The Maritime Heritage of the Cayman Islands

This first illustrated nautical history of the Cayman Islands describes how an intrepid and independent group of islanders flourished on the frontiers of the sea.The Caymans, three remote landforms in the western Caribbean, for centuries possessed one of the most remarkable marine fisheries in the New World. From the moment of their discovery by Europeans in 1503, they were recognized for their abundance of sea turtles, a resource that supported the colonization of the West Indies and fostered the development of a distinctive group of sea-hardened people whose nautical skills were known throughout the world.Roger C. Smith follows the mysterious tracks of the sea turtles and the mariners who hunted them, from the shores of the Caymans to the coastal lagoons of Cuba and finally to the Miskito Cays of Nicaragua. He also pursues the colonial exploits of privateers and pirates, examines the development of island catboats and schooners, and takes the reader underwater to the sites of unlucky ships that wrecked on poorly charted reefs. As archaeological sites and diving attractions, sunken ships continue to share a central role in today's Caymanian maritime perspective.Blending elements of geography, archaeology, and ethnography, this readable history offers a fascinating portrait of all aspects of Caymanian nautical traditions.