That same year saw an attack on a turtle fishing settlement on Little Cayman by the Spanish under Manuel Ribeiro Pardal. Įngland took formal control of the Cayman Islands, along with Jamaica, as a result of the Treaty of Madrid of 1670. He was the grandson of an original settler named Bodden, probably one of Oliver Cromwell's soldiers involved in the capture of Jamaica from Spain in 1655. The first recorded permanent inhabitant, Isaac Bodden, was born on Grand Cayman around 1661. Cayman Islands National Museum, George Town, Grand Cayman Sir Francis Drake briefly visited the islands in 1586. No immediate colonisation followed Columbus's sighting, but a variety of settlers from various backgrounds eventually arrived, including pirates, shipwrecked sailors, and deserters from Oliver Cromwell's army in Jamaica.

However, in succeeding decades, the islands began to be referred to as 'Caimanas' or 'Caymanes', after the caimans present there. He named them 'Las Tortugas', after the large number of turtles found there (which were soon hunted to near-extinction). It is believed that the first European to sight the islands was Christopher Columbus, on, during his final voyage to the Americas. The Cayman Islands got their name from the word for crocodile ( caiman) in the language of the Arawak-Taíno people. It is likely that the Cayman Islands were first visited by the Amerindians, the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. Main articles: History of the Cayman Islands, Colony of Jamaica, and West Indies Federation 2 dollar Cayman 1975 Immigrants from over 130 countries and territories reside in the Cayman Islands. With a GDP per capita of $91,392, the Cayman Islands has the highest standard of living in the Caribbean, and one of the highest in the world. The territory is a major offshore financial centre for international businesses and wealthy individuals, largely as a result of the state not charging taxes on any income earned or stored. The Cayman Islands is considered to be part of the geographic Western Caribbean zone as well as the Greater Antilles. The capital city is George Town on Grand Cayman, which is the most populous of the three islands. The 264-square-kilometre (102-square-mile) territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located south of Cuba and north-east of Honduras, between Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula. The Cayman ( / ˈ k eɪ m ən/) Islands is a self-governing British Overseas Territory, and the largest by population.

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