Founded Upon the Seas: A History of the Cayman Islands and Their People

by Michael Craton, The New History Committee

This book is the first comprehensive history of the Cayman Islands. Researched and written by the noted Caribbean Historian Michael Craton and the Cayman Islands New History Committee, it explores in detail the social, economic and political history of all three islands. Researched, written edited and designed over a 6-year period, this book is in several respects a national history. The text and illustrations encompass the most important subjects, facts and events in Cayman History and its analysis of the main currents in Cayman's past is addressed to the reader from a standpoint that is simultaneously modern, scholarly and Caymanian. Based on a wealth of information drawn from archives and libraries in the Caribbean, Europe and North America, the text is illustrated with rare maps, facsimile documents and numerous historical photographs.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was given to me by a friend of the author otherwise it’s too precious and specific for me to read. But it’s very well done. Great photos and maps. A bit patriotic, but not to the point of overlooking real challenges. It’s a beautiful book and for those who like to travel to such places, a useful bit of context.

[Val · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book, well produced and containing several illustrations and a lot of interesting information. I do not need to know this much about the Cayman Islands, but it is good to find that they are not just a place for people to fiddle their taxes and that the wealth from the dubious banking practices has enabled them to commission this detailed history.
Alright, I'm being sarcastic there, but the book is lavishly over-produced.

Amerindians settled many of the islands in the Caribbean, but do not seem to have had a settlement on any of the Cayman Islands, so these are among the very few places in the Americas where Europeans did not dispossess the indigenous inhabitants. Even the European powers were not that interested for many years. They were noted and mapped by Columbus and later navigators and sometimes visited, but a permanent base was not established until sometime between 1670 and 1730, by the British. For many years the colony was small and mainly depended on fishing, including for turtles, and shipbuilding. Even the slave-worked plantation economy prevalent throughout the Caribbean and the Southern USA had little impact on the Cayman Islands The shortage of fresh water hampered the growth of agriculture. It is only in the latter half of the twentieth century that the islands started to attract tourists, bankers and development. The book covers all this in detail.

[Kiki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a thorough and detailed history, well-researched and beautifully illustrated.

The Caymans are three tiny, rocky isles in the midst of a huge sea, ignored by most of the world for most of time. Thus their history and culture are unique, even (or perhaps especially) among the other island nations that are their nearest neighbors. This thick, beautiful, and well-researched tome expresses that.

If you are a lover of peoples, histories, and/or cultures, you will enjoy this book. If you are a Caymanian or a descendant of Caymanians you will especially enjoy this book.

[Tristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my type of book

[Chuck Herrold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read after first Cayman Trip