Cayo Hueso
Cayo Hueso (pronounced [ˈkaʎoˈweso]) is the original Spanish name for the island of Key West. Spanish-speaking people today also use the term Cayo Hueso when referring to Key West. It literally means "bone key". It is said that the island was littered with the remains (bones) from an Indian battlefield or burial ground. The most widely accepted theory of how the name changed to Key West is that it is a false-friend anglicization of the word, on the ground that the word "hueso" (pronounced [ˈweso]) sounds as if it could mean "west" in English.[7] Other theories of how the island was named are that the name indicated that it was the westernmost Key,[8] or that the island was the westernmost Key with a reliable supply of water.[9]
Many businesses on the island use the name, such as Casa Cayo Hueso, Cayo Hueso Resorts, Cayo Hueso Consultants, Cayo Hueso y Habana Historeum, etc.
In 1763, when Great Britain took control of Florida, the community of Spaniards and Native Americans were moved to Havana. Florida returned to Spanish control 20 years later, but there was no official resettlement of the island. Informally the island was used by fishermen from Cuba and from the British Bahamas, who were later joined by others from the United States after the latter nation's independence. While claimed by Spain, no nation exercised de facto control over the community there for some time. More...
From the Keys History website:
Key West, like the other Florida Keys, began as a coral forest under the sea water - marine life was its population. As the polar ice caps reformed and the sea level dropped, terrestrial plant and animal life found its way. Soil was formed by decaying organic matter and storm actions. For millenniums the ocean continued to drop and the ocean currents, wind currents, birds, etc. continued to propagate the islands. Eventually human life forms found their way. This pyramiding of trillions of life cells, along with the forces of nature, produced an island... More
