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Geography |
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Capital |
George Town (pop. 20,626. |
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Area |
259 sq. km. (100 sq. mi.) on three islands: Grand Cayman (76 sq.
mi.), Cayman Brac (14 sq. mi.), and Little Cayman (10 sq. mi.). |
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Terrain |
Low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs. |
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Climate |
Tropical. |
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People |
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Nationality |
Noun and adjective--Caymanian(s). |
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Population |
(2007 est.): 46,600. |
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Groups |
Afro-European 40%, African 20%, European 20%, other 20%. |
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Religions |
United Church, Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic. |
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Languages |
English. |
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Government &
History |
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Official Name |
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Government |
British Overseas Territory. |
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Independence |
Constitution: 1972; called the Cayman Islands Order. |
The Cayman Islands remained largely uninhabited until the 17th
century. A variety of people settled on the islands, including
pirates, refugees from the Spanish Inquisition, shipwrecked sailors,
deserters from Oliver Cromwell's army in Jamaica, and slaves. The
majority of Caymanians are of African and British descent, with
considerable interracial mixing.
Great Britain took formal control of the Cayman Islands, along with
Jamaica, under the Treaty of Madrid in 1670. Following several
unsuccessful attempts, permanent settlement of the islands began in
the 1730s. The Cayman Islands historically have been popular as a
tax-exempt destination. Legend has it that Caymanians in 1788
rescued the crews of a Jamaican merchant ship convoy which had
struck a reef at Gun Bay and that the Caymanians were rewarded with
King George III's promise to never again impose any tax.
The Cayman Islands, initially administered as a dependency of
Jamaica, became an independent colony in 1959; they now are a
self-governing British Overseas Territory.
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