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Little Cayman history - learn what once happend
Christopher Columbus discovered the Cayman Islands on May 10th 1503 after his ship was steered off-course by strong winds. While this is known to have happened to Columbus on many previous occasions, this serendipitous discovery put the islands, first known as Las Tortugas, on the map. In the years to come, these islands would know the rule of many foreign countries, host notable noblemen, change names, and evolve into the bustling vacation destination that they are today. By the late 1500s the islands' name had been changed to Caymanas. Both Sir Francis Drake and William Dampier visited the islands and recounted stories of the many marine and land crocodiles that inhabited it. Just as 'Las Tortugas' was derived from the oversized turtles that were spotted on the islands, 'Caymanas' is derived from the Caribbean word for 'crocodile'. These animals were not only important for providing the islands' name, but their presence also did much to shape the early evolution of the islands. The rich sea life attracted pirates, sailors, and soldiers looking to fill up on meat before continuing their long journeys. In 1655, the Caymans became British entities, and for the first time settlers attempted to live on Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. Many soldiers formerly in Oliver Cromwell's strong army stayed on the islands after having defeated the Spanish in battle, and it is thought that Isaac Bodden, the first person born on Grand Cayman, was the son of a soldier in Cromwells army. Today, Bodden is a popular district on Grand Cayman. Even though the islands were under British rule, both Spanish and British privateers freely attacked many of the first settlers. Because privateering was legal, pirates would raid the towns and enemy ships to take goods back to their countries, and there was little help from the governing bodies who saw it as a way of seizing back captured wealth. This all ended with the Treaty of Utrecht (1713-1714), and conflict between France, Spain, and Britain ceased shortly thereafter, leaving many out-of-work pirates seeking refuge on the islands. There is a legend that in 1788, shortly before government was established, these pirates came together with ship-wrecked sailors, Spanish refugees, British settlers, and slaves in an effort to save ten stranded merchant ships that were traveling from Jamaica to Britain. After the ships were caught on the reef around the east end of the island near Gun Bay, locals went to great measures to be sure that no lives were lost (including the life of a member of royalty who happened to be on one of the ships). Because of this, the island was allegedly given freedom from conscription and taxation.
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Little Cayman Vacations site
Our company is running one of the largest pc and mobile travel website networks, covering top hotel, vacation package, airline ticket, beach, cruise, all inclusive and honeymoon destinations worldwide.
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In the link section, you can check more links to our travel website network as well as to other third party specialized websites as lastminute.com or orbitz.com which we suggest you to visit if are you planning a trip to Little Cayman Island.
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