Cayman Islanders

ETHNONYMS: none

Orientation

The Cayman Islands are an English-speaking British crown colony situated in the northwest Caribbean. Its three small islands lie between 19°15′ and 19°45′ N and 79°40′ and 81°30′ W. The largest and most populated of the islands is Grand Cayman, which is located about 240 kilometers south of Cuba, 740 kilometers south of Miami, and 290 kilometers northwest of Jamaica. Grand Cayman is 35 kilometers long and has a total land area of 197 square kilometers. Cayman Brac, the second-largest island, is located 142 kilometers away. It is 19 kilometers long and has a total land surface of 36 square kilometers. The island of Little Cayman completes the group. It lies about 10 kilometers from Cayman Brac and is 16 kilometers long, with a land area of 26 square kilometers.

According to the last census, in 1989, the total population of the Cayman Islands was 25,355, indicating a tripling of the population in the preceding thirty years. A provisional estimate, by the Economies and Statistics Office, of 31,150 by the end of 1993 suggests that the population has continued to increase. Ninety-four percent of this population reside on Grand Cayman, which has been the major site of tourist and financial development since the late 1960s. The population of the "sister islands" together numbered only 1,474 in 1989, with the majority residing on Cayman Brac. There were only 33 residents on Little Cayman. Unlike that of Grand Cayman, the population size of the sister islands has remained relatively stable, alternately rising and then declining between 1960 and 1989.

History and Cultural Relations

Ethnographic and historical depictions of the Caribbean have been dominated by the impact of the plantation systems that drove the colonization of this region. The Caymanian experience, however, diverges considerably from the elements that are usually associated with this form of historical development. With limited arable land and scarce fresh water supplies, the Cayman Islands were never able to support large-scale plantations. The islands do not appear to have ever been inhabited by Amerindians, and although the first White settlers owned slaves, the numbers were very small compared to the large plantation work forces of other Caribbean societies. In 1802 the total population was 933, of whom 551 were slaves. Agriculture, therefore, was small scale and largely oriented toward local consumption; the wide variety of crops included maize, cassava, yams, and potatoes.

Seafaring formed the true backbone of the Caymanian economy until the late twentieth century. From the early stopovers of European ships during the 1600s, and well into the 1900s, turtling constituted an important marine enterprise. Indeed, it was the abundance of large sea turtles on the shores and in the local waters of the Caymans that first attracted Europeans to the islands. As local supplies became exhausted, Caymanians, in search of turtles, voyaged further afield, to the south coast of Cuba and later to the keys off Nicaragua. This voyaging was reflected in the small-scale shipbuilding that occurred throughout the islands. Among the personal recollections of the early twentieth century gathered for the Cayman Islands Memory Bank, ship launches are recounted as an exciting and important social occasion, drawing people from other districts and providing a special opportunity for interaction and communal celebration.

During the twentieth century, turtling came to be rivaled and then surpassed by another form of seafaring. Caymanian men put their maritime skills to use in service on merchant ships belonging to the United States, Honduras, and Panama. Their labor infused otherwise scarce cash into the local economy and soon became its mainstay as the proportions of men away at sea increased. It was very difficult for the men to arrange time off or passage back to Cayman, and they were often away from their families for months, or even years. Facing such obstacles, many seamen settled in the United States, contributing to the steady stream of emigration that characterized the Cayman Islands from the mid-nineteenth until the mid-twentieth century.

Unlike the plantation systems of other Caribbean territories, the limited agriculture and maritime enterprises of the Caymanian economy could not support a class of leisured landowners. The elite consisted of a small number of merchant families who based their wealth and influence on mercantile trade and ship ownership rather than on land. Apart from this small elite, however, class differences were limited. Until the development of the 1970s and 1980s, most Caymanians, of whatever racial background, had quite meager incomes and modest life-styles. This economic convergence also served to mute the impact of racial differences. Although the wealthy merchant families were White, many White islanders lived in much the same circumstances as their Black counterparts. For most of the history of the Cayman Islands, interracial conjugal unions have been very common. Thus, unlike the tendency in plantation societies toward polarization between a small White elite and a large Black proletariat, in the Cayman Islands the majority of residents were of mixed racial background and were publicly recognized as such.

Settlements

When slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1834, there was enough uninhabited land in the Cayman Islands for the former slaves to establish their own freeholds. This broad access to land became very important when the price of real estate started to rise dramatically in the late 1960s, allowing many Caymanians to turn a profit on land that formerly had little commercial value. Many of the former slaves settled in the North Side District, one of five districts in Grand Cayman (the others being West Bay, George Town, Bodden Town, and East End).

The original capital of Grand Cayman was Bodden Town, which is located in the central part of the island. Bodden Town was eventually replaced by George Town, which today is the most populous district of Grand Cayman. The development of tourism, banking, and commerce that transformed the Cayman Islands has been largely concentrated in George Town. The city of George Town is the seat of government and the center for social and medical services, finance, and duty-free shops. The landing for cruise ships is located in the city, and the international airport is situated in the George Town District, as are most of the major hotels and restaurants. Given this centralization, it is perhaps not surprising that in 1989, 12,921 people, or about half of the total Cayman Islands population, resided in this district. In addition, many residents of the two adjoining districts, West Bay and Bodden Town, commute to workplaces in George Town.

This commuting is made possible by a modern road network that now connects settlements in all five districts. Before World War II, there were few roads, and internal transport and communication was very difficult, especially for the isolated outer districts of North Side and East Side, and even more so for the sister islands. Settlements were self-sufficient, and interaction between them was very limited. As a result, a strong sense of local-district identity developed, juxtaposed with far-flung international contacts through seafaring and emigration. To some extent, that juxtaposition persists in spite of the contemporary ease of access and communication between the settlements and their integration into a centralized island economy and infrastructure. People who travel frequently out of the country, deal regularly with tourists and expatriate workers, wear the latest Western fashions, drive cars made in the United States or Japan, and find fax machines indispensable can nonetheless be very reluctant to move from the district in which they grew up to another district only 10 or 20 minutes away by car.

Economy

Driving past the luxury condominiums, hotels, restaurants, and shops on West Bay Road or the duty-free shops and office towers of George Town, it is difficult to imagine the seafaring and agricultural communities of the Grand Cayman of the 1950s and 1960s. Today one is far more likely to encounter turtles or crops in the managed breeding pools of the Turtle Farm in West Bay or the Smith Road demonstration farm than in the districts or shores of Cayman. The Cayman Islands currently meets virtually all the consumption needs of residents and visitors through imports, and its economy is almost entirely based on tourism and finance. In 1990 there was a total of 614,870 visitors, and the number continues to increase: in 1994, Cayman received 503,000 visitors in the first six months alone. Encouraged by the absence of any direct taxation of companies and individuals or of inheritance taxes and estate duties, an extensive professional and financial infrastructure has evolved. The climate of confidentiality, backed by legislation and sophisticated communications, has induced some 546 banks and trust companies from over sixty countries, 24,000 companies, and approximately 500 mutual funds to locate or register in the Cayman Islands. In addition, Cayman has become one of the world's most popular centers for offshore captive insurance, (insurance companies owned by other companies that thereby acquire business insurance at rates lower than they could get from independent insurers), with 367 such companies operating in 1992.

Several developments appear to have facilitated this dramatic transformation. The construction of the George Town airport in 1953 and an airstrip in Cayman Brac in 1954 made the islands more easily accessible to visitors. During the early 1960s, the mosquitoes that infested the Caymans and made life very uncomfortable were finally brought under control. This made the islands much more appealing to tourists. The most important development, however, was probably the 1962 decision of Caymanians not to follow Jamaica into independence from Britain.

The status of the Cayman Islands had, for most of its history, been linked with Jamaica. From 1863 until 1959, the Cayman Islands were formally a dependency of Jamaica. From 1957 until 1962, both the Cayman Islands and Jamaica were members of the Federation of the West Indies. Nonetheless, in 1962, when the majority of Jamaicans voted to leave the federation and to seek independence from the United Kingdom, the Cayman Islands did not follow suit, opting instead to remain a British colony. The continuity of colony status has been perceived by investors and visitors as a potent symbol of the Cayman Islands' political stability in the face of the more turbulent political upheavals that have marked recent years in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean.

The reputation of the Cayman Islands as a stable, peaceful spot in which outsiders can safely vacation and invest has been both its greatest asset and its Achilles' heel. It has helped to make Caymanians very prosperous. The Cayman Islands' per capita income is very high, comparing most favorably with that of Western industrialized societies. There is little unemployment or poverty, and, during the 1980s and early 1990s, the gross national product enjoyed impressive rates of annual growth. That prosperity has, however, involved a very high and rather precarious dependence on outsiders with little vested interest in the Cayman people themselves. That dependence extends to labor as well as capital.

The rapid and dramatic expansion of the Caymanian economy has created a shortage of labor at all levels of the economy. The Cayman Islands responded by importing labor from all over the world but in particular from other parts of the Caribbean, North America, Britain, and Ireland. Expatriate workers are employed in the civil service, financial industries, cultural organizations, hotels, restaurants, shops, water-sports outlets, and construction and as doctors, accountants, lawyers, and architects. In short, foreign workers have become a critical mainstay for the Caymanian economy, and their presence has been an important contributor to Cayman's recent population expansion. In 1989 these workers and their families accounted for 32 percent of the total population. Most come to Cayman on temporary work permits (Gainful Occupation Licenses) granted to their prospective employers and subsequently renewed only on the condition that there are no suitable local workers who can fill the position. This transitory status does not do much to encourage foreign workers to make long-term investments in the Cayman Islands, a situation that can evoke resentments among both locals and expatriates.

Kinship, Marriage, and Family

Contemporary households tend to be occupied by nuclear rather than extended families. This pattern appears to be long-standing and not a recent development. Hannerz (1973, 1974) found that in 1970 most households at all levels of the social hierarchy were made up of nuclear families. At about the same time, in a study of households in East End, a community then still dependent on seafaring, Goldberg (1976) found that, to be considered a full adult, a man was expected to set up his own household, marry, and have children.

The composition of households may not have changed, but the roles of its members have. One of the most significant shifts has been the entry of women into the paid labor force. Until the 1960s, economic opportunities for women were extremely limited. One of the few sources of cash income for women used to be the sale of ropes that they wove from the fronds of the thatch palm (Goldberg 1976a, 117). In contrast, in 1989, out of a total of 10,125 women over the age of 15, 7,513 (74 percent) were employed outside the home. In most contemporary Caymanian families therefore, both parents are now employed outside the home. This shift has raised concerns about the welfare of youngsters who may come home from school to an empty house—the "latchkey children," as they are called. Initially, there were few organized responses to this situation. In 1994, however, the Ministry for Community Development announced plans to set up after-school programs at churches in every district.

There is concern about the impact of rapid development on the institutions of Caymanian society. The extended Caymanian family, some people fear, is breaking down, with unwelcome consequences for child rearing and social order. Although Caymanian families have certainly had to adjust to a changing economic and social climate, kinship links continue to be extensive and valued. Most native-born Caymanians are the descendants of a small group of early settlers. As a result, certain surnames are extremely common. Although a shared surname does not necessarily indicate an active or even traceable kinship link, most Caymanians can count many known and recognized kin within their local community. In fact, the improvement of internal and external transportation has made it easier to maintain contact with kin both off and on the islands. As a result of the extensive emigration from the Cayman Islands, many Caymanians have relatives in other countries, with whom contact has been greatly facilitated by modern communications and air travel.

Sociopolitical Organization

The Constitution Order of 1972 provided for much of the current government framework, vesting legislative power in the Legislative Assembly and executive power in an executive council and governor. During the early 1990s, the constitution was subjected to a lengthy process of review and subsequent amendment. The Legislative Assembly is now made up of fifteen members who are elected every four years by voters in the six political districts of the Cayman Islands. These elected members in turn elect the Speaker of the Assembly. An additional three "Official Members" of the Legislative Assembly—the financial secretary, the attorney general, and the chief secretary—are appointed by the governor. The executive council comprises five elected ministers and the three "official" appointees and is chaired by the governor. Although the Cayman Islands have achieved a fair amount of internal self-government, the final say still rests with the governor, who is appointed by—and is subject to—the authority of the British Crown. The Crown also has the power to disallow laws passed by the Cayman legislature, and the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council is the final domestic court of appeals for the Cayman Islands. In considering the issue of a constitutional amendment, the National Team government, elected in 1992, pointed out that the changes they recommended were minor and did not "advance" the constitution at all; that is, the changes did not move the Cayman Islands any closer to full internal self-government or independence.

It has been more difficult to assert control over crime and, even more significantly, fear of crime. Although crime rates remain generally low, violent crime being rare, residents who were accustomed to leaving their homes and cars unlocked, now have a growing perception and concomitant fear that Cayman is not quite as safe as it once was. A good deal of newspaper print and policing effort is devoted to the "war against drugs." It is commonly believed that the Cayman Islands are used as a warehouse for drugs en route to the United States, although most arrests are for simple possession. Among inmates in Northward Prison, 85 percent were jailed for drug-related offenses. In 1994 a new ministry was created, devoted to health, drug-abuse prevention, and rehabilitation.

Religion and Expressive Culture

Churches play an extremely significant role in Caymanian society. The majority of native Caymanians are regular churchgoers, but, as the government proposal for church-based after-school programs indicates, the churches are far more than religious centers; they are also key community centers. Churches serve as the basis for a variety of voluntary associations and activities. They sponsor programs, including Bible schools, for children, and full-time private schools are usually affiliated with a particular church or religious movement. The United Church of Jamaica and Grand Cayman has the largest membership, but the Baptist movement dominates in Cayman Brac. There are a number of other Christian denominations, but other religions do not, as yet, have institutional representation, although they do have some adherents.

In the 1980s there was an efflorescence of new organizations concerned with recording, preserving, and promoting Cayman's cultural and historical heritage. One such organization is the Caymanian Cultural Foundation, which mounts plays in—and administers—the Harquail Theatre. The foundation also has a broader mandate: to promote appreciation for and expression of a range of fine arts, with a particular concern for traditional crafts and folk art. The National Trust has gradually honed down an initially broad mandate to preserve natural environments and places of historic significance. The National Museum was initially mandated by legislation in 1979 but only opened to the public in 1990 when the Old Courts Building in George Town was renovated for its use. The National Archive is a repository for historical archives and government records. It has also become the home for the Cayman Islands Memory Bank which, inspired by the Jamaican Memory Bank, aims to harvest an oral history of the Cayman Islands through interviews with elderly Caymanians. The proliferation of these cultural organizations reflects a growing sense of urgency, in certain quarters, that unique elements of Cayman's environment, history, and culture must be salvaged before they are entirely eradicated by economic development.

Bibliography

Buchler, I. R. (1962). "Caymanian Folk Racial Categories." Man 62:185-186.

Buchler, I. R. (1963). "Shifting Cultivation in the Cayman Islands." Antropologica 12:1-5.

Davies, Elizabeth (1989). The Legal System of the Cayman Islands. Oxford: Law Reports International.

Doran, Edwin (1953). "A Physical and Cultural Geography of the Cayman Islands." Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.

Goldberg, Richard S. (1976a). "The Concept of Household in East End, Grand Cayman." Ethnos 41(1-4): 116-132.

Goldberg, Richard S. (1976b). "East End: A Caribbean Community under Stress." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Texas at Austin.

Hannerz, Ulf (1973). "Managerial Entrepreneurship and Economic Change in the Cayman Islands." Ethnos 38 (1-4): 102-112.

Hannerz, Ulf (1974). Caymanian Politics: Structure and Style in a Changing Island Society. Studies in Social Anthropology, 1. Stockholm: University of Stockholm, Department of Social Anthropology.

Hirst, George S. (1910). Notes on the History of the Cayman Islands. Kingston, Jamaica: P.A. Benjamin Manf. Co. Reprint. 1967. Grand Cayman: Caribbean Colour.

Hughes, H. B. L. (1946). "Notes on the Cayman Islands." Jamaican Historical Review 1(2): 154-158.

McLaughlin, Heather R. (1991). Cayman Yesterdays: An Album of Childhood Memories. Grand Cayman: Cayman Islands National Archive.

Martins, Dave, ed. (1992). Cayman Islands: Who's Who & Business Guide. Grand Cayman: Star Communications.

Williams, Neville (1970). A History of the Cayman Islands. Grand Cayman: Government of the Cayman Islands.

VERED AMIT-TALAI