The Cayman Islands are overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The islands are comprised of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman.
First visited and discovered by Christopher Columbus May 10, 1503 during his fourth and final voyage to the New World. After Colombus the first recorded English speaking visitor to the islands was Sir Francis Drake. This was in 1586. It is Francis Drake who named the islands the Cayman Islands. The islands, as well as Jamaica, were granted to England in about 1670 by the Treaty of Madrid. Until 1962, with Jamaica they were governed as a single colony, when they became a separate British overseas territory. At that time Jamaica also became an independent commonwealth country.
Just recently the island of Grand Cayman, was damaged by a severe Category Five Hurricane, Ivan. Much was destroyed in September 2004 when Ivan ripped through the area, Ivan damaged many buildings many buildings and damaging nearly all. Ivan has been the worst hurricane to hit the islands in over 85 years. Most of the infrastructure has now been restored in a rapid recovery.
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