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The Cayman Islands were sighted in 1503 by Christopher Columbus, who called them the Turtle Islands. He called them Turtle Islands due to the incredible amount of this kind of animal. -
In 1530 the islands were known as the Caymanus, a name that may have derived from the confusion between the iguana found on the islands and the alligator in Spanish. -
The islands were first visited by an Englishman in 1586, when Francis Drake landed on them and renamed them the Cayman Islands. -
During the Anglo-Spanish War of 1655-1660, England controlled the islands, as well as neighbouring Jamaica.
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The islands were given up by Spain to the English crown in 1670, under the terms of the Treaty of Madrid. -
After 1734 most of the settlers came from Jamaica and the Cayman Islands became a dependency of Jamaica. -
Ten ships returning to Britain from Jamaica were stranded on the shores of Grand Cayman in 1794, and the islanders took them in. -
The Cayman Islands created a separate constitution in 1959. -
The Cayman Islands were separated from Jamaica on the 6 of August. The Cayman Islands were finally managed as a British Empire colony.