Wattle and daub houses still stand on busy roads in the Caymans. This construction style consists of wood framed houses with a woven lattice of wood and leaves (the wattle) covered by a plaster like material (the daub) to create solid walls. Though it was not invented in the Caymans, it is very representative of not only their houses, but of their culture as well. The development of the Cayman Islands was very much a weaving and solidifying process that established the Islands as we know them today.

Most Caymanians agree that few things shaped their Islands more than the sea turtles that lived in Cayman’s waters. In fact, when Christopher Columbus discovered the Cayman Islands in 1503, his log makes specific note of all the tortugas (Spanish for turtles) in the surrounding waters. Turtles became the Islands’ primary commercial asset and, despite current international restrictions on their trade, remain a major commercial industry.

Because of the Islands' proximity to major shipping channels and their natural wealth of food and water, they became a popular stopping off point for merchant ships and even pirates. It wasn’t until the early 1700s, though, that British settlers and their slaves from Jamaica started inhabiting Grand Cayman. A survey conducted in 1802 showed that 545 of the Islands’ 933 inhabitants were slaves. Many Caymanians today trace their routes back to the slaves brought by the British.