The Caymans—The Islands Time Forgot
YOU can swim in the calm, blue waters. You can dive to explore the many wrecks on the ocean floor. Or you can pay a visit to a turtle farm. Where? In the Cayman Islands—Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman.
‘But where on earth are the Cayman Islands?’ you might ask. That is an understandable question because they are so small that they are seldom shown on world maps. When they do appear, they may merely be shown as three tiny dots in the Western Caribbean Sea, 150 miles [240 km] south of Cuba, or some 500 miles [800 km] south of Miami, Florida.
Discovered in 1503 by Christopher Columbus on his last voyage through the West Indies, the islands—Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, since Columbus never saw Grand Cayman—were called Las Tortugas (The Turtles). That was because of the large number of turtles that was seen on and around the islands. In 1670, by the Treaty of Madrid, Spain ceded the islands to Britain, and they have remained a British colony ever since.
Turtles, Pirates, and High Tech
In the days of sailing ships, these islands were a favorite port of call of the great ships plying the Caribbean waters. The abundant green sea turtles became a convenient source of fresh meat for the hungry sailors. The turtles were eaten fresh, or they were carried aboard dried or salted. They became a major source of protein during long voyages.
But the islands were noted for something else. The flat terrain and safe harbors attracted other men of the high seas. Notorious privateers and pirates, such as Sir Henry Morgan and Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, used these islands as hideouts or bases of operation for their forays against commercial vessels. This colorful bit of history is commemorated by an annual festival called Pirates’ Week, considered locally to be a highlight of the year.
As the turtle population dwindled and steamships replaced sailing ships, fewer and fewer ships called. And since few islanders had radios, for all practical purposes the Cayman Islands were cut off and forgotten by the rest of the world. They earned for themselves the title “The Islands Time Forgot.”
By the 1960’s, however, the picture began to change. Local banking and taxation laws, coupled with the advent of high-tech communications systems, turned this once forgotten territory into one of the best known international banking centers. The islands counted their 500th bank opening in June 1987. The upturn also spurred the tourist business. The local tourist board was elated when a total of 8,244 visitors came in 1966. That figure had jumped to 430,000 in 1986, making tourism second in importance only to the financial industry. There is, however, another group of people who are keenly interested in these islands.
Visitors of Another Kind
Jehovah’s Witnesses, who take seriously Jesus’ words that the good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all nations, did not overlook the Cayman Islands. (Matthew 24:14) As early as 1929, Patrick Davidson, who was overseeing the preaching work in Jamaica, paid a visit to Grand Cayman. In spite of opposition, he managed to sow the seeds of Kingdom truth.
Davidson made a second visit in 1937, but it was not until 1950 that a thorough coverage of Grand Cayman was undertaken by Aleck Bangle and a fellow missionary. Hundreds of pieces of Bible literature were distributed in a short time. The missionaries reported that they found the people friendly, easy to talk to, and eager to hear the good news.
Caymanians Hear the Good News
Steadily and patiently, the missionaries and other full-time ministers continued their work. By 1959 there was a small group of 12 Kingdom publishers, and a congregation was organized. One of the first local residents to accept Bible truth was Wilbert Sterling. He can well remember the days when the small band of Witnesses had to cover their territory on foot. Although now blind and in his 80’s, Brother Sterling still serves as an elder in the Georgetown Congregation.
The diligent efforts of those early Kingdom proclaimers have been blessed by Jehovah. There is now an average of 60 Kingdom publishers amid a population of about 17,000. Many of the islanders have come to appreciate that the Witnesses are different because their worship is Bible based.
For example, a woman working in a restaurant saw a Witness preaching from house to house. She approached him and asked what she had to do to become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. She was told that she would have to take in accurate knowledge of Jehovah God and his Son, Jesus Christ, and then put it into practice. (John 17:3) Upon hearing that, she accepted a home Bible study. Today, she is serving Jehovah as one of his witnesses.
Many of those who have accepted the truth are from other countries. They have made Cayman their home or are temporary residents on work contracts. Thus, one sister expressed the desire to see more native Caymanians in the congregation. She prayed to Jehovah to help her find a native who wanted to study the Bible. Not long after that, she contacted a young woman who already had the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, and the sister started a Bible study with her. Within a few months, the woman began attending meetings, abandoned her former religion, and started to share what she was learning with others. Within a year she became a dedicated, baptized witness of Jehovah.
The preaching work received a further boost in 1982, when a missionary couple were assigned to Grand Cayman. They conducted many home Bible studies and laid a fine foundation for further expansion.
Opposition Defeated on Cayman Brac
The island of Cayman Brac is about 90 miles [140 km] northeast of Grand Cayman. From time to time, missionaries and other full-time workers from Grand Cayman stopped over to bring the good news to its 1,700 inhabitants. But exciting things began to happen there in 1986.
A couple working there on contract started to study and progressed to the point of dedication and baptism. Then, two other Witnesses moved in from other lands. The increased activity soon brought the wrath of opposers, who tried to get the immigration authorities to cancel the work permits of the newly baptized couple. Their efforts were thwarted, however, when the chief immigration officer in Georgetown, Grand Cayman, took the position that if the religious opposers were upset by the work of the Witnesses, they should also go from house to house to counter it. No open hostility has been felt since.
Remembered by Jehovah
The people of the Cayman Islands have certainly not been forgotten by Jehovah, the Grand Creator. Rather, he is making it possible for the good news to be preached in these small islands, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah: “Sing to Jehovah a new song, his praise from the extremity of the earth, you men that are going down to the sea and to that which fills it, you islands and you inhabiting them.”—Isaiah 42:10.
The Cayman Islands can rejoice that from Jehovah’s standpoint, they are not “The Islands Time Forgot.”
[Maps on page 22]
(For fully formatted text, see publication)
Caribbean Sea
LITTLE CAYMAN
CAYMAN BRAC
[Map]
GRAND CAYMAN
[Map]
CUBA
LITTLE CAYMAN
GRAND CAYMAN
CAYMAN BRAC
JAMAICA