Once a dependency of Jamaica, the Cayman Islands (including Grand Cayman and its sister islands Cayman Brac and Little Cayman) came under direct British rule after Jamaica declared independence in 1962. Granted greater autonomy under a 1972 constitution, the islands are largely self-governing and economically self-sufficient.

FACTS
Territory: Cayman Islands
Status: British overseas territory
Population: 47,900 (UN, 2008)
Capital: George Town, on Grand Cayman
Area: 260 km2 (100 sq miles)
Major language: English
Major religion: Christianity
Currency: Cayman Island dollar
Main exports: Fish, cut flowers
Internet domain: .ky
International dialling code: +345

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS 2011
New Year’s Day: January 1
National Heroes’ Day (fourth Monday in January): January 24
Ash Wednesday: March 9
Good Friday: April 22
Easter Monday: April 25
Discovery Day (third Monday in May): May17
Queen’s Birthday: June 14
Constitution Day (first Monday in July): July 4
Remembrance Day: November 15
Boxing Day: December 26
Christmas Day: December 27 (in lieu of Sunday December 25)

ECONOMICS
The Cayman Islands is a major offshore financial centre – capital of the world’s hedge fund industry; fifth largest banking centre. Tourism accounts for three quarters of earnings. Caymanians and Cayman Island companies pay no direct tax. Government income is derived from indirect taxation such as import duties.
Tourism, banking and property are big money earners, having overtaken the traditional trades of fishing, turtle hunting and shipbuilding.
Over 9,000 mutual funds, around 260 banks and 80,000 companies operate through the islands.

HISTORY
Christopher Columbus discovered the islands in 1503 and named them Las Tortugas, after the giant turtles that he sighted in the surrounding seas. The islands were later renamed Caymanas, from the Carib Indian word for a crocodile.
Once threatened with extinction from over-hunting, turtles are now bred mainly for domestic consumption at the Cayman Turtle Farm. The farm releases hundreds of turtles into the wild every year.    Source: BBC.

LOCAL LEGEND: TEN SAIL AND TAXATION
An incident in 1794, known as the Wreck of the Ten Sail, has had a profound influence on the history of Cayman. The incident occurred when a convoy of British ships hit the reef in East End. The local population showed great bravery in rescuing all those aboard.
Legend has it that a royal personage was among those saved. In gratitude King George III granted Cayman freedom from taxation.
When Jamaica became independent in 1962, Cayman opted to remain a dependant territory of the British Crown, with a governor appointed by Britain.

POINTS OF INTEREST IN CAYMAN

Step Well
An historic step well discovered in 2003 is believed to be one of four documented in the maps of British Admiralty surveyor, George Gauld, in the early 1700s. The Cayman Islands National Museum (CINM) and the Kirkconnell family, on whose property the ancient water source is located, have preserved the well in a joint initiative. Opposite Hog Stye Bay, the well is within Grand Cayman’s commercial harbour.
Salvage work on the site of the step well was started six years ago by CINM’s archaeologist Margaret Leshikar-Denton, volunteers and staff.  Discovered by volunteer, Robin Gibb, the well was first excavated and each of its steps scrubbed and cleaned. The Cayman Islands Water Authority has tested the water in the well and rated it still good enough to drink.
Visitors to Bayshore Mall can view the step well through a framed pane of glass set in the floor of a commercial store in the mall opposite the CINM.

Pedro St James Castle
The castle is the oldest known stone dwelling in the Cayman Islands. Slaves from Jamaica built it in 1780 as the great house for mariner, plantation owner and early English settler William Eden. In the 1990s the government purchased the property and carried out a renovation.
Set in over 7.65 acres, the site encompasses a three-storey, early 18th century great house and its accompanying outbuildings, with palm-lined walkways, a great lawn and spectacular views of the sea. A multimedia theatre and visitors centre help place the site into historical perspective.
Pedro St James is located in the Savannah area of Grand Cayman.

Stingray City and the Sandbar
Stingray City has become a major attraction for visitors. There are actually two sites: Stingray City, where divers swim in 20-foot-deep water with stingrays, and the Sandbar, where people can walk among rays in waist-high water.
Maritime Heritage Trail
The Cayman Islands Maritime Heritage Trail was created by a partnership of the Cayman Islands National Museum, environment department, National Archive and National Trust. The trail is a land-based driving tour around the three islands, with 36 stops marked by signs at historically significant sites. Two poster/brochures, one for Cayman Brac and Little Cayman and one for Grand Cayman, interpret the trail for explorers.
Maritime place names, lighthouses, maritime architecture, shipbuilding, hurricane caves, forts, turtle fishing, anchorages, early explorers, maritime activities and shipwrecks are all highlighted on the trail.

Shipwreck Preserves trail in the making
Shipwreck Preserves is a multi-phase programme to promote and protect maritime cultural resources in the waters of all three islands.
The Preserves, representing a variety of shipwrecks managed, interpreted and legally protected, will be linked as the Cayman Islands Shipwreck Preserve Trail. The first Preserve is planned for the site of the iron-hulled barque Glamis, built in Dundee, Scotland, in 1876 and wrecked under the Norwegian flag in 1913.
This site, located in shallow water off East End in Grand Cayman, has been mapped by the Cayman Islands National Museum together with students from the anthropology department of Florida State University.

Hell
This site consists of an area of sharp spires of calcareous rock approximately one million years old, blackened by fungus over time. There is a post office where visitors can purchase a postcard and have it mailed with a Hell postmark.