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113-607: Utila ( Spanish : Isla de Utila ) is the smallest of Honduras ' major Bay Islands , after Roatán and Guanaja , in a region that marks the south end of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System , the second-largest in the world. It has been documented in history since Columbus' fourth voyage. The eastern end of the island is capped by a thin veneer of basaltic volcanic rocks, erupted from several pyroclastic cones including 74 m (243 ft) Pumpkin Hill which forms
226-546: A tropical wet and dry climate , with a wet season from May to October, and a dry season that runs from November to April. Seasonally, there is little temperature change. A major natural hazard is the tropical cyclones that form during the Atlantic hurricane season from June to November. On 11 and 12 September 2004, Hurricane Ivan struck the Cayman Islands. The storm resulted in two deaths and caused significant damage to
339-625: A Spanish-based creole language called Chavacano developed in the southern Philippines. However, it is not mutually intelligible with Spanish. The number of Chavacano-speakers was estimated at 1.2 million in 1996. The local languages of the Philippines also retain significant Spanish influence, with many words derived from Mexican Spanish , owing to the administration of the islands by Spain through New Spain until 1821, until direct governance from Madrid afterwards to 1898. Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands ( / ˈ k eɪ m ən / )
452-483: A bank and several hotels, as well as the introduction of a number of scheduled flights and cruise stop-overs. Politically, the Cayman Islands were an internally self-governing territory of Jamaica from 1958 to 1962, but they reverted to direct British rule following the independence of Jamaica in 1962. In 1972, a large degree of internal autonomy was granted by a new constitution, with further revisions being made in 1994. The Cayman Islands government focused on boosting
565-588: A considerable number of words from Arabic , as well as a minor influence from the Germanic Gothic language through the period of Visigoth rule in Iberia. In addition, many more words were borrowed from Latin through the influence of written language and the liturgical language of the Church. The loanwords were taken from both Classical Latin and Renaissance Latin , the form of Latin in use at that time. According to
678-517: A dramatic change in the pronunciation of its sibilant consonants , known in Spanish as the reajuste de las sibilantes , which resulted in the distinctive velar [x] pronunciation of the letter ⟨j⟩ and—in a large part of Spain—the characteristic interdental [θ] ("th-sound") for the letter ⟨z⟩ (and for ⟨c⟩ before ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ ). See History of Spanish (Modern development of
791-483: A dynamic environment for marine life. While visitors are not allowed to take anything, there are endless sights. Each of the five decks of the ship offers squirrelfish, rare sponges, Goliath groupers, urchins, and more. Experienced and beginner divers are invited to swim around the Kittiwake . Pirates Week is an annual 11-day November festival started in 1977 by the then-Minister of Tourism Jim Bodden to boost tourism during
904-476: A first language by Spaniards and educated Filipinos ( Ilustrados ). Despite a public education system set up by the colonial government, by the end of Spanish rule in 1898, only about 10% of the population had knowledge of Spanish, mostly those of Spanish descent or elite standing. Spanish continued to be official and used in Philippine literature and press during the early years of American administration after
1017-471: A long history in the territory of the current-day United States dating back to the 16th century. In the wake of the 1848 Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty , hundreds of thousands of Spanish speakers became a minoritized community in the United States. The 20th century saw further massive growth of Spanish speakers in areas where they had been hitherto scarce. According to the 2020 census, over 60 million people of
1130-456: A major rebuilding program on Grand Cayman meant that its infrastructure was almost back to its pre-hurricane condition. Due to the tropical location of the islands, more hurricanes or tropical systems have affected the Cayman Islands than any other region in the Atlantic basin. On average, it has been brushed, or directly hit, every 2.23 years. The islands are in the western Caribbean Sea and are
1243-466: A more mixed-race population. The country's demographics are changing rapidly. Immigration plays a large role, and the changing demographics in age have sounded alarm bells in the most recent census. In comparison to the 2010 census, the 2021 census has shown that 36% of Cayman's population growth has been in persons over age 65, while 8% growth was recorded in groups under age 15. This is due to extremely low birth rates among Caymanians, which almost forces
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#17328764809101356-452: A permanent English-speaking population in the islands dates from the 1730s. With settlement, after the first royal land grant by the governor of Jamaica in 1734, came the introduction of slaves . Many were purchased and brought to the islands from Africa. That has resulted in the majority of native Caymanians being of African or English descent. On 8 February 1794, the Caymanians rescued
1469-498: A primarily Hassaniya Arabic -speaking territory, Spanish was officially spoken as the language of the colonial administration during the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, Spanish is present in the partially-recognized Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as its secondary official language, and in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Tindouf ( Algeria ), where the Spanish language is still taught as
1582-599: A second language features characteristics involving the variability of the vowel system. While far from its heyday during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco , the Spanish language has some presence in northern Morocco , stemming for example from the availability of certain Spanish-language media. According to a 2012 survey by Morocco's Royal Institute for Strategic Studies (IRES), penetration of Spanish in Morocco reaches 4.6% of
1695-518: A second language, largely by Cuban educators. The number of Spanish speakers is unknown. Spanish is also an official language of the African Union . Spanish was an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish administration in 1565 to a constitutional change in 1973. During Spanish colonization , it was the language of government, trade, and education, and was spoken as
1808-483: A variety of settlers from various backgrounds eventually arrived, including pirates , shipwrecked sailors, and deserters from Oliver Cromwell 's army in Jamaica . Sir Francis Drake briefly visited the islands in 1586. The first recorded permanent inhabitant, Isaac Bodden, was born on Grand Cayman around 1661. He was the grandson of an original settler named Bodden, probably one of Oliver Cromwell's soldiers involved in
1921-615: Is Stingray City, Grand Cayman . Stingray City is a top attraction in Grand Cayman and originally started in the 1980s when divers started feeding squid to stingrays. The stingrays started to associate the sound of the boat motors with food, and thus visit this area year-round. There are two shipwrecks off the shores of Cayman Brac, including the MV Captain Keith Tibbetts ; Grand Cayman also has several shipwrecks off its shores, including one deliberate one. On 30 September 1994,
2034-416: Is cognate to the root word of satisfacer ("to satisfy"), and hecho ("made") is similarly cognate to the root word of satisfecho ("satisfied"). Compare the examples in the following table: Some consonant clusters of Latin also produced characteristically different results in these languages, as shown in the examples in the following table: In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish underwent
2147-414: Is indirect taxation : there is no income tax , capital gains tax , or corporation tax . An import duty of 5% to 22% (automobiles 29.5% to 100%) is levied against goods imported into the islands. Few goods are exempt; notable exemptions include books, cameras, and perfume. One of Grand Cayman 's main attractions is Seven Mile Beach , site of a number of the island's hotels and resorts. Named one of
2260-478: Is $ 6 KYD for standard positions, and $ 4.50 for workers in the service industry, where tips supplement income. This contributes to wealth disparity. A small segment of the population lives in condemned properties lacking power and running water. The government has established a Needs Assessment Unit to relieve poverty in the islands. Local charities, including Cayman's Acts of Random Kindness (ARK) also provide assistance. The government's primary source of income
2373-554: Is Caymanian. According to the Economics and Statistics Office of the Government of the Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands had a population of 71,432 at the Census of 10 October 2021, but was estimated by them to have risen to 81,546 as of December 2022, making it the most populous British Overseas Territory. It was revealed in the 2021 census that 56% of the workforce is Non-Caymanian; this is
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#17328764809102486-640: Is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe . Today, it is a global language with about 500 million native speakers, mainly in the Americas and Spain , and about 600 million when including second language speakers. Spanish is the official language of 20 countries , as well as one of the six official languages of
2599-412: Is a self-governing British Overseas Territory , and the largest by population. The 264-square-kilometre (102-square-mile) territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman , Cayman Brac and Little Cayman , which are located south of Cuba and north-east of Honduras , between Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula . The capital city is George Town on Grand Cayman, which is the most populous of
2712-480: Is by far the largest, with an area of 197 km (76 sq mi). Grand Cayman's two "sister islands", Cayman Brac and Little Cayman , are about 120 km (75 mi) east north-east of Grand Cayman and have areas of 38 and 28.5 km (14.7 and 11.0 sq mi) respectively. The nearest land mass from Grand Cayman is the Canarreos Archipelago (about 240 km or 150 miles away), whereas
2825-449: Is estimated that about 486 million people speak Spanish as a native language , making it the second most spoken language by number of native speakers . An additional 75 million speak Spanish as a second or foreign language , making it the fourth most spoken language in the world overall after English, Mandarin Chinese, and Hindi with a total number of 538 million speakers. Spanish is also
2938-740: Is heavily influenced by Venezuelan Spanish. In addition to sharing most of its borders with Spanish-speaking countries, the creation of Mercosur in the early 1990s induced a favorable situation for the promotion of Spanish language teaching in Brazil . In 2005, the National Congress of Brazil approved a bill, signed into law by the President , making it mandatory for schools to offer Spanish as an alternative foreign language course in both public and private secondary schools in Brazil. In September 2016 this law
3051-721: Is related to Castile ( Castilla or archaically Castiella ), the kingdom where the language was originally spoken. The name Castile , in turn, is usually assumed to be derived from castillo ('castle'). In the Middle Ages , the language spoken in Castile was generically referred to as Romance and later also as Lengua vulgar . Later in the period, it gained geographical specification as Romance castellano ( romanz castellano , romanz de Castiella ), lenguaje de Castiella , and ultimately simply as castellano (noun). Different etymologies have been suggested for
3164-806: Is spoken by very small communities in Angola due to Cuban influence from the Cold War and in South Sudan among South Sudanese natives that relocated to Cuba during the Sudanese wars and returned for their country's independence. Spanish is also spoken in the integral territories of Spain in Africa, namely the cities of Ceuta and Melilla and the Canary Islands , located in the Atlantic Ocean some 100 km (62 mi) off
3277-804: Is the de facto national language of the country, Spanish is often used in public services and notices at the federal and state levels. Spanish is also used in administration in the state of New Mexico . The language has a strong influence in major metropolitan areas such as those of Los Angeles , Miami , San Antonio , New York , San Francisco , Dallas , Tucson and Phoenix of the Arizona Sun Corridor , as well as more recently, Chicago , Las Vegas , Boston , Denver , Houston , Indianapolis , Philadelphia , Cleveland , Salt Lake City , Atlanta , Nashville , Orlando , Tampa , Raleigh and Baltimore-Washington, D.C. due to 20th- and 21st-century immigration. Although Spanish has no official recognition in
3390-677: The Cayman Islands dollar (KYD), which is pegged to the US dollar US$ 1.227 to 1 KYD. However, in many retail stores throughout the islands, the KYD is typically traded at US$ 1.25. Cayman Islands have a high cost of living, even when compared to UK and US. For example, a loaf of multigrain bread is $ 5.49 (KYD), while a similar loaf sells for $ 2.47 (KYD) in the US and $ 1.36 (KYD) in the UK. The minimum wage (as of February 2021)
3503-626: The Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park on the Grand Cayman. Among other notable fauna at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park is the critically threatened blue iguana , which is also known as the Grand Cayman iguana ( Cyclura lewisi ). The blue iguana is endemic to the Grand Cayman particularly because of rocky, sunlit, open areas near the island's shores that are advantageous for the laying of eggs. Nevertheless, habitat destruction and invasive mammalian predators remain
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3616-557: The Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative in March 2005. Spanish has historically had a significant presence on the Dutch Caribbean islands of Aruba , Bonaire and Curaçao ( ABC Islands ) throughout the centuries and in present times. The majority of the populations of each island (especially Aruba) speaking Spanish at varying although often high degrees of fluency. The local language Papiamentu (Papiamento on Aruba)
3729-508: The Spanish–American War but was eventually replaced by English as the primary language of administration and education by the 1920s. Nevertheless, despite a significant decrease in influence and speakers, Spanish remained an official language of the Philippines upon independence in 1946, alongside English and Filipino , a standardized version of Tagalog . Spanish was briefly removed from official status in 1973 but reimplemented under
3842-604: The USS ; Kittiwake was decommissioned and struck from the Naval Vessel Register. In November 2008 her ownership was transferred for an undisclosed amount to the government of the Cayman Islands, which had decided to sink the Kittiwake in June 2009 to form a new artificial reef off Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman. Following several delays, the ship was finally scuttled according to plan on 5 January 2011. The Kittiwake has become
3955-534: The United Nations . Spanish is the world's second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese ; the world's fourth-most spoken language overall after English , Mandarin Chinese, and Hindustani ( Hindi - Urdu ); and the world's most widely spoken Romance language. The country with the largest population of native speakers is Mexico . Spanish is part of the Ibero-Romance language group , in which
4068-475: The 13th century. Spanish colonialism in the early modern period spurred the introduction of the language to overseas locations, most notably to the Americas. As a Romance language, Spanish is a descendant of Latin. Around 75% of modern Spanish vocabulary is Latin in origin, including Latin borrowings from Ancient Greek. Alongside English and French , it is also one of the most taught foreign languages throughout
4181-404: The 2021–2022 school year alone. The local business process outsourcing industry has also helped boost the language's economic prospects. Today, while the actual number of proficient Spanish speakers is around 400,000, or under 0.5% of the population, a new generation of Spanish speakers in the Philippines has likewise emerged, though speaker estimates vary widely. Aside from standard Spanish,
4294-574: The 20th century, Spanish was introduced to Equatorial Guinea and the Western Sahara , and to areas of the United States that had not been part of the Spanish Empire, such as Spanish Harlem in New York City . For details on borrowed words and other external influences upon Spanish, see Influences on the Spanish language . Spanish is the primary language in 20 countries worldwide. As of 2023, it
4407-570: The Bay Islands to the Honduran government in the mid 19th century. It was at this time that the nearly uninhabited islands were being populated by its now Caymanian roots. They remain rich in Caymanian culture and dialect. Utila has been a part of Honduras for approximately 150 years. For nearly 200 years Spanish conquistadores and British pirates battled for control of these islands, ignoring
4520-556: The Callinagu subsequently exterminated the Arahuaco men, but kept and bred with their women creating a new ethic subgroup that became known as the Caliponan, or Yellow Caribs. In 1635 African slaves who had been shipwrecked by their own devices began to marry the Caliponan women, adopting their language and culture so as to assimilate locally and thwart their owners attempts to retrieve them. Thus
4633-525: The Caribbean, and one of the highest in the world. Immigrants from over 140 countries and territories reside in the Cayman Islands. As of 2017 , no evidence has been found that the islands had been occupied before their discovery by Europeans. The Cayman Islands got their name from the word for crocodile ( caiman ) in the language of the Arawak-Taíno people. It is believed that the first European to sight
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4746-530: The Cayman Islands is Christianity (67% in 2021, down from over 80% in 2010). Religions practised include United Church, Church of God, Anglican Church, Baptist Church, Catholic Church, Seventh-day Adventist Church, and Pentecostal Church. Roman Catholic churches are St. Ignatius Church, George Town, Christ the Redeemer Church, West Bay and Stella Maris Church, Cayman Brac. Many citizens are deeply religious, regularly going to church, however, atheism has been on
4859-572: The Cayman Islands is English (90%). Islanders' accents retain elements passed down from English, Scottish, and Welsh settlers (among others) in a language variety known as Cayman Creole. Caymanians of Jamaican origin speak in their own vernacular (see Jamaican Creole and Jamaican English ). It is quite common to hear residents converse in Spanish as many citizens have relocated from Latin America to work and live on Grand Cayman. The Latin American nations with
4972-625: The Cayman Islands provides guided tours weekly on the Mastic Trail and other locations. Another attraction to visit on Grand Cayman is the Observation Tower, located in Camana Bay. The Observation Tower is 75 feet tall and provides 360-degree views across Seven Mile Beach, George Town, the North Sound, and beyond. It is free to the public and climbing the tower has become a popular thing to do in
5085-524: The Cayman Islands was officially declared and administered as a dependency of the Crown Colony of Jamaica. The islands continued to be governed as part of the Colony of Jamaica until 1962, when they became a separate Crown colony , after Jamaica became an independent Commonwealth realm . In the 1950s, tourism began to flourish, following the opening of Owen Roberts International Airport (ORIA), along with
5198-585: The Cayman Islands. Points of interest include the East End Light (sometimes called Gorling Bluff Light), a lighthouse at the east end of Grand Cayman island. The lighthouse is the centrepiece of East End Lighthouse Park, managed by the National Trust for the Cayman Islands ; the first navigational aid on the site was the first lighthouse in the Cayman Islands. As of 31 December 2015 , 360 commercial vessels and 1,674 pleasure craft were registered in
5311-639: The Equatoguinean education system and is the primary language used in government and business. Whereas it is not the mother tongue of virtually any of its speakers, the vast majority of the population is proficient in Spanish. The Instituto Cervantes estimates that 87.7% of the population is fluent in Spanish. The proportion of proficient Spanish speakers in Equatorial Guinea exceeds the proportion of proficient speakers in other West and Central African nations of their respective colonial languages. Spanish
5424-610: The Garifuna maintain a strong presence in the Sandy Bay community, on the westernmost side of East Harbor, a number of them having made the journey to Utila from Cayo Chachahuate, a small nearby island that is a bastion of the Bay Island's Garifuna. With favourable diving conditions, the island increasingly attracts general tourists, along with more traditional international backpacker visitors. More than eighty diving sites are located around
5537-614: The Garifuna society was born. On 12 April 1797, a total of 2,248 Garifunas were sent to Honduras and the Bay Islands in an attempt by the English to restrain the Garifuna from assisting the French in the English/French dispute over the islands of Martinique, and Saint Lucia. Scattered on the north coast of Honduras and in the Bay Islands, the Garifuna still populate much of the Bay Islands, maintaining their own cultural identity and language. On Roatan
5650-691: The Iberian Peninsula. These languages included Proto-Basque , Iberian , Lusitanian , Celtiberian and Gallaecian . The first documents to show traces of what is today regarded as the precursor of modern Spanish are from the 9th century. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era , the most important influences on the Spanish lexicon came from neighboring Romance languages — Mozarabic ( Andalusi Romance ), Navarro-Aragonese , Leonese , Catalan/Valencian , Portuguese , Galician , Occitan , and later, French and Italian . Spanish also borrowed
5763-529: The Old Spanish sibilants) for details. The Gramática de la lengua castellana , written in Salamanca in 1492 by Elio Antonio de Nebrija , was the first grammar written for a modern European language. According to a popular anecdote, when Nebrija presented it to Queen Isabella I , she asked him what was the use of such a work, and he answered that language is the instrument of empire. In his introduction to
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#17328764809105876-552: The Paya had been repatriated, Velasquez commissioned two ships back which then captured 400 Paya on Utila and on one of the other islands, and during this raid 100 Paya were reported to have been killed. After their capture, this and future shipments of Paya slaves were forced to work in mines, farm sugar cane plantations and tend livestock on Santiago de Cuba, and were also sent to work in the gold and silver mines of Mexico. Later on, English, French, and Dutch pirates established settlements on
5989-616: The Spanish plundered the island for its slave trade and eliminated the island of its natives by the early 17th century. Britain, in its aggressive attempt to out-colonize the Spanish in the Caribbean, occupied the Bay Islands on and off between 1550 and 1700. During this time, the buccaneers found the vacated, mostly unprotected islands a haven for safe harbour and transport. Utila is rich in pirate lore, and even presently, scuba divers look for sunken treasure from Captain Morgan's lost booty from his raid on Panama in 1671. The British were forced to give
6102-580: The Spanish-speaking world, Spanish is called not only español but also castellano (Castilian), the language from the Kingdom of Castile , contrasting it with other languages spoken in Spain such as Galician , Basque , Asturian , Catalan/Valencian , Aragonese , Occitan and other minor languages. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the official language of
6215-502: The U.S. population were of Hispanic or Hispanic American by origin. In turn, 41.8 million people in the United States aged five or older speak Spanish at home, or about 13% of the population. Spanish predominates in the unincorporated territory of Puerto Rico , where it is also an official language along with English. Spanish is by far the most common second language in the country, with over 50 million total speakers if non-native or second-language speakers are included. While English
6328-488: The Ultimate Beaches by Caribbean Travel and Life, Seven Mile Beach (due to erosion over the years, the number has decreased to 5.5 miles) is a public beach on the western shore of Grand Cayman Island. Historical sites in Grand Cayman, such as Pedro St. James Castle in Savannah, also attract visitors. All three islands offer scuba diving , and the Cayman Islands are home to several snorkelling locations where tourists can swim with stingrays . The most popular area to do this
6441-399: The administration of Ferdinand Marcos two months later. It remained an official language until the ratification of the present constitution in 1987, in which it was re-designated as a voluntary and optional auxiliary language. Additionally, the constitution, in its Article XIV, stipulates that the Government shall provide the people of the Philippines with a Spanish-language translation of
6554-417: The best regional talent to perform. Unique local cuisine includes white bread made with coconut milk, mango jam, conch meat, and crab. Other common dishes on Utila include Sopa de Caracol (a coconut based conch soup), fried whole fish, as well as fried hog. The island is served by Utila Airport , and connects to all of Honduras's international larger airports. Although Utila has had minimal COVID-19 cases,
6667-417: The capture of Jamaica from Spain in 1655. England took formal control of the Cayman Islands, along with Jamaica, as a result of the Treaty of Madrid of 1670 . That same year saw an attack on a turtle fishing settlement on Little Cayman by the Spanish under Portuguese privateer Manuel Ribeiro Pardal . Following several unsuccessful attempts at settlement in what had by then become a haven for pirates,
6780-566: The classic hispanus or hispanicus took the suffix -one from Vulgar Latin , as happened with other words such as bretón (Breton) or sajón (Saxon). Like the other Romance languages , the Spanish language evolved from Vulgar Latin , which was brought to the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans during the Second Punic War , beginning in 210 BC. Several pre-Roman languages (also called Paleohispanic languages )—some distantly related to Latin as Indo-European languages , and some that are not related at all—were previously spoken in
6893-446: The consonant written b (a bilabial with plosive and fricative allophones). In modern Spanish, there is no difference between the pronunciation of orthographic b and v . Typical of Spanish (as also of neighboring Gascon extending as far north as the Gironde estuary , and found in a small area of Calabria ), attributed by some scholars to a Basque substratum was the mutation of Latin initial f into h- whenever it
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#17328764809107006-404: The country's constitution. In recent years changing attitudes among non-Spanish speaking Filipinos have helped spur a revival of the language, and starting in 2009 Spanish was reintroduced as part of the basic education curriculum in a number of public high schools, becoming the largest foreign language program offered by the public school system, with over 7,000 students studying the language in
7119-464: The country's infrastructure and services cannot cope with the surging population. It is believed that given current trends, the population will reach 100,000 before 2030. According to the Economics and Statistics Office, the final result of the 20 October 2021 Census was 71,432; however, according to a late 2022 population report by the same body, the estimated population at the end of 2022 was 81,546, broken down as follows: The predominant religion on
7232-409: The country's tourism slow season. Other Grand Cayman tourist attractions include the ironshore landscape of Hell ; the 23-acre (93,000 m ) marine theme park " Cayman Turtle Centre : Island Wildlife Encounter", previously known as "Boatswain's Beach"; the production of gourmet sea salt ; and the Mastic Trail , a hiking trail through the forests in the centre of the island. The National Trust for
7345-402: The crews of a group of ten merchant ships , including HMS Convert , an incident that has since become known as the Wreck of the Ten Sail . The ships had struck a reef and run aground during rough seas. Legend has it that King George III rewarded the islanders for their generosity with a promise never to introduce taxes, because one of the ships carried a member of the King's family. Despite
7458-598: The discovery of the islands by Europeans. Marine life around the island of the Grand Cayman includes tarpon , silversides ( Atheriniformes ), French angelfish ( Pomacanthus paru ), and giant barrel sponges . A number of cetaceans are found in offshore waters. These species include the goose-beaked whale ( Ziphius cavirostris ), Blainville's beaked whale ( Mesoplodon densirostris ) and sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ). Cayman avian fauna includes two endemic subspecies of Amazona parrots: Amazona leucocephala hesterna or Cuban amazon , presently restricted to
7571-409: The entire island and its cays have been designated as a protected Ramsar site . Popular cays include Water Cay, Pigeon Cay and Sandy Cay. Archeological, historical and ethnographic evidence of the Bay Islands indicates that they were inhabited before the European's arrival in 600 AD by a pre-Columbian culture known as the Paya and now known as Pech. The Paya people may have entered Central America in
7684-403: The first marine protected areas were designated in the Cayman Islands, making them the first islands in the Caribbean to protect their fragile marine life. The constitution was further modified in 2001 and 2009, codifying various aspects of human rights legislation. On 11 September 2004, the island of Grand Cayman, which lies largely unprotected at sea level, was battered by Hurricane Ivan ,
7797-414: The first time in the territory's history that the number of working immigrants has overtaken the number of working Caymanians. Most Caymanians are of mixed African and European ancestry. Slavery occurred but was not as common compared to other Caribbean islands, and once it was abolished, black and white communities seemed to integrate more compliantly than other Caribbean nations and territories resulting in
7910-450: The following table: Spanish is marked by palatalization of the Latin double consonants ( geminates ) nn and ll (thus Latin annum > Spanish año , and Latin anellum > Spanish anillo ). The consonant written u or v in Latin and pronounced [w] in Classical Latin had probably " fortified " to a bilabial fricative /β/ in Vulgar Latin. In early Spanish (but not in Catalan or Portuguese) it merged with
8023-466: The former British colony of Belize (known until 1973 as British Honduras ) where English is the sole official language, according to the 2022 census, 54% of the total population are able to speak the language. Due to its proximity to Spanish-speaking countries and small existing native Spanish speaking minority, Trinidad and Tobago has implemented Spanish language teaching into its education system. The Trinidadian and Tobagonian government launched
8136-454: The government to seek workers from overseas to sustain the country's economy. This has raised concerns among many young Caymanians, who worry about the workforce becoming increasingly competitive with the influx of workers, as well as rent and property prices going up. Because the population has skyrocketed over the last decade, former government officials have stressed that the islands need more careful and managed growth. Many have worried that
8249-584: The grammar, dated 18 August 1492, Nebrija wrote that "... language was always the companion of empire." From the 16th century onwards, the language was taken to the Spanish-discovered America and the Spanish East Indies via Spanish colonization of America . Miguel de Cervantes , author of Don Quixote , is such a well-known reference in the world that Spanish is often called la lengua de Cervantes ("the language of Cervantes"). In
8362-563: The great North to South America migration in 5,000 BC, although linguistic studies indicate that the Paya may have been descendants of South American tribes. Christopher Columbus , on his fourth voyage to the new world, landed on the island of Guanaja on 30 July 1502, after encountering a small fleet of dugout canoes destined from the mainland to the Bay Islands. These vessels were filled with cotton cloth, maize, cacao, beans, copper goods and wooden swords with sharp flint edges, and on this meeting one dugout canoe carrying 25 men, women and children
8475-462: The greatest representation are Honduras, Cuba, Colombia, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. Spanish speakers comprise approximately between 10 and 12% of the population and are predominantly of the Caribbean dialect. Tagalog is spoken by about 8% of inhabitants, most of whom are Filipino residents on work permits. According to Forbes , the Cayman Islands has the 7th strongest currency in
8588-632: The highest point on the island. The people of Utila are of African ( Garifuna ), English and Dutch descent. At the time of the 2013 Honduras census, Utila municipality had a population of 3,947. Of these, 82.32% were Mestizo , 13.42% White , 2.10% Black or Afro-Honduran , 0.26% Indigenous and 1.91% others. The island is part of the Islas de la Bahía y Cayos Cochinos Important Bird Area (IBA), designated as such by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of white-crowned pigeons , chimney swifts and yellow-naped amazons . Since 2013
8701-525: The highest point on the islands. The terrain is mostly a low-lying limestone base surrounded by coral reefs . The portions of prehistoric coral reef that line the coastline and protrude from the water are referred to as ironshore . In Cayman Islands forest cover is around 53% of the total land area, equivalent to 12,720 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 13,130 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 12,720 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 0 hectares (ha). Of
8814-439: The impact of the pandemic on Utila's tourism dependent economy was devastating after 15 March 2021. From 13 September 2021 the ferries and airlines resumed service to the island. During that six-month period, many Utilians were faced with economic hardship caused by the lack of tourists. In response, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Support Utila , was formed to provide additional food, medication, vitamins and other resources to
8927-410: The infrastructure on the islands. The total economic impact of the storms was estimated to be $ 3.4 billion. While there are a large number of generational Caymanians, many Caymanians today have roots in almost every part of the world. Similarly to countries like the United States, the Cayman Islands is a melting pot with citizens of every background. 52.5% of the population is Non-Caymanian, while 47.5%
9040-527: The island among its extensive reefs teeming with marine life, including the elusive whale shark . Utila was also the home of the annual festival Sunjam. Sunjam was the largest electronic music event in Honduras, and one of the largest and most important in Central America. The date was fixed to the first Saturday of August every year. The event attracted world class international DJs as headliners and invites
9153-566: The island of Cayman Brac , but formerly also on Little Cayman , and Amazona leucocephala caymanensis or Grand Cayman parrot , which is native to the Cayman Islands, forested areas of Cuba, and the Isla de la Juventud . Little Cayman and Cayman Brac are also home to red-footed and brown boobies. Although the barn owl ( Tyto alba ) occurs in all three of the islands they are not commonplace. The Cayman Islands also possess five endemic subspecies of butterflies. These butterfly breeds can be viewed at
9266-452: The islands and raided the Spanish cargo vessels laden with gold and other treasures from the New World . The Welsh buccaneer Henry Morgan established his base at Port Royal on Roatán, about 30 kilometers from Utila, in the mid-17th century; at that time as many as 5,000 pirates were living on that island. Colonisation by the Spanish began in the early 16th century. Over the next century,
9379-419: The islands was Christopher Columbus , on 10 May 1503, during his final voyage to the Americas. He named them "Las Tortugas", after the large number of turtles found there (which were soon hunted to near-extinction). However, in succeeding decades, the islands began to be referred to as "Caimanas" or "Caymanes", after the caimans present there. No immediate colonisation followed Columbus's sighting, but
9492-527: The language is also known as Castilian ( castellano ). The group evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. The oldest Latin texts with traces of Spanish come from mid-northern Iberia in the 9th century, and the first systematic written use of the language happened in Toledo , a prominent city of the Kingdom of Castile , in
9605-535: The language's hegemony in an intensely centralising Spanish state were established from the 18th century onward. Other European territories in which it is also widely spoken include Gibraltar and Andorra . Spanish is also spoken by immigrant communities in other European countries, such as the United Kingdom , France , Italy , and Germany . Spanish is an official language of the European Union . Today,
9718-556: The legend, the story is not true. The first census taken in the islands, in 1802, showed the population on Grand Cayman to be 933, with 545 of those inhabitants being slaves. Slavery was abolished in the Cayman Islands in 1833, following the passing of the Slavery Abolition Act by the British Parliament . At the time of abolition, there were over 950 slaves of African ancestry, owned by 116 families. On 22 June 1863,
9831-686: The majority of the Spanish speakers live in Hispanic America . Nationally, Spanish is the official language—either de facto or de jure —of Argentina , Bolivia (co-official with 36 indigenous languages), Chile , Colombia , Costa Rica , Cuba , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , El Salvador , Guatemala , Honduras , Mexico (co-official with 63 indigenous languages), Nicaragua , Panama , Paraguay (co-official with Guaraní ), Peru (co-official with Quechua , Aymara , and "the other indigenous languages"), Puerto Rico (co-official with English), Uruguay , and Venezuela . Spanish language has
9944-623: The native people for the most part. During this period, the Islands were used for food and wood supplies, safe harbour, and slave trading. Remains of British forts and towns named after famous pirates remain as their legacy. Making a significant impact on Utila's cultural base were the Black Caribs, who originated as the Callinagu in the Orinoco Delta in Brazil. Migrating north to the Lower Antilles
10057-525: The naturally regenerating forest 0% was reported to be primary forest (consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity). For the year 2015, 0% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership , 12% private ownership and 88% with ownership listed as other or unknown. The mammalian species in the Cayman Islands include the introduced Central American agouti and eight species of bats . At least three now extinct native rodent species were present until
10170-582: The nearest from the easternmost island Cayman Brac is the Jardines de la Reina archipelago (about 160 km or 100 miles away) – both of which are part of Cuba. All three islands were formed by large coral heads covering submerged ice-age peaks of western extensions of the Cuban Sierra Maestra range and are mostly flat. One notable exception to this is The Bluff on Cayman Brac's eastern part, which rises to 43 m (141 ft) above sea level,
10283-711: The northwest of the African mainland. The Spanish spoken in the Canary Islands traces its origins back to the Castilian conquest in the 15th century , and, in addition to a resemblance to Western Andalusian speech patterns, it also features strong influence from the Spanish varieties spoken in the Americas, which in turn have also been influenced historically by Canarian Spanish. The Spanish spoken in North Africa by native bilingual speakers of Arabic or Berber who also speak Spanish as
10396-636: The other hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. However, from 1713 to 1923, it called the language castellano . The Diccionario panhispánico de dudas (a language guide published by the Royal Spanish Academy) states that, although the Royal Spanish Academy prefers to use the term español in its publications when referring to the Spanish language, both terms— español and castellano —are regarded as synonymous and equally valid. The term castellano
10509-796: The peaks of an undersea mountain range called the Cayman Ridge (or Cayman Rise). This ridge flanks the Cayman Trough , 6,000 m (20,000 ft) deep which lies 6 km (3.7 mi) to the south. The islands lie in the northwest of the Caribbean Sea, east of Quintana Roo , Mexico and Yucatán State , Mexico, northeast of Costa Rica, north of Panama, south of Cuba and west of Jamaica. They are situated about 700 km (430 mi) south of Miami , 750 km (470 mi) east of Mexico, 366 km (227 mi) south of Cuba, and about 500 km (310 mi) northwest of Jamaica . Grand Cayman
10622-413: The population itself. The Cayman Islands have come under criticism for allegations of money laundering and other financial crimes, including a 2016 statement by then US president Barack Obama that described a particular building which was the registered address of over 12,000 corporations as a "tax scam". The Cayman Islands holds a relatively low unemployment rate of about 4.24% as of 2015, lower than
10735-529: The population. Many northern Moroccans have rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, with Spanish being particularly significant in areas adjacent to Ceuta and Melilla. Spanish also has a presence in the education system of the country (through either selected education centers implementing Spain's education system, primarily located in the North, or the availability of Spanish as foreign language subject in secondary education). In Western Sahara , formerly Spanish Sahara ,
10848-450: The primary reasons that blue iguana hatchlings do not survive naturally. The Cuban crocodile ( Crocodylus rhombifer ) once inhabited the islands. And the American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus) is also believed to be slowly repopulating the islands from Cuba. The name "Cayman" is derived from a Carib word for the various crocodilians that inhabited the islands. The Cayman Islands has
10961-464: The residents. Founded by the owner of the Coral View Beach Resort , Heath Miller, the organization continues it's working today focusing on education, animal welfare and medical support for the island. Support Utila provided over 55,000 pounds of donates food during the pandemic in 2020. Cave dive sites: Spanish language Spanish ( español ) or Castilian ( castellano )
11074-545: The rise throughout the islands since 2000, with 16.7% now identifying with no religion, according to the 2021 census. Ports are closed on Sundays and Christian holidays. There is also an active synagogue and Jewish community on the island as well as places of worship in George Town for Jehovah's Witnesses and followers of the Bahá'í faith. In 2020, there were an estimated 121 Muslims in the Cayman Islands. The official language of
11187-528: The term español (Spanish). According to the Royal Spanish Academy, español derives from the Occitan word espaignol and that, in turn, derives from the Vulgar Latin * hispaniolus ('of Hispania'). Hispania was the Roman name for the entire Iberian Peninsula . There are other hypotheses apart from the one suggested by the Royal Spanish Academy. Spanish philologist Ramón Menéndez Pidal suggested that
11300-404: The territory's economy via tourism and the attraction of off-shore finance, both of which mushroomed from the 1970s onwards. Historically, the Cayman Islands has been a tax-exempt destination, and the government has always relied on indirect and not direct taxes. The territory has never levied income tax , capital gains tax , or any wealth tax , making it a popular tax haven . In April 1986,
11413-444: The theories of Ramón Menéndez Pidal , local sociolects of Vulgar Latin evolved into Spanish, in the north of Iberia, in an area centered in the city of Burgos , and this dialect was later brought to the city of Toledo , where the written standard of Spanish was first developed, in the 13th century. In this formative stage, Spanish developed a strongly differing variant from its close cousin, Leonese , and, according to some authors,
11526-623: The third most used language on the Internet , after English and Chinese. Spanish is the official language of Spain . Upon the emergence of the Castilian Crown as the dominant power in the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the Middle Ages, the Romance vernacular associated with this polity became increasingly used in instances of prestige and influence, and the distinction between "Castilian" and "Spanish" started to become blurred. Hard policies imposing
11639-461: The three islands. The Cayman Islands is considered to be part of the geographic Western Caribbean zone as well as the Greater Antilles . The territory is a major offshore financial centre for international businesses and the rich mainly due to the state charging no tax on income earned or stored. With a GDP per capita of US$ 109,684 the Cayman Islands has the highest standard of living in
11752-507: The value of 4.7% that was recorded in 2014. With an average income of US$ 109,684 Caymanians have the highest standard of living in the Caribbean. According to the CIA World Factbook , the Cayman Islands' real GDP per capita is the tenth highest in the world, but the CIA's data for Cayman dates to 2018 and is likely to be lower than present-day values. The territory prints its own currency,
11865-581: The whole of Spain, in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas (lit. "the other Spanish languages "). Article III reads as follows: El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado. ... Las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas... Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State. ... The other Spanish languages shall also be official in their respective Autonomous Communities... The Royal Spanish Academy ( Real Academia Española ), on
11978-450: The world (the CI dollar or KYD), with US$ 1.00 equivalent to CI$ 0.80. The economy of the Cayman Islands is dominated by financial services and tourism, together accounting for 50–60% of Gross Domestic Product . The nation's zero tax rate on income and storage of funds has led to it being used as a tax haven for corporations; there are 100,000 companies registered in the Cayman Islands, more than
12091-582: The world. Spanish is well represented in the humanities and social sciences . Spanish is also the third most used language on the internet by number of users after English and Chinese and the second most used language by number of websites after English. Spanish is used as an official language by many international organizations , including the United Nations , European Union , Organization of American States , Union of South American Nations , Community of Latin American and Caribbean States , African Union , among others. In Spain and some other parts of
12204-562: The worst hurricane to hit the islands in 86 years. It created an 8-foot (2.4 m) storm surge which flooded many areas of Grand Cayman. An estimated 83% of the dwellings on the island were damaged, with 4% requiring complete reconstruction. A reported 70% of all dwellings suffered severe damage from flooding or wind. Another 26% sustained minor damage from partial roof removal, low levels of flooding, or impact with floating or wind-driven hurricane debris. Power, water, and communications were disrupted for months in some areas. Within two years,
12317-418: Was captured. On land, Columbus encountered a fairly large population of Paya whom he believed to be cannibals. In 1516, licensed slavers were sent to the Islands under the authority of Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar and captured 300, killing others who put up resistance. The slaving vessel returned to Havana harbour, Santiago de Cuba , where it was taken over by the Paya who demanded repatriation. On hearing that
12430-631: Was developed in the cities of Toledo , in the 13th to 16th centuries, and Madrid , from the 1570s. The development of the Spanish sound system from that of Vulgar Latin exhibits most of the changes that are typical of Western Romance languages , including lenition of intervocalic consonants (thus Latin vīta > Spanish vida ). The diphthongization of Latin stressed short e and o —which occurred in open syllables in French and Italian, but not at all in Catalan or Portuguese—is found in both open and closed syllables in Spanish, as shown in
12543-604: Was distinguished by a heavy Basque influence (see Iberian Romance languages ). This distinctive dialect spread to southern Spain with the advance of the Reconquista , and meanwhile gathered a sizable lexical influence from the Arabic of Al-Andalus , much of it indirectly, through the Romance Mozarabic dialects (some 4,000 Arabic -derived words, make up around 8% of the language today). The written standard for this new language
12656-713: Was followed by a vowel that did not diphthongize. The h- , still preserved in spelling, is now silent in most varieties of the language, although in some Andalusian and Caribbean dialects, it is still aspirated in some words. Because of borrowings from Latin and neighboring Romance languages, there are many f -/ h - doublets in modern Spanish: Fernando and Hernando (both Spanish for "Ferdinand"), ferrero and herrero (both Spanish for "smith"), fierro and hierro (both Spanish for "iron"), and fondo and hondo (both words pertaining to depth in Spanish, though fondo means "bottom", while hondo means "deep"); additionally, hacer ("to make")
12769-462: Was revoked by Michel Temer after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff . In many border towns and villages along Paraguay and Uruguay, a mixed language known as Portuñol is spoken. Equatorial Guinea is the only Spanish-speaking country located entirely in Africa, with the language introduced during the Spanish colonial period . Enshrined in the constitution as an official language (alongside French and Portuguese), Spanish features prominently in
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