Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In 1953, the first airfield in the Cayman Islands - the
Owen Roberts In-
ternational Airport
on Grand Cayman - was completed. A year later, an
airstrip opened on Cayman Brac. Within three years tourism began taking
hold on Seven Mile Beach. By 1957, dive operator Bob Soto began the is-
lands' first recreational diving business and introduced the world to these
pristine waters.
The islands continued as a dependency of Jamaica, with both as protector-
ates of Great Britain, until 1962 when Jamaica became independent. The
Caymanians had a far different view of the Union Jack than their Jamai-
can neighbors, however; in 1962 a vote overwhelmingly favored the is-
lands' remaining a British dependency.
TIMELINE
1503 - Discovery by Christopher Columbus.
1586 - Sir Francis Drake's ships stop on Grand Cayman for two
days.
1670 - Islands ceded to Britain (along with Jamaica) under the
Treaty of Madrid.
1672 - First settlers arrived near Bodden Town.
1708 - Great Britain renamed islands Cayman Islands.
1790 - Fort George constructed.
1794 - Wreck of the Ten Sails.
1831 - Pedro St. James hosts Assembly, which decides to form
democracy.
1835 - Emancipation of slaves.
1863 - Cayman becomes dependency of Jamaica.
1937 - First cruise ship visits.
1954 - First airfield.
1957 - First recreational diving business.
1962 - Cayman Islands vote to remain British Crown Colony.
Geography & Terrain
Location
Set in the westernmost reaches of the Caribbean, Grand Cayman
is about 180 miles west of Jamaica and 150 miles south of Cuba. It
spans 76 square miles, approximately 22 miles long and eight
miles at its widest point. The sister islands of Cayman Brac and Little
Cayman are 80 miles east-northeast of Grand Cayman and are separated
