquisition, shipwrecked sailors, and slaves. The majority of Caymanians are of African and British descent, with considerable interracial mixing.

British rule

Britain took formal control of the Caymans, along with Jamaica, under the Treaty of Madrid in 1670 after the first settlers came from Jamaica in 1661-71 to Little Cayman and Cayman Brac. These first settlements were abandoned after attacks by Spanish privateers, but British privateers often used the Cayman Islands as a base and in the 18th century they became an increasingly popular hideout for pirates, even after the end of legitimate privateering in 1713. Following several unsuccessful attempts, permanent settlement of the islands began in the 1730s. The Cayman Islands historically have been popular as a tax haven. In November 1794, 10 vessels which were part of a convoy escorted by HMS Convert, were wrecked on the reef in Gun Bay, on the East end of Grand Cayman, but with the help of local settlers, there was no loss of life. The incident is now remembered as The Wreck of the Ten Sail. Legend has it that there was a member of the Royal Family onboard and that in gratitude for their bravery, King George III decreed that Caymanians should never be conscripted for war service and Parliament legislated that they should never be taxed. However, no real evidence has been found for this.

Dependency of Jamaica

From 1670, the Cayman Islands were effective dependencies of Jamaica, although there was considerable self-government. In 1831, a legislative assembly was established by local consent at a meeting of principal inhabitants held at Pedro Castle on December 5th. Elections were held on December 10th and the fledgling legislature passed its first local legislation on December 31st 1831. Subsequently The Governor of Jamaica ratified a legislature consisting of eight magistrates appointed by the Governor of Jamaica and 10 (later increased to 27) elected representatives.

In 1835, Governor Sligo arrived in Cayman from Jamaica to declare all slaves free in accordance with the Emancipation Act of 1833.

The Cayman Islands were officially declared and administered as a dependency of Jamaica from 1863, but were rather like a parish of Jamaica with the nominated justices of the peace and elected vestrymen in their Legislature. From 1750 to 1898 the Chief Magistrate was the administrating official for the dependency, appointed by the Jamaican governor. In 1898 the Governor of Jamaica began appointing a Commissioner for the Islands. The first Commissioner was Frederick Sanguinetti. In 1959, upon the formation of the Federation of the West Indies the dependency status with regards to Jamaica ceased officially although the Governor of Jamaica remained the Governor of the Cayman Islands and had reserve powers over the Islands. Starting in 1959 the chief official overseeing the day to day affairs of the islands (for the Governor) was the Administrator. Upon Jamaica's independence in 1962, the Cayman Islands broke its administrative links with Jamaica and opted to become a direct dependency of the British Crown, with the chief official of the islands being the Administrator.

In 1953 the first airfield in the Cayman Islands was opened as well as the George Town Public hospital. Barclays ushered in the age of formalised commerce by opening the first commercial bank.

Independence

Following a two year campaign by women to change their circumstances, in 1959 Cayman received its first written constitution which, for the first time, allowed women to vote. Cayman ceased to be a dependency of Jamaica.

During 1966, legislation was passed to enable and encourage the banking industry in Cayman.

In 1971 the governmental structure of the Islands was again changed with a Governor now running the Cayman Islands. Athel Long CMG, CBE was the last Administrator and the first Governor of the Cayman Islands.

In 1991 a review of the 1972 constitution recommended several constitutional changes to be debated by the Legislative Assembly. The post of Chief Secretary was reinstated in 1992 after having been abolished in 1986. The establishment of the post of Chief Minister was also proposed. However, in November 1992 elections were held for an enlarged Legislative Assembly and the Government was soundly defeated, casting doubt on constitutional reform. The "National Team" of government critics won 12 (later reduced to 11) of the 15 seats, and independents won the other three, after a campaign opposing the appointment of Chief Minister and advocating spending cuts. The unofficial leader of the team, Thomas Jefferson, had been the appointed Financial Secretary until March 1992, when he resigned over public spending disputes to fight the election. After the elections, Mr. Jefferson was appointed Minister and leader of government business; he also held the portfolios of Tourism, Aviation and Commerce in the Executive Council. Three teams with a total of 44 candidates contested the general election held on November 20, 1996: the governing National Team, Team Cayman and the Democratic Alliance Group. The National Team were returned to office but with a reduced majority, winning 9 seats. The Democratic Alliance won 2 seats in George Town, Team Cayman won one in Bodden Town and independents won seats in George Town, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

Although all administrative links with Jamaica were broken in 1962, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica continue to share many links and experiences, including membership in the Commonwealth of Nations (and Commonwealth citizenship) and a common united church (the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands) and Anglican diocese (although there is debate about this) as well as a common currency (until 1972). Also, by 1999, 38-40% of the population of the Cayman Islands was of Jamaican origin and in 2004/2005 little over 50% of the expatriates working in the Cayman Islands (i.e. 8,000) were Jamaicans (with the next largest expatriate communities coming from the United States, United Kingdom and Canada).

Hurricane Ivan 2004

In September 2004, The Cayman Islands were hit by Hurricane Ivan, causing mass devastation, loss of human and animal life (both wild and domestic/livestock) and flooding, with some accounts reporting that 25% or more of Grand Cayman had been underwater and with the lower floors of buildings being completely flooded. This natural disaster also led to the bankruptcy of a heavily invested insurance company called Doyle. The company had re-leased estimates covering 20% damage to be re-insured at minimal fees when in fact the damage was over 65% and every claim was in the millions. The company simply could not keep paying out and the adjusters could not help lower the payments due to the high building code the Islands adhere to.

While there were visible signs of damage, in the vegetation and an apparent lack of construction in some places, the Island was bustling again as some things had been freshly re-built and those that were not were quite on their way. There remain housing issues for many of the residents as of late 2005.

Government and Politics

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. Of the elected Members of the Legislative Assembly, or MLA's, 5 are chosen to serve as government ministers. The head of government is the Leader of Government Business, which is currently Kurt Tibbetts.

A governor is appointed by the British government to represent the monarch. In modern times, the governor's powers are limited to handling defence, 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 current governor of the Cayman Islands is Bruce Dinwiddy and the current chief secretary is George McCarthy.

The islands have been governed by a written constitution since becoming a British crown colony in 1962. Currently, the Governor has called for the constitution to be modernised, an issue being debated by the legislative assembly, with Britain having made it known that such an action should originate within the people of the Cayman Islands and follow the referendum route.

Foreign relations

Because the Cayman Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, their foreign relations are therefore largely managed through and by the U.K. However, the islands' government often handles important issues with foreign governments solitarily, without any intervention from the United Kingdom. Although in the country's beginning years, the Cayman Islands relied majorly on its mother nation, the United Kingdom, and help from neighboring country Jamaica, but in recent years the focus has been shifted to getting help mostly from the United States.

The Cayman Islands are not involved in any major international disputes, however, they have come under constant criticism pertaining to the use of their country's territory for narcotics trafficking and money laundering. In an attempt to address this, the Cayman Islands' government entered into the 'Narcotics Agreement' in 1984 and the 'Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty' in 1986 with the United States, in order to reduce the use of their facilities associated with said activities. In more recent years though, they have tried to keep the fight against money laundering to a minimum, by limiting banking secrecy, requiring banks to cooperate with any foreign investigators and by introducing requirements for customer identification and record keeping.

Military

The United Kingdom is in charge of the Cayman Islands' military defence. Because of this the islands have no permanent established military. However, they do have their own police force, the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. And still yet, in 2001 the small Cayman Islands Cadet Corps was formed in place of a traditional military army.

Taxation

As a tax haven from the British government and local income tax, both Caymanians and Caymanian companies are not subject to any form of direct taxation. However, an import tax of between 5%-20%, and sometimes even 40% on up-scale automobiles, is placed on almost all imported goods.

Demographics

As of July 2000 the population of the Cayman Islands stood at 34,763. About half of the 34,763 people living on the islands at the time (17,381) were of Caymanian descent, but 60% of the population is of mixed race. And of the remaining 40%, about 20% is Caucasian and the other 20% are from African descent. The islands are almost majorly Christian, except for a large number of Presbyterians and Anglicans. The vast majority of the population is on Grand Cayman, with Cayman Brac being populated with about 2,000 residents; leaving Little Cayman to be the least populated with around 200 permanent residents. However, approximately one quarter of the Islands' population left following Hurricane Ivan in 2004, due to the many problems consisting of financial and otherwise, caused by the hurricane.

The major and capital city of the Cayman Islands is George Town, located on the west coast of Grand Cayman.

Education

The public schools on the islands are operated by the Cayman Islands Education Council.

Economy

Map of the Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands' major natural resource and high region of income is fish. The economy of the islands' used to be built around turtling. However, turtling began to disappear in the 20th century while tourism and financial services began to become dominant in the economy. The United States of America happens to be the Cayman Islands' largest product trading partner.

With a national average income of around $35,000, Caymanians are on the highest end of living expenses in the entire Caribbean. The country prints their own currency, the Cayman Islands dollar (C.I. dollar), which is tied to the U.S. dollar at a fixed rate of 1 KYD = 1.227 USD. Therefore, the C.I. dollar's rate of exchange with every other country in the world is the same exchange rate with the U.S. dollar's rate of exchange with those same countries.

Indirect taxation is the government's primary source of income. An import fee imposed and enforceable by law or custom is known as duty. As there is a duty of 20% charged on goods imported into the islands. However, a few goods are not taxed, for example, books, cameras and baby formula. Duty on automobiles is charged on a curved scale with the duty reaching as much as 40% for expensive models. The government charges a flat fee for licensing to financial institutions that operate on the islands. A small fee is also placed on each tourist that lands on the islands.

Tourism

Climate and beaches foster tourism, which is Cayman Islands' major industry. Tourism accounts for 70%-75% of the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Cayman Islands and because of it, it is a major part of the islands' economy. Out of the millions of tourists that visit the islands each year, 99% of the them stay on Grand Cayman; possibly because George Town serves as a major cruise-ship port, which brings in 2,000 - 3,000 tourists a day, 5 days a week.

File:Seven Mile Beach1.jpg

World-Famous Seven Mile Beach on Grand Cayman's West Shore

Grand Cayman's major tourist attraction is the world-famous Seven Mile Beach. Where because of its luscious waters and endless strip of sand, many hotels and resorts are located here. The Seven Mile Beach was recently named the "Caribbean's Best Beach" by Caribbean Travel and Life Magazine. It is also famed as one of the best beaches in the world.

The Cayman Islands are also well known and world famous for being a scuba diving destination because of their proximity to the Cayman Wall, an underwater wall of coral reef ideal for deep sea scuba diving while still being near enough to land. And also being well known for the Cayman Trench, which extends deep into the coral reefs of the Caribbean. Even the less populated islands of the Cayman Islands, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are also considered to be elite dive destinations.

Financial services industry

As of 2000, nearly 40,000 companies were incorporated on the Cayman Islands because of the lack of local income tax, as well as a lack of taxation by the British government. This is because since the lack of taxation The Cayman Islands hold as an international offshore-banking and tax haven for millions, including 600 banking and trust companies with assets in excess of $500 billion. In fact approximately 6,000 out of the world's 8,000 hedge funds are located in the Cayman Islands.

External links

• Cayman Islands Government
• Cayman Islands Department of Tourism
• Cayman Islands Investment Bureau
• Grand Cayman Islands Vacation Directory

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