Cayman Islands
Grades 5+
(1) Today, the Bahamas and Caymans are home to a new form of wealth – banking. To avoid paying taxes, many wealthy people and major corporations keep their money in those islands’ banks. Other people, such as criminals, keep money there so the authorities in their home countries do not find out about it.
(2) Using the Bahamas and Caymans to make money goes back to Columbus. After “Discovering” the Bahamas and other islands, he headed back to Spain. He returned to the Caribbean in 1503. This time, he arrived at the Cayman Islands. He found a people who sometimes wore gold jewelry.
(3) The event brought a greed that ate at Columbus and his crew. When he sailed from the Caymans for further exploring, he left some of his crew behind. When he returned, he found his crew had forced the Indians to search for gold. If none was found, the crewmen cut off people’s arms and took their women.
(4) As governor to the area, Columbus tried to bring order to the situation, but then he seems to have come down with gold fever like the rest of his crew. When a new ship’s captain arrived from Spain, he had Columbus arrested and sent back to Spain for torturing the locals. Some scholars think the new man made up the charges to get rid of Columbus and become governor himself, but it is likely that there is at least some truth to the terrible tales.
Individual or Small-Group Activity
- This essay consists of an Old section and a New section. What paragraphs make up the Old section? What paragraphs make up the New section?
a. Old: 1. New: 2-4.
b. Old: 1-2. New: 3-4
c. Old: 1-3. New: 4.