Whatever aboriginal inhabitants the islands may have had left no trace of their existence. The first human known to have laid eyes on the islands was Columbus, who in 1503 spotted a swarm of turtles around Cayman Brac and Little Cayman and named the islands Tortugas in their honor. By the time Francis Drake got to Grand Cayman in 1586, the islands were commonly known as Caymanas, after a Carib word for crocodiles. For the next century or so, the Caymans were used by lurking pirates and turtle-hunting sailors, but there were no permanent settlers until the 1660s, when a couple of deserters from the British army came over from Jamaica. In 1670, the islands became possessions of the British Crown, falling under Jamaican administration. The Crown turned a blind eye to the use and abuse of the Caymans by privateers, pirates and parrots.

Aside from cotton farming and turtle hunting, the major early occupation was wrecking - the practice of salvaging the remains of ships that ran aground on the islands' many reefs. The most famous of these disasters is the Wreck of the Ten Sails, which occurred when a ship struck a reef in 1794, causing a chain reaction involving nine other vessels. According to legend, the Caymanians went to such lengths to aid the shipwrecked that a grateful George III granted the islands tax-free status then and there.

By 1800, the population was still under 1000, half of whom were slaves. After slavery was abolished in 1835, most freed slaves remained on the islands, and by 1900 the Caymans' population had quintupled. Cotton, mahogany, sarsaparilla and thatch rope (mostly exported to Jamaica) joined fishing, turtling and shipbuilding as the Caymans main industries until tourism and banking took the mantle during the mid-20th century.

Although divers 'discovered' the Caymans in the 1950s, islanders were slow to relinquish their isolation. By the next decade, however, Caymanians had been seduced by the idea of having rivers of cash flowing in and they begain fashioning the tax structure that's made Grand Cayman a center of offshore banking (there are more financial institutions here than in New York City) and the infrastructure that's made it a capital of Caribbean tourism. The 1960s also saw the islands shrug off Jamaican stewardship and place themselves directly under the British Crown. Since then, political contests have been fought by 'teams' (as parties are prohibited), though there have been few major issues and little sentiment for independence. The islands also created several marine parks, bird sanctuaries and other nature reserves during this period.

Grand Cayman has been heavily influenced by American mores, especially in George Town and the resorts along Seven Mile Beach. In the smaller villages and on Little Cayman and Cayman Brac, the culture is more traditionally West Indian, although the British influence is close to the surface. English is, after all, the only language spoken on the islands, and the Queen's birthday is celebrated every June with a parade and a 21-gun salute. West Indian traditions are noticeable in the soca, calypso and reggae you'll hear emanating from locals' jeeps, clubs and bars.

The Cayman's most prominent living artist is Gladwyn K Bush, an elderly painter known to most as Miss Lassie. Born in 1914, Miss Lassie didn't begin painting until encouraged by a spiritual experience in 1984. Her vibrant 'markings' (as she calls them) are mostly representations of biblical scenes as envisioned in her dreams. Miss Lassie's home on South Sound Road (ask a local for directions) is covered in paintings and is a bit of a landmark.

There are lots of churches in the Caymans and lots of Christians of every stripe frequenting them. Sunday is very much a day of churchgoing, and visitors are welcome to attend most services. Whether it's a part of the religious ethic or a throwback to straitlaced British behavior, politeness and modesty are much appreciated by Caymanians: a 'good morning' will go a long way, topless bathing is illegal and it's definitely not acceptable to wear bathing suits off the beach. Unlike some other well-touristed Caribbean destinations, there is no beach-hawking culture in the Caymans.