A Cayman Islands come an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the western Caribbean Sea comprising the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman.

History

A Cayman Islands were number one visited by Christopher Columbus on May 10, 1503 during his fourth & final voyage to the New World. A foremost recorded English visitant to the islands was Sir Francis Drake, who landed there inside 1586 & known as a babies the Cayman Islands. A islands, along using nearby Jamaica, were ceded to England in 1670 under the Treaty of Madrid. It were governed as a individual colony using Jamaica until 1962 when they became the separate British overseas territory and Jamaica became an independent commonwealth realm.

A island of Grand Cayman was severely damaged per Category Five Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which destroyed many buildings & damaged 100%. Power, a water supply & communications were tons disrupted. Ivan was a worst hurricane to hit a islands inside 86 years. A Caiman develop manufactured rapid recovery since Ivan, by owning virtually all of the infrastructure nowadays restored.

Geography

A Cayman Islands come in the american Caribbean sea. A ternary islands come placed astir 480 miles south of Miami, 150 miles south of Cuba, and 180 miles northwest of Jamaica. Grand Cayman is by far the largest, by having an locality of 76 square miles. Them "Sister Islands" of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are located astir Xc miles east of Gr& Cayman & own areas of Fourteen square miles and Tenner square miles severally. Completely triplet islands were formed by big coral heads & come mostly flat. 1 notable exception to this is The Bluff on Cayman Brac, which rises to 140 feet above sea level, the greatest point on the island.

Demographics

A people of the Cayman Islands is 34,763 when of July 2000. Away from that total, astir half come of Caymanian descent. All about 60% of the people is of mixed race. Of the left over 40%, astir half come Caucasian and half are of African descent. A islands come virtually entirely Christian, by using prominent total of Presbyterians & Anglicans. Caymanians enjoy one of a greatest standards of dwelling in the West Indies. A brobdingnagian majority of the people lives in Grand Cayman. Cayman Brac is the 2nd virtually all populated by owning astir 2,000 residents, followed by Little Cayman sustaining around 200 lasting residents. Around a single quarter of the Islands' people left below Hurricane Ivan, due to a myriad of problems, fiscal & otherwise, from either the hurricane.

A capital & major city of the Cayman Islands is George Town, which is located on the west coast of Grand Cayman.

Economy

A economy of the Cayman Islands utilized to exist as built in turtling. Still, this industry began to disappear in the 20th century & touristry & fiscal services began to turn into predominant due to the advent of modern transport. A United States of America is the Cayman Islands' largest futures trading partner.

By owning an typical income of in $35,000, Cayamians enjoy a greatest standard of residing in the Caribbean. A islands print their have currency, a Cayman Islands Dollar (KYD), which is pegged to the US dollar at the fixed rate of Single KYD = I.227 USD. So, a C.We. Dollar's rate of exchange by owning tons more globe countries is directly attached to the U.S. Dollar's rate of exchange by owning people equivalent countries.

The food and drug administration's primary source of income is indirect taxation. An import duty of 20% is levied against goods imported into a islands. Couple goods come exempt; notable examples include books, cameras & baby formula. Duty in motorcar is charged in a sliding shell by using the duty reaching 40% for expensive system. The food and drug administration charges the flat licensing fee to financial institutions that work in the islands. The little fee is too charged to every holidaymaker that arrives on the islands.

Tourism

Touristry accounts for 70-75% of the annual GDP of the Cayman Islands & is hence the major a portion of the economy. Of a hundreds to thousands of tourer that visit the islands annually, 99% of the the children stay Grand Cayman. George Town as well serves as a major cruise ship port, which brings inside 2000-3000 holidaymaker the day, Quint years the week.

Grand Cayman's major holidaymaker attraction is the globe-famous Seven Mile Beach on which most of the island's hotels & resorts come placed. SMB was recently known as a "Caribbean's Best Beach" by Caribbean Travel and Life Magazine and is regarded by many when one of a better beaches in the globe.

A Cayman Islands come besides globe celebrated as a Scuba Diving destination because of their proximity to the Cayman Wall and the Cayman Trench, which extend deep into the coral reefs of the Caribbean. Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are also considered to exist as elect dive destinations.

Understand likewise: Scuba Diving on the Cayman Islands

Financial Services Industry

Because a Cayman Islands are non subject to direct taxation by the British government, nor is there a local income revenue enhancement, it help as an international offshore banking hub & tax haven for hundreds to thousands of population & corporations. When of July 2000, virtually 40,000 corporations were incorporated on the Cayman Islands including 600 banking & trust corporations by owning plus around excess of $500 billion. Just about 6,000 away from the world's 8,000 hedgefund come besides domiciled in the Cayman Islands.

Government and Politics

Although these come a British dependency, the Cayman Islands are largely self-independent on local affairs. The 15-seat Legislative Assembly is elected by the population each Quartet years to address domesticated affairs. Of the elective Members of the Legislative Assembly, or even MLA's, Fin come chosen to serve when minister. A head of government is the Leader of Government Business, which is currently The Honourable Kurt Tibbetts.

The Governor is appointed by a British government to represent the monarch. Inside modern days, a governor's powers come limited to treating defence, foreign affairs & a law. Virtually all one affairs come actually handled per Chief Secretary, who is a Acting Governor even whilst a Governor is nin breathe to discharge his common duties for 1 understanding or an additional, however on a day to day basis oversees the Civil Service including the portfolio of Internal & External Affairs. A todays governor of the Cayman Islands is His Excellency the Governor Mr. Bruce Dinwiddy, CMG and the current Chief Secretary is Hon. George McCarthy, OBE, JP

the islands use been governed by a written constitution since becoming a British Crown Colony within 1962. Presently, a Governor has known as for a Constitution to become modernised, an issue existence debated per Legislative Assembly, sustaining Britain with mass produced it known that such an action should originate inside a population of the Cayman Islands & watch the referendum route.

Taxation

As a taxation haven two Caymanians & Caymanian corporations are non subject any form of straight taxation. Yet, an import taxatiin of between Five-20% is levied on about completely imported goods.

Military

A defence of the Cayman Islands is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. So, a islands use there are no constituted armed services. It wash nonetheless use at times their have police, a Royal Cayman Islands Police Service and in 2001, the little Cayman Islands Cadet Corps was formed in the place of a traditional army.

Foreign Relations

A foreign relations of the Cayman Islands are largely managed from a United Kingdom, as a islands remain an overseas territory of the UK. Notwithstanding, the food and drug administration of the Cayman Islands typically resolves significant issues by owning foreign governments alone, forgoing intervention from either Britain. Although inside its early times, a Cayman Islands' first relationships were using Britain & Jamaica, in recent years, this has shifted, & it currently swear other and then on the United States.

Though a Cayman Islands came exposed inside there is no major international disputes, it utilise come under occasionally criticism due to the use of their territory for narcotics trafficking & money laundering. Around an attempt to location this, a food & drug administration entered into a Narcotics Agreement of 1984 and the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty of 1986 sustaining a United States, sequentially to reduce a apply of their facilities associated with these activities. Within extra recent years, it develop stepped higher a fight against money laundering, by limiting banking secrecy, introducing requirements for client identification & record keeping, & requiring banks to cooperate by having foreign investigators.

Due to their status as an overseas territory of a UK, the Cayman Islands use at times there are no representation either on the United Nations, or inside virtually all more international organizations. Yet, the Cayman Islands however participates within occasionally international organisations, existence a to the full member of the Central Development Bank and International Olympic Committee, an associate member of Caricom and UNESCO, and the member of the sub-bureau of Interpol.

In fiction

Big area of the novel The Firm by John Grisham takes place on the Cayman Islands. the independent character works for a Memphis, Tennessee law firm that utilizes island banks for money laundering.

Frankie Flowers' 2004 film Haven takes place on Grand Cayman. Frankie Flowers occurs as indigen of the Cayman Islands.