Colony of three islands in the West Indies, lying northwest of Jamaica. The name derives from a statement in the log of the first English visitor, Francis *Drake, that there were caymanas (the local word for crocodiles). The islands were settled by the British spasmodically from about 1670 and permanently from 1734. After 1863 they were controlled from Jamaica. When that became independent, in 1962, the Caymans opted to remain a crown colony.
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