
Pedro St. James after years of neglect
'Pedro St. James' (or sometimes improperly referred to as 'Pedro's Castle') is the name of a building on the southern coastline of the island of
Grand Cayman. It was built in
1780 by
William Eden. The building was reduced to ruin after decades of neglect but has been completely restored.
The building is known as being the birthplace of
democracy on the
Cayman Islands, because it was at the building, in
1831, that the decision was made to vote for elected representatives, and four years later, in
1835, the
Slavery Abolition Act was read from the stone archway of the building. It is also distinguished as the oldest building on the islands.