Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

CAYMAN ISLANDS

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V05, Page 590 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

CAYMAN ISLANDS , a See also:

group of three See also:low-Iying islands in the See also:West Indies. They consist of See also:Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, and are situated between 790 44' and 8o° 26' W. and 19° 44' and 19° 46' N., forming a dependency of See also:Jamaica, which lies 178 m. E.S.E. Grand Cayman, a See also:rock-See also:bound See also:island protected by See also:coral reefs, is 17 M. See also:long and varies from 4 M. to 7 M. in breadth. It has two towns, See also:Georgetown and Boddentown. Little Cayman and Cayman Brac are both about 70 M. E.N.E. of Grand Cayman. Excepting near the rocky See also:coast, the islands are fruitful, See also:mahogany and other valuable timbers with some dye-See also:wood are grown, and large quantities of coco-nuts are produced by the two smaller islands. Phosphate deposits of•considerable value are worked, but the See also:principal occupation of the inhabitants is catching turtles for export to Jamaica. The See also:people are excellent shipwrights and do a considerable See also:trade in schooners built of native wood. The islands are governed by a See also:commissioner, and the See also:laws passed by the See also:local legislative See also:assembly are subject to the assent of the See also:governor of Jamaica. The See also:population of the group is about 5000.

The islands were discovered by See also:

Columbus, who named them Tortugas from the turtles with which the surrounding See also:sea abounds. They were never occupied by the Spaniards and were colonized from Jamaica by the See also:British.

End of Article: CAYMAN ISLANDS

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
CAYLUS, 		[next]
CAZALES, JACQUES ANTOINE MARIE DE (1758-18os)

Site © 2006 - Net Industries