By Joan Wilson

QUINCENTENNIAL CAYMAN

 

Celebrate Cayman, why shouldn’t we?

We’re three beautiful islands in the Caribbean Sea.

Five hundred years since 1503

What a year to remember for you and me.

 

Yes, what a year that was for all of us

When we were spotted by Christopher Columbus.

He had a good reason for the name las Tortugas

With turtles in abundance swimming all around us.

 

Then a few years later we were renamed Caymanas.

I’m told that’s the Spanish for alligators,

So with turtles and alligators all around us

With no one else to catch them they were all for Columbus.

 

Eighty-three years later in sailed Sir Francis Drake

But he only stayed two days what a big mistake.

He could’ve claimed the three islands,

He could’ve had us all,

With so much seafood around, he could’ve had a ball.

But like I said before, there were no humans around.

He looked for a woman but none could be found.

With a fleet of 23 tall ships in our harbour back then,

What an awesome picture that must’ve been.

 

Sir Francis stayed long enough to net a turtle or two

Then went in search for a recipe to make turtle stew.

Some years later we were no longer known as Caymanas,

Our name changed to Cayman and claimed by the English.

 

And lucky for us England claimed Jamaica too

Our nearest port of call our dependence grew.

So with England’s sovereignty over Jamaica and Cayman

We were both very blessed to be settled by England.

 

And boy those Boddens and Watlers very soon arrived

They were strong and brave and happy to be alive,

They saw an opportunity to begin a new life

With plenty food and water they forgot the war and strife.

 

Then from the early 1700’s our population grew

The Governor of Jamaica gave land grants to a few.

We even had a small export business back then

We sold cotton, turtle and mahogany for just a few pence.

 

And what a good job Fort George was built in 1790

French and Spanish attacks I’m told were plenty,

And what a disaster with the 10 sails in East End

As HMS Convert was leading 10 ships with so many men.

 

Law and order came at last in 1798

When the Governor of Jamaica appointed our first magistrate.

Local laws were passed followed by elections

And the decision was soon taken to pass our first legislation.

 

1835 – what a date to remember we must all agree

When the Governor of Jamaica declared all slaves free.

Soon early Christians arrived and built their church in town

Islanders hungry for God’s word came from all around.

 

Education very soon played an important part

Islanders were all very eager to learn the 3-R’s,

And in the early 1920s schools opened in all districts

With the basics in reading writing and arithmetic.

 

And I bet you didn’t know our tourism began in 1937

As the cruise ship ‘Atlantis’ anchored in our harbour then,

But please note in all this time there’s no mention of us women

It’s all men, men and even more men.

 

But alas, that’s how it was way back in time

That is until we women were finally given the vote in 1959.

We got our first constitution when Jamaica went independent

But we remained a Crown Colony without resentment.

 

Then with our banking industry taking off in 1966

We soon became an island of quite a cultural mix.

Work permits and more work permits were issued everyday

And construction was booming in every way.

 

Our population was about 10,500 at that point in time,

But in just a few years that number would climb

And climb it did, in fact it grew a little too fast

Caught up with so much progress we almost forgot our past.

 

So here it is our birthday and we are 500 years old

Let’s continue to praise our almighty as celebrations unfold.

We’ve come a long way and battled many a storm,

Let’s keep our Islands clean and our welcomes warm.

 

Celebrate and show the world just what we’ve got

Show them we’re no longer an island time forgot.

Celebrate Cayman and give God all the glory

Let’s give the worldwide media a front-page story.

 

‘Cause we’re the finest blues and greens in the Caribbean

So come one and all and join the celebration

Celebrate Cayman all you young and old

It’s a history of three islands never before told.

 

“For he hath founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the waters” (psalms 24:2.)

EDITOR NOTE: The poem was originally written for the 500th anniversary of the Cayman Islands in May 2003