PASTIES OF THE CARIBBEAN By Chris Richards From The Sun UK

The islands were first settled by a Cornishman in the 17th century – and now the Cayman government has begun a formal search for links with the Duchy

ONE is a wild, rainswept, granite peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, the other a sunkissed Caribbean island chain, but Cornwall and the Cayman Islands have more in common than you might think.

The islands were first settled by a Cornishman in the 17th century – and now the Cayman government has begun a formal search for the country’s links to the Duchy.

The sailor, by the name of Bodden, or Bawden, is said to have left Cornwall to fight with Oliver Cromwell’s marines to fight in the Anglo-Spanish War, which took place between 1654 and 1660.

He never returned but according to island history, in 1658 he was the first settler of the uninhabited archipelago that would later become the Cayman Islands, a British Overseas Territory with a population of around 60,000.

Bodden’s grandson, Isaac, was recorded as the islands’ first official resident in 1700 and the name remains common more than 300 years later.

Eric Bush, the Caymans’ representative in London, visited Cornwall this week to forge ties with the county.

He has been given access to Cornwall County Council’s archives which contain documents dating back 1,000 years and hopes to be able to find out more about where Bodden came from and even find his descendants.

Mr Bush told The Times: “As we have been looking at the connection, what has been extraordinary is how similar our native cultures have been over the past 400 years or so.

“From aspects of our language and dialect to boat-building, to fishing, to salvage, to inventive cooking – Caymanians, to a significant degree, have been carrying on living like Cornishmen but in the middle of the Caribbean.”

Julie Seyler, of Cornwall Council’s culture team, told the newspaper: “It is exciting to see how these two countries with so much interlinked history have developed on either side of the world.

“We understand that there are still elements of the Cornish culture which can still be found in the Cayman Islands and yet most Cornish people have no idea of the connection they have with the islands.”

Scott Mann, the Conservative MP for North Cornwall, added that it was “wonderful to think that there could be Cornish men and women who do not realise that their ancestor helped found a country”.

IMAGES:
Cornwall is a wild, rainswept, granite peninsula jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean APEX NEWS
The Cayman Islands have more in common with Cornwall than you might think ALAN MCGOWAN
Eric Bush, the Caymans’ representative in London, visited Cornwall this week to forge ties with the county APEX NEWS

For more on this story go to: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3285447/cayman-islanders-launch-hunt-for-their-ancestors-in-cornwall/