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The Cayman Islands in Transition

2000

Synopsis

"'Who is a Caymanian?' 'What should be the nature of the relationship between "established Caymanian" and "expatriate Caymanians" in arriving at a definition?' J.A. (Roy) Bodden argues that Caymanian society is based on a synergistic and symbiotic relationship between expatriates and Caymanians. At the heart of this dilemma of twenty-first Caymanian society to define its identity and future direction, is its peculiar status as a modern-day 'frontier society' made up of a totally imported population. The author provides an engaging account of the peculiarities of that frontier status, its historical antecedents and the implications for the Islands' future development. He introduces a number of new analytical concepts such as 'pigmentocracy' to analyse the role of colour and class distinctions in the Islands' development and 'voluntary colonialism' to describe an existing political structure in which there appears to be no desire to evolve beyond the current status as a colony of Great Britain. Bodden is the first Caymanian to offer such a thorough examination of Cayman Islands society. He adopts a multidisciplinary approach to describe and analyse the specific ways that Caymanians and expatriates have grappled and continue to grapple with issues of settlement, colonialism, domination, prejudice, rapid economic growth, modernity and globalization. The Cayman Islands in Transition is a contribution to the emerging academic discipline of Island Studies and is bound to generate considerable debate, discussion and dialogue both within Caymanian society and beyond. "

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