Misplaced Pages

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138-596: The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI ; / ˈ t ɜːr k s / and / ˈ k eɪ k ə s , - k oʊ s , - k ɒ s / ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands , two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies . They are known primarily for tourism and as an offshore financial centre . The resident population in 2023

276-594: A 34-year hiatus from 1968 to 2002. Defence of the overseas territories is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. Many of the overseas territories are used as military bases by the United Kingdom- and its allies: As overseas territories were added to the land conquered by the British, a number of towns and villages began to request formal recognition to validate their importance, and would be accorded

414-522: A Proposed Association Between Canada and the Caribbean Turks and Caicos Islands" that Canada form an association with the Turks and Caicos Islands; however, it was never submitted to a vote. Since August 1976, the islands have had their own government headed by a chief minister (now premier ), the first of whom was J. A. G. S. McCartney . Moves towards independence in the early 1980s were stalled by

552-584: A UK police force, and specialist staff and equipment may be sent to assist the local force. Some territories may have other forces beyond the main territorial police, for instance an airport police, such as Airport Security Police (Bermuda) , or a defence police force, such as the Gibraltar Defence Police . In addition, most territories have customs, immigration, border and coastguard agencies. Territories with military bases or responsibilities may also have "Overseas Service Police", members of

690-467: A colony, at the same time re-designated a British Dependent Territory . This category of citizenship was distinguished from British Citizenship by what it did not include — the rights of abode and free entry to the United Kingdom — and was not specific to any colony but to all collectively, except for Gibraltar and the Falklands Islands, the people of which retained British Citizenship . It

828-535: A different constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom. The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are themselves distinct from the Commonwealth realms , a group of 15 independent countries (including the United Kingdom) sharing Charles III as monarch and head of state , and from the Commonwealth of Nations , a voluntary association of 56 countries mostly with historic links to

966-400: A governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. Currently (2019) all but two governors are either career diplomats or have worked in other civil service departments. The remaining two governors are former members of the British armed forces. In territories without a permanent population, a commissioner is usually appointed to represent the monarch. Exceptionally, in

1104-663: A lack of popular support; consequently, it was dissolved by the British in 1963, with nine provinces eventually becoming independent sovereign states and four becoming current British Overseas Territories . "West Indies" or "West India" was a part of the names of several companies of the 17th and 18th centuries, including the Danish West India Company , the Dutch West India Company , the French West India Company , and

1242-571: A part of the Atlantic Patrol (NORTH) tasking. These ships' main mission in the region is to maintain British sovereignty for the overseas territories, provide humanitarian aid and disaster relief during disasters such as hurricanes, which are common in the area, and to conduct counter-narcotic operations. In the autumn of 2022, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary RFA Tideforce , with a Wildcat helicopter embarked,

1380-476: A population of only 168 at the 2012 Census. The most populated island is Providenciales , with 23,769 inhabitants in 2012, and an area of 122 square kilometres (47 sq mi). North Caicos (116 square kilometres (45 sq mi) in area) had 1,312 inhabitants. South Caicos (21 square kilometres (8.1 sq mi) in area) had 1,139 inhabitants, and Parrot Cay (6 square kilometres (2.3 sq mi) in area) had 131 inhabitants. East Caicos (which

1518-540: A status if deemed to be deserving such as a borough or as a more prestigious city by the monarch. Many cities were designated over several centuries, and as Anglican dioceses began to be created internationally from the 18th century, the process of city creation became aligned to that used in England, being linked to the presence of a cathedral . Later on, this process became untenable and other selection criteria and royal occasions were used instead. However, mainly from

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1656-421: A total land area of 616.3 square kilometres (238.0 square miles), consisting primarily of low, flat limestone with extensive marshes and mangrove swamps and 332 square kilometres (128 sq mi) of beach front. The tallest peaks in the islands are Blue Hills on Providenciales and Flamingo Hill on East Caicos , both at a modest 48 m. The weather is usually sunny (it is generally regarded that

1794-644: Is geographically contiguous to the Bahamas, both comprising the Lucayan Archipelago , but is politically a separate entity. The Caicos Islands are separated by the Caicos Passage from the closest Bahamian islands, Mayaguana and Great Inagua . The nearest foreign landmass from the Turks and Caicos Islands is the Bahamian island of Little Inagua , about 30 miles (48 km) from West Caicos . The eight main islands and more than 22 smaller islands have

1932-869: Is a volcanic island arc rising along the leading edge of the Caribbean Plate due to the subduction of the Atlantic seafloor of the North American and South American plates . Major islands of the Lesser Antilles likely emerged less than 20 Ma, during the Miocene . The volcanic activity that formed these islands began in the Paleogene, after a period of volcanism in the Greater Antilles ended, and continues today. The main arc of

2070-557: Is administered as part of South Caicos District) is uninhabited, while the only permanent inhabitants of West Caicos (administered as part of Providenciales District) are resort staff. The Caicos Islands comprise the following main islands: The Turks and Caicos Islands feature a tropical savannah climate ( AW ), with relatively consistent temperatures throughout the course of the year. Summertime temperatures rarely exceed 33 °C (91 °F) and winter nighttime temperatures rarely fall below 18 °C (64 °F). Water temperature in

2208-716: Is estimated that nearly 70% of Cuba consists of karst limestone . The Blue Mountains of Jamaica are a granite outcrop rising over 2,000 meters (6000'), while the rest of the island to the west consists mainly of karst limestone. Much of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands were formed by the collision of the Caribbean Plate with the North American Plate and consist of 12 island arc terranes . These terranes consist of oceanic crust , volcanic and plutonic rock . The Lesser Antilles

2346-694: Is geologically the oldest of the three archipelagos and includes both the largest islands ( Cuba , Jamaica , Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico ) and the tallest mountains ( Pico Duarte , Blue Mountain , Pic la Selle , Pico Turquino ) in the Caribbean. The islands of the Greater Antilles are composed of strata of different geological ages including Precambrian fragmented remains of the North American Plate (older than 539 million years), Jurassic aged limestone (201.3-145 million years ago), as well as island arc deposits and oceanic crust from

2484-603: Is impossible to find a jury who will not know the defendant in a small population island. Whilst many are geographically remote, the British Overseas Territories share a direct connection with elements of supervisory governance (as did the now independent Commonwealth Nations) still exercisable by the UK’s Government in London, UK. The 2004 Pitcairn Islands sexual assault trial is an example of how

2622-539: Is situated on Grand Turk about 1,042 kilometres (647 mi) east-southeast of Miami . They have a total land area of 430 square kilometres (170 sq mi). The islands were inhabited for centuries by Taíno people . The first recorded European sighting of them was in 1512. In subsequent centuries, they were claimed by several European powers, with the British Empire eventually gaining control. For many years they were governed indirectly through Bermuda ,

2760-463: Is used elsewhere in Misplaced Pages to refer to all such statuses of various of the British Overseas Territories collectively. This status is neither a nationality nor a citizenship, although it confers rights under local legislation. Prior to 1968, the British government made no citizenship (or connected rights) distinction between its nationals in the United Kingdom and those in the British colonies (as

2898-779: The Achaemenid Empire ), and ultimately its cognate , the Sanskrit Sindhu , or "river", specifically the Indus River and its well-settled southern basin. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi ( Ἰνδοί ), which translates as "The people of the Indus". In 1492, Christopher Columbus and his Spanish fleet left Spain seeking a western sea passage to the Eastern world , hoping to profit from

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3036-1120: The Americas . The Indies from both regions were further distinguished depending on the European world power to which they belong. In the East Indies , there were the Spanish East Indies and the Dutch East Indies . In the West Indies, the Spanish West Indies , the Dutch West Indies , the French West Indies , the British West Indies , and the Danish West Indies . The term was used to name

3174-655: The Atlantic island nation of Bermuda , all of which are geographically distinct from the three main island groups, but culturally related. The English term Indie is derived from the Classical Latin India , a reference to the territories in South Asia adjacent and east to the Indus River . India itself derived successively from Hellenistic Greek India ( Ἰνδία ), ancient Greek Indos ( Ἰνδός ), Old Persian Hindush (an eastern province of

3312-604: The British Overseas Territories Act 2002 ). Most countries do not recognise the sovereignty claims of any other country, including Britain's, to Antarctica and its off-shore islands. Five nations contest, with counter-claims, the UK's sovereignty in the following overseas territories: The people of the British Overseas Territories are British Nationals. Most of the overseas territories distinguish between those British nationals who have rights reserved under

3450-643: The Caribbean Sea , attacking Spanish and Portuguese shipping and coastal areas. They often took refuge and refitted their ships in the areas the Spanish could not conquer, including the islands of the Lesser Antilles, the northern coast of South America, including the mouth of the Orinoco , and the Atlantic Coast of Central America. In the Lesser Antilles, they managed to establish a foothold following

3588-807: The Commonwealth of Nations through the United Kingdom. The inhabited territories compete in their own right at the Commonwealth Games , and three of the territories ( Bermuda , the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands ) sent teams to the 2016 Summer Olympics . Although the Crown Dependencies of Jersey , Guernsey and the Isle of Man are also under the sovereignty of the British monarch , they are in

3726-741: The Cretaceous (145-66 million years ago). The Greater Antilles originated near the Isthmian region of present-day Central America in the Late Cretaceous (commonly referred to as the Proto-Antilles), then drifted eastward arriving in their current location when colliding with the Bahama Platform of the North American Plate ca. 56 million years ago in the late Paleocene . This collision caused subduction and volcanism in

3864-453: The Florida peninsula of North America south-southeast to the northern coast of Venezuela . These islands include active volcanoes , low-lying atolls , raised limestone islands, and large fragments of continental crust containing tall mountains and insular rivers. Each of the three archipelagos of the West Indies has a unique origin and geologic composition. The Greater Antilles

4002-879: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has the responsibility of looking after the interests of all overseas territories except the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence . Within the FCDO, the general responsibility for the territories is handled by the Overseas Territories Directorate. In 2012, the FCO published The Overseas Territories: security, success and sustainability which set out Britain's policy for

4140-677: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and are subject to change. Most of the territories retain permanent civilian populations, with the exceptions of the British Antarctic Territory , South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (which host only officials and research station staff) and the British Indian Ocean Territory (used as a military base). Permanent residency for the approximately 7,000 civilians living in

4278-514: The International Court of Justice , which issued an advisory opinion on 25 February 2019 which supported the position of the government of Mauritius. On 3 October 2024, British prime minister Keir Starmer and Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth jointly announced that an agreement had been reached under which the UK would cede sovereignty over the territory. Under the deal, Diego Garcia will be excluded from any resettlement, and

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4416-646: The Mission Sui Iuris for Turks and Caicos , which was erected in 1984 with territory taken from the then Diocese of Nassau . British Overseas Territories The British Overseas Territories ( BOTs ) are the fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, while not forming part of the United Kingdom itself, are part of its sovereign territory. The permanently inhabited territories are delegated varying degrees of internal self-governance , with

4554-516: The New Palace of Westminster . Speaker of the House of Commons , Sir Lindsay Hoyle said "The two windows represent part of our United Kingdom family". The head of state in the overseas territories is the British monarch, currently King Charles III. The monarch appoints a representative in each territory to exercise the executive power of the monarch. In territories with a permanent population,

4692-736: The Royal Bermuda Regiment and the Cayman Islands Regiment . The Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment, like regiments in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, will focus on increasing the nation's security, and, for times of natural disasters, the Regiment would be trained in engineering and communications. In mid December 2019, a team from the UK's Ministry of Defence was on Turks and Caicos to start on building

4830-635: The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force . Customs and border enforcement is the responsibility of the Border Force. At times these may be supported by the Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment . The defence of the Turks and Caicos Islands is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. The Royal Navy has a ship on permanent station in the Caribbean, HMS  Medway , and from time-to-time may send another Royal Navy or Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship as

4968-840: The Spanish Council of the Indies , the British East India Company , the Dutch East India and West India companies, the French East India Company , and the Danish East India Company . Many cultures were indigenous to these islands, with evidence dating some of them back to the mid-6th millennium BCE. In the late 16th century, French, English and Dutch merchants and privateers began operations in

5106-420: The Swedish West India Company . West Indian is the official term used by the U.S. government to refer to people of the West Indies. The term survives today mainly through the West Indies cricket team , representing all of the nations in the West Indian islands. The West Indies are a geologically complex island system consisting of 7,000 islands and islets stretching over 3,000 km (2000 miles) from

5244-481: The Treaty of the Danish West Indies . The Danish West Indies became an insular area of the U.S., called the United States Virgin Islands . Between 1958 and 1962, the United Kingdom re-organised all their West Indies island territories (except the British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas ) into the West Indies Federation . They hoped that the Federation would coalesce into a single, independent nation. The Federation had limited powers, numerous practical problems, and

5382-403: The United Kingdom were stripped of the rights of abode and free entry in 1968, and, in 1983, the British government replaced Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies with British Citizenship (with rights of abode and free entry to the United Kingdom) for those with a qualifying connection to the United Kingdom or British Dependent Territories Citizenship for those with a connection only to

5520-423: The West Indies and continued to be a major export product into the nineteenth century. In 1807, Britain prohibited the slave trade and, in 1833, abolished slavery in its colonies. British ships sometimes intercepted slave traders in the Caribbean, and some ships were wrecked off the coast of these islands. In 1837, the Esperança, a Portuguese slaver, was wrecked off East Caicos, one of the larger islands. While

5658-404: The Western Caribbean Zone in place in the early-18th century. In the Miskito Kingdom, the rise to power of the Miskito-Zambos , who originated in the survivors of a rebellion aboard a slave ship in the 1640s and the introduction of enslaved Africans by British settlers within the Miskito area and in Belize, also transformed this area into one with a high percentage of persons of African descent as

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5796-437: The election of an anti-independence party in 1980 and since then the islands have remained British territory. Local government was suspended from 1986 to 1988, following allegation of government involvement with drug trafficking which resulted in the arrest of Chief Minister Norman Saunders . In 2002 the islands were re-designated a British Overseas Territory, with islanders gaining full British citizenship. A new constitution

5934-407: The handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the British government amended the 1981 Act to give British citizenship without restrictions to all BDTCs (the status was also renamed BOTC at the same time) except for those solely connected with Akrotiri and Dhekelia (whose residents already held Cypriot citizenship ). This restored the right of abode in the UK to residents of overseas territories after

6072-406: The "Trouvadore Africans" and their descendants as constituting an essential part of the "labouring population" on the islands. In 2004, marine archaeologists affiliated with the Turks and Caicos National Museum discovered a wreck, called the "Black Rock Ship", that subsequent research has suggested may be that of the Trouvadore . In November 2008, a cooperative marine archaeology expedition, funded by

6210-446: The 1920s become known as dominions . The dominions achieved almost full independence with the Statute of Westminster (1931) . Through a process of decolonisation following the Second World War, most of the British colonies in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean chose independence. Some colonies became Commonwealth realms , retaining the monarch as their own head of state . Most former colonies and protectorates became member states of

6348-399: The 2001 census. July 2021 estimates put the population at 57,196. One-third of the population is under 15 years old, and only 4% are 65 or older. In 2000 the population was growing at a rate of 3.55% per year. The infant mortality rate was 18.66 deaths per 1,000 live births and the life expectancy at birth was 73.28 years (71.15 years for males, 75.51 years for females). The total fertility rate

6486-620: The 20th century onwards, increasing levels of states becoming fully independent caused the numbers of remaining cities to reduce substantially. West Indies The subregion includes all the islands in the Antilles , in addition to The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands , which are in the North Atlantic Ocean . The term is often interchangeable with "Caribbean", although the latter may also include coastal regions of Central and South American mainland nations, including Mexico , Belize , Honduras , Panama , Colombia , Venezuela , French Guiana , Guyana , and Suriname , as well as

6624-438: The Antarctic territory is only 18,015 km  [6,956 sq mi]), while the two largest territories by population, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda , account for about half of the total BOT population. The Cayman Islands alone comprise 28% of the entire BOT population. At the other end of the scale, three territories have no civilian inhabitants – the Antarctic Territory (currently consisting of five research stations),

6762-450: The Bahamas, and Jamaica . When the Bahamas gained independence in 1973, the islands received their own governor , and have remained an autonomous territory since. The name Caico[s] is from the Lucayan caya hico , meaning 'string of islands'. The Turks Islands are named after the Turk's cap cactus, Melocactus intortus , whose red cephalium resembles the fez hat worn by Turks in the late Ottoman Empire . The first inhabitants of

6900-415: The British Empire (which also includes all Commonwealth realms). Notably, while not independent Commonwealth realms, the territories are separately represented at the Commonwealth Games on the same basis as independent nation members, as are the three Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man. Full British citizenship has been granted to most 'belongers' of overseas territories (mainly since

7038-410: The British Indian Ocean Territory (whose inhabitants, the Chagossians , were forcibly moved to Mauritius and the United Kingdom between 1968 and 1973), and South Georgia (which actually did have a full-time population of two between 1992 and 2006). Pitcairn Islands , settled by the survivors of the mutiny on the Bounty , is the smallest settled territory, with 49 inhabitants (all of whom live on

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7176-423: The British Overseas Territories were then termed). Indeed, the people of Bermuda had been explicitly guaranteed by Royal Charters for the Virginia Company in 1607 (extended to Bermuda in 1612) and the Somers Isles Company (in 1615) that they and their descendants would have exactly the same rights as they would if they had they been born in England. Despite this, British Colonials without a qualifying connection to

7314-422: The British Parliament passed the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 which introduced the current name of British Overseas Territories . This reclassified the UK's dependent territories as overseas territories and, with the exception of those people solely connected with the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus, restored full British citizenship to their inhabitants. During the European Union (EU) membership of

7452-441: The British or Commonwealth Armed Forces. A Joint Ministerial Council of UK ministers, and the leaders of the overseas territories has been held annually since 2012 to provide representation between UK government departments and overseas territory governments. The British Antarctic Territory overlaps with territory claims by both Argentina and Chile. However, territorial claims on the continent may not currently be advanced, under

7590-409: The Caribbean. The variety of species includes a number of endemic species of lizards, snakes, insects and plants, and marine organisms ; in addition to being an important breeding area for seabirds. The UK and Turks and Caicos Islands Governments have joint responsibility for the conservation and preservation to meet obligations under international environmental conventions. Due to this significance,

7728-416: The Commonwealth of Nations , a non-political, voluntary association of equal members, comprising a population of around 2.2 billion people. After the independence of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe ) in Africa in 1980 and British Honduras (now Belize ) in Central America in 1981, the last major colony that remained was Hong Kong , with a population of over 5 million. With 1997 approaching,

7866-413: The EU, but they are the only British Overseas Territory to use the Euro as official currency, having previously had the Cypriot pound as their currency until 1 January 2008. On 15 May 2023, the sixteen heraldic shields of the British Overseas Territories and the three coat of arms of the Crown Dependencies were "immortalised" in two new stained-glass windows , unveiled in the Speaker's House at

8004-423: The FCDO in London. Some territories maintain diplomatic officers in nearby countries for trade and immigration purposes. Several of the territories in the Americas maintain membership within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , the Caribbean Community , the Caribbean Development Bank , Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the Association of Caribbean States . The territories are members of

8142-436: The Falkland Islands treated as a part of the UK proper through the enactment of British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983 due to the Falklands War with Argentina; and Gibraltarians, who were given the special entitlement to be registered as British citizens upon request without further conditions because of its individual membership in the European Economic Area and the European Economic Community . Five years after

8280-412: The Lesser Antilles runs north from the coast of Venezuela to the Anegada Passage , a strait separating them from the Greater Antilles, and includes 19 active volcanoes. The Lucayan Archipelago includes The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands , a chain of barrier reefs and low islands atop the Bahama Platform. The Bahama Platform is a carbonate block formed of marine sediments and fixed to

8418-454: The North American Plate. The emergent islands of the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos likely formed from accumulated deposits of wind-blown sediments during Pleistocene glacial periods of lower sea level. N.B.: Territories in italics are parts of transregional sovereign states or non-sovereign dependencies. These three Dutch Caribbean territories form the BES islands . Physiographically , these are continental islands not part of

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8556-486: The Overseas Territories, covering six main areas: Britain and the Overseas Territories do not have diplomatic representations, although the governments of the overseas territories with indigenous populations all retain a representative office in London. The United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA) also represents the interests of the territories in London. The governments in both London and territories occasionally meet to mitigate or resolve disagreements over

8694-403: The Privy Council . There are three justices of the Supreme Court, a Chief Justice and two others. The Court of Appeal consists of a president and at least two justices of appeal. Magistrates' Courts are the lower courts and appeals from Magistrates' Courts are sent to the Supreme Court. As of April 2020, the Chief Justice is Justice Mabel Agyemang . Policing is primarily the responsibility of

8832-556: The Proto-Antillean area and likely resulted in continental uplift of the Bahama Platform and changes in sea level. The Greater Antilles have continuously been exposed since the start of the Paleocene or at least since the Middle Eocene (66-40 million years ago), but which areas were above sea level throughout the history of the islands remains unresolved. The oldest rocks in the Greater Antilles are located in Cuba. They consist of metamorphosed graywacke , argillite , tuff , mafic igneous extrusive flows, and carbonate rock . It

8970-402: The Regiment. It is projected that the Turk and Caicos Regiment will go operational sometime within the third quarter of 2020, putting it nearly half a year after the Cayman Regiment. In spring 2020, a Security and Assistance Team from the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence arrived in Turks and Caicos to assist with the COVID-19 pandemic , the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season , and to help build

9108-404: The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is limited to citizens of the Republic of Cyprus . Collectively, the territories encompass a population of about 250,000 people and a land area of about 480,000 sq nmi (1,600,000 km ). The vast majority of this land area constitutes the almost uninhabited British Antarctic Territory (the land area of all the territories excepting

9246-399: The Turks Island Passage. The Turks Islands are separated from the Caicos Islands by Turks Island Passage, which is more than 2,200 m (7,200 ft) deep. The islands form a chain that stretches north–south. The 2012 census population was 4,939 on the two main islands, the only inhabited islands of the group: Together with nearby islands, all on Turks Bank, those two main islands form

9384-416: The Turks Islands and four in the Caicos Islands), headed by district commissioners. For the House of Assembly , the Turks and Caicos Islands are divided into 15 electoral districts (four in the Turks Islands and eleven in the Caicos Islands). The judicial branch of government is headed by a Supreme Court; appeals are heard by the Court of Appeal and final appeals by the United Kingdom's Judicial Committee of

9522-435: The Turks and Caicos Islands and Cockburn Town has been the seat of government since 1766. The Turks and Caicos Islands participate in the Caribbean Development Bank , is an associate in CARICOM , a member of the Universal Postal Union and maintains an Interpol sub-bureau. The United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization includes the territory on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories . Under

9660-446: The Turks and Caicos Islands became a Crown colony . Beginning in 1965, the governor of the Bahamas was also governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands and oversaw affairs for the islands. When the Bahamas gained independence in 1973, the Turks and Caicos received their own governor (the last administrator was restyled). In 1974, Canadian New Democratic Party MP Max Saltsman proposed in his private member's bill C-249, "An Act Respecting

9798-429: The Turks and Caicos join Canada , but this suggestion was rejected by British Prime Minister David Lloyd George and the islands remained a dependency of Jamaica. On 4 July 1959 the islands were again designated as a separate colony, the last commissioner being restyled administrator . The governor of Jamaica also continued as the governor of the islands. When Jamaica was granted independence from Britain in August 1962,

9936-541: The UK Parliament and the territories. He said that the UK Government's new "Votes for Life" policy mean all Gibraltarians who have previously lived in the UK, for example as students, can now register to vote in its general elections - regardless of how long ago they lived there. However, Fabian Picardo highlighted that, overall, there is no formal mechanism to ensure Gibraltar's interests are represented under

10074-547: The UK Parliament, as well as backbench members of the Conservative Party and Labour Party . The Chief Minister has argued that all British citizens in overseas territories should have the right to vote in UK parliamentary elections. On 29 January 2024, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, addressed the House of Commons Committee on territorial constitution, looking at the relationship between

10212-620: The UK remains the official administrative power of these territories, and under Article 73 is therefore required "to develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions." Historically the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Colonial Office were responsible for overseeing all British Colonies, but today

10350-438: The UK was replaced by British Dependent Territories citizenship (BDTC) in the newly minted British Nationality Act 1981 , a status that does not come with it the right of abode in the UK or any overseas territory. For these residents, registration as full British citizens then required physical residence in the UK proper. There were only two exceptions: Falkland Islanders, who were automatically granted British citizenship, and with

10488-655: The UK will continue to administer the island for at least 99 years. Of the eleven territories with a permanent population, all except the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus continue to be listed by the UN Special Committee on Decolonization as non-self-governing territories since they were listed as dependent territories by the UK when it joined the UN in 1947. This means that

10626-525: The UK, including: The territories have no official representation in the UK Parliament, but have informal representation through the all-party parliamentary group , and can petition the UK government through the Directgov e-Petitions website. Two national parties, UK Independence Party and the Liberal Democrats , have endorsed calls for direct representation of overseas territories in

10764-446: The United Kingdom , the main body of EU law did not apply and, although certain slices of EU law were applied to the overseas territories as part of the EU's Association of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT Association), they were not commonly enforceable in local courts. The OCT Association also provided overseas territories with structural funding for regeneration projects. Gibraltar

10902-501: The United Kingdom and China negotiated the Sino-British Joint Declaration , which led to the whole of Hong Kong becoming a special administrative region of China in 1997, subject to various conditions intended to guarantee the preservation of Hong Kong's capitalist economy and its way of life under British rule for at least 50 years after the handover . George Town , Cayman Islands , has consequently become

11040-572: The United Kingdom may choose to provide the legal framework for particular cases where the territory cannot do so alone. The highest court for all the British overseas territories is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The British overseas territories generally look after their own policing matters and have their own police forces . In smaller territories, the senior officer(s) may be recruited or seconded from

11178-436: The United Kingdom retaining responsibility for defence , foreign relations , and internal security, and ultimate responsibility for "good" governance. Three of the territories are chiefly or only inhabited by military or scientific personnel, the rest hosting significant civilian populations. All fourteen have the British monarch as head of state . These UK government responsibilities are assigned to various departments of

11316-678: The United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration , confirmed that the wreck has artifacts whose style and date of manufacture link them to the Trouvadore . In 1848, Britain designated the Turks and Caicos as a separate colony under a council president . In 1873–4, the islands were made part of the Jamaica colony; in 1894, the chief colonial official was restyled commissioner . In 1917, Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden suggested that

11454-585: The United States in relation to Bermuda, with which it has retained close links since Bermuda was founded as an extension of Virginia). In regard to movement within British sovereign territory, only British citizenship grants the right of abode in a specific country or territory, namely, the United Kingdom proper (which includes its three Crown Dependencies ). Individual overseas territories have legislative independence over immigration, and consequently, BOTC status, as noted above, does not automatically grant

11592-592: The War of the Spanish Succession. The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) was the subject of a territorial dispute with Mauritius , the government of which claims that the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from the rest of British Mauritius in 1965, three years before Mauritius was granted independence from the United Kingdom, was unlawful. The long-running dispute was referred in 2017 to

11730-419: The advice of the UK government. To comply with the court's decision, the territorial governors now act on the advice of each territory's executive and the UK government can no longer disallow legislation passed by territorial legislatures. The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state , and they are usually responsible for appointing the head of government, and senior political positions in

11868-658: The archipelago in 1612. St. George's town, founded in Bermuda in that year, remains the oldest continuously inhabited British settlement in the New World (with some historians stating that – its formation predating the 1619 conversion of James Fort into Jamestown – St. George's was actually the first successful town the English established in the New World ). Bermuda and Bermudians have played important, sometimes pivotal, but generally underestimated or unacknowledged roles in

12006-415: The citizenship shown as British Overseas Territories Citizen in order to prove their entitlement to obtain a passport with the citizenship shown as British Citizen , most now have two passports, although the local governments of the territories do not distinguish an individual's local status based on either form of citizenship, and the passport with the citizenship shown as British Citizen consequently shows

12144-545: The colonisation of Saint Kitts in 1624 and Barbados in 1626, and when the Sugar Revolution took off in the mid-17th century, they brought in thousands of enslaved Africans to work the fields and mills as labourers. These enslaved Africans wrought a demographic revolution, replacing or joining with either the indigenous Caribs or the European settlers who were there as indentured servants . The struggle between

12282-518: The constituency system - just the voluntary interest of individual MPs, such as those in the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gibraltar. The Chief Minister acknowledged the difficulty of finding a system to accommodate Westminster representation and OT's self-governance - but said that the "Pandora's Box" of devolution had opened a window to how this could be addressed. Foreign affairs of the overseas territories are handled by

12420-484: The crew and 220 captive Africans survived the shipwreck, 18 Africans died before the survivors were taken to Nassau. Africans from this ship may have been among the 189 liberated Africans whom the British colonists settled in the Turks and Caicos from 1833 to 1840. In 1841, the Trouvadore , an illegal Spanish slave ship, was wrecked off the coast of East Caicos. All of the 20 man crew and 192 captive Africans survived

12558-644: The default citizenship was renamed British Overseas Territories Citizenship (except still for Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, for which British Citizenship remained the default), the immigration bars against its holders were lowered, and its holders were also entitled to obtain British Citizenship by obtaining a second British Passport (something that had previously been illegal) with the citizenship so indicated. As British Overseas Territories Citizens must provide their British Passport with

12696-732: The governor based in New Zealand. Following the Lords' decision in Ex parte Quark, 2005, it is held that the King in exercising his authority over British Overseas Territories does not act on the advice of the government of the UK, but in his role as king of each territory, with the exception of fulfilling the UK's international responsibilities for its territories. The reserve powers of the Crown for each territory are no longer considered to be exercisable on

12834-459: The holder to be entitled to all of the same right as does the passport with the citizenship shown as British Overseas Territories Citizen , and is often required to access services in the United Kingdom, and is accepted by the immigration authorities of more foreign countries, many of which have barriers against holders of British Overseas Territories Citizen passport holders that do not apply to British Citizen passport holders (the exception being

12972-660: The holding measures of the Antarctic Treaty System . Gibraltar was captured from Spain in 1704 by a force led by Admiral Sir George Rooke representing the Grand Alliance on behalf of the Archduke Charles, pretender to the Spanish throne. Spanish attempts to regain the territory failed, and it was eventually ceded to the Britain under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht as part of the settlement of

13110-488: The islands are on the United Kingdom's tentative list for future UNESCO World Heritage Sites . The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory . As a British territory, its sovereign is King Charles III of the United Kingdom, represented by a governor appointed by the monarch, on the advice of the Foreign Office . With the election of the territory's first Chief Minister, J. A. G. S. McCartney ,

13248-417: The islands first adopted a constitution on 30 August 1976. The national holiday, Constitution Day, is celebrated annually on 30 August. The territory's legal system is based on English common law , with a small number of laws adopted from Jamaica and the Bahamas. Suffrage is universal for those over 18 years of age. English is the official language. Grand Turk is the administrative and political capital of

13386-473: The islands receive 350 days of sun each year) and relatively dry, but suffers frequent hurricanes. The islands have limited natural fresh water resources; private cisterns collect rainwater for drinking. The primary natural resources are spiny lobster , conch , and other shellfish. Turks and Caicos contains three terrestrial ecoregions: Bahamian dry forests , Bahamian pineyards , and Bahamian-Antillean mangroves . The two distinct island groups are separated by

13524-512: The islands was. Some sources state that Christopher Columbus saw the islands on his voyage to the Americas in 1492. However, other sources state that it is more likely that Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León was the first European in Turks and Caicos, in 1512. In either case, by 1512 the Spanish had begun capturing the Taíno and Lucayans as labourers in the encomienda system to replace

13662-544: The islands were the Arawakan-speaking Taíno people , who most likely crossed over from Hispaniola some time from AD 500 to 800. Together with Taíno who migrated from Cuba to the southern Bahamas around the same time, these people developed as the Lucayan . Around 1200, the Turks and Caicos Islands were resettled by Classical Taínos from Hispaniola. It is unknown precisely who the first European to sight

13800-471: The largely depleted native population of Hispaniola. As a result of this, and the introduction of diseases to which the native people had no immunity, the southern Bahama Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands were completely depopulated by about 1513, and remained so until the 17th century. From the mid-1600s Bermudian salt collectors began seasonally visiting the islands, later settling more permanently with their African slaves. For several decades around

13938-498: The largest city among the dependent territories, partly because of the constant and healthy flow of immigration to the city and the territory as a whole, which saw its population jump 26% from 2010 to 2021, the fastest population growth of any of the territories. Prior to 1 January 1983, the territories were officially referred to as the Crown Colonies . At that time they were renamed British Dependent Territories . In 2002,

14076-456: The local government for those with a qualifying connection to the territory. In Bermuda, by example, this is called Bermudian status , and can be inherited or obtained subject to conditions laid down by the local government (non-British nationals must necessarily obtain British nationality in order to obtain Bermudian status). Although the expression "belonger status" is not used in Bermuda, it

14214-584: The lucrative spice trade emanating from Hindustan , Indochina , and Insulindia , the regions currently found within the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia , which were first simply referred to by Spanish and Portuguese explorers as the Indias (Indies) . Thinking he had landed on the easternmost part of the Indies in the Eastern world when he came upon the New World , Columbus used

14352-530: The middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century, the larger settler colonies – in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – first became self-governing colonies and then achieved independence in all matters except foreign policy, defence and trade. Separate self-governing colonies federated to become Canada (in 1867), Australia (in 1901), South Africa (in 1910) and Rhodesia (in 1965). These and other large self-governing colonies had by

14490-633: The new Constitution that came into effect in October 2012, legislative power is held by a unicameral House of Assembly , consisting of 19 seats, 15 elected and four appointed by the governor; of elected members, five are elected at large and 10 from single-member districts for four-year terms. In the 2021 elections the Progressive National Party won in a landslide and Washington Misick became Premier. The Turks and Caicos Islands are divided into six administrative districts (two in

14628-434: The new Turks and Caicos Regiment. In early June 2020, Lieutenant Colonel Ennis Grant was appointed as the commanding officer of the new Turks and Caicos Regiment. Eight of the thirty islands in the territory are inhabited, with a total population estimated from preliminary results of the census of 25 January 2012 (released on 12 August 2012) of 31,458 inhabitants, an increase of 58.2% from the population of 19,886 reported in

14766-571: The northern Europeans and the Spanish spread southward in the mid to late seventeenth century, as English, Dutch, French and Spanish colonists, and in many cases, enslaved Africans first entered and then occupied the coast of The Guianas (which fell to the French, English and Dutch) and the Orinoco valley, which fell to the Spanish. The Dutch, allied with the Caribs of the Orinoco, would eventually carry

14904-490: The overseas territories of Saint Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands, an administrator is appointed to be the governor's representative. In the territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, there is an administrator in each of the two distant parts of the territory, namely Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha . The administrator of the Pitcairn Islands resides on Pitcairn, with

15042-635: The people of the British Dependent Territories (other than those of Gibraltar and the Falklands), which was understood universally as intended to raise a colour bar and had done so given that most white colonials were not affected by it and had made restoration of a single citizenship part of its election manifesto. In 2002, when the British Dependent Territories became the British Overseas Territories ,

15180-526: The permanent English colonisation of North America began officially in 1607 with the settlement of Jamestown , the first successful permanent colony in Virginia (a term that was then applied generally to North America). Its offshoot, Bermuda , was settled inadvertently after the wrecking of the Virginia Company 's flagship there in 1609, with the company's charter extended to officially include

15318-464: The process of governance in the territories and levels of autonomy. Britain provides financial assistance to the overseas territories via the FCDO (previously the Department for International Development ). As of 2019, only Montserrat, Saint Helena, Pitcairn and Tristan da Cunha receive budgetary aid (i.e. financial contribution to recurrent funding). Several specialist funds are made available by

15456-445: The right of abode in any of the territories, as it depends on the territory's immigration laws. A territory may issue belonger status to allow a person to reside in the territory that they have close links with. The governor or immigration department of a territory may also grant the territorial status to a resident who does not hold it as a birthright. From 1949 to 1983, the nationality status of Citizenship of UK and Colonies (CUKC)

15594-472: The sense of English subjects residing in lands hitherto outside the control of the English government, were generally known as plantations . The first, unofficial, colony was Newfoundland Colony , where English fishermen routinely set up seasonal camps in the 16th century. It is now a province of Canada known as Newfoundland and Labrador . After failed attempts, including the Roanoke Colony ,

15732-586: The shaping of the English and British transatlantic empires. These include maritime commerce, settlement of the continent and of the West Indies , and the projection of naval power via the colony's privateers , among other areas. The growth of the British Empire in the 19th century, to its territorial peak in the 1920s, saw Britain acquire nearly one quarter of the world's land mass, including territories with large indigenous populations in Asia and Africa. From

15870-576: The sinking. Officials freed the Africans and arranged for 168 persons to be apprenticed to island proprietors on Grand Turk for one year. They increased the small population of the colony by seven per cent. The remaining 24 were resettled in Nassau, Bahamas . The Spanish crew were also taken there, to be turned over to the custody of the Cuban consul and taken to Cuba for prosecution. An 1878 letter documents

16008-548: The struggles deep into South America, first along the Orinoco and then along the northern reaches of the Amazon . Since no European country had occupied much of Central America, gradually, the English of Jamaica established alliances with the Miskito Kingdom of modern-day Nicaragua and Honduras and then began logging on the coast of modern-day Belize . These interconnected commercial and diplomatic relations comprised

16146-406: The summer is 82 to 84 degrees (28–29 degrees celsius) and in winter about 74 to 78 degrees (23–26 degrees celsius). A constant trade wind keeps the climate at a very comfortable level. The Turks and Caicos Islands are a biodiversity hotspot . The islands have many endemic species and others of international importance, due to the conditions created by the oldest established salt-pan development in

16284-778: The term Indias to refer to the Americas , calling its native people Indios (Indians) . To avoid confusion between the known Indies of the Eastern Hemisphere and the newly discovered Indies of the Western Hemisphere , the Spanish named the territories in the East Indias Orientales (East Indies) and the territories in the West Indias Occidentales (West Indies) . Originally, the term West Indies applied to all of

16422-441: The territory due to immigration, both legal and illegal, from Haitian Creole-speaking Haiti and from Spanish-speaking Cuba and Dominican Republic. 86% of the population of Turks and Caicos are Christian ( Baptists 35.8%, Church of God 11.7%, Roman Catholics 11.4%, Anglicans 10%, Methodists 9.3%, Seventh-day Adventists 6%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.8%), with other faiths making up the remaining 14%. Catholics are served by

16560-462: The territory. Each overseas territory has its own legal system independent of the United Kingdom. The legal system is generally based on English common law , with some distinctions for local circumstances. Each territory has its own attorney general and court system. For the smaller territories, the United Kingdom may appoint a UK-based lawyer or judge to work on legal cases. This is particularly important for cases involving serious crimes and where it

16698-534: The territory. The governor is also responsible for liaising with the UK government, and carrying out any ceremonial duties. A commissioner has the same powers as a governor, but also acts as the head of government. Although the British Government is the national government, much of governance within the territories has been delegated to local government, with all of those that have permanent populations having some degree of representative government (which

16836-571: The titular island), while the smallest by land area is Gibraltar, which lies on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula . The United Kingdom participates in the Antarctic Treaty System and, as part of a mutual agreement, the British Antarctic Territory is recognised by four of the six other sovereign nations making claims to Antarctic territory . The 14 British Overseas Territories are: Early colonies, in

16974-630: The turn of the 18th century, the islands became popular pirate hideouts. During the Anglo-French War (1778–1783) the French captured the archipelago in 1783; however, it was later confirmed as a British colony with the Treaty of Paris (1783) . After the American War of Independence (1775–1783), many Loyalists fled to British Caribbean colonies, also bringing with them African slaves. They developed cotton as an important cash crop, but it

17112-577: The two administrative districts of the territory (out of six in total) that fall within the Turks Islands. Turks Bank, which is smaller than Caicos Bank, has a total area of about 324 km (125 sq mi). The main uninhabited islands are: 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of the Turks Islands and separated from them by Mouchoir Passage is the Mouchoir Bank . Although it has no emergent cays or islets, some parts are very shallow and

17250-796: The volcanic Windward Islands arc. Based on proximity, these islands are sometimes grouped with the Windward Islands culturally and politically. Disputed territories administered by Colombia . The United Nations geoscheme includes Mexico in Central America . These three form the SSS islands that with the ABC islands comprise the Dutch Caribbean , of which the BES islands are not direct Kingdom constituents but subsumed with

17388-620: The water breaks on them. Mouchoir Bank is part of the Turks and Caicos Islands and falls within its Exclusive Economic Zone . It measures 958 square kilometres (370 sq mi) in area. Two banks further east, Silver Bank and Navidad Bank , are geographically a continuation, but belong politically to the Dominican Republic. The largest island in the Caicos archipelago is the sparsely-inhabited Middle Caicos, which measures 144 square kilometres (56 sq mi) in area, but has

17526-529: Was 3.25 children born per woman. The annual population growth rate is 2.82%. The CIA World Factbook breaks down the islanders' ethnicity as African 87%, European 7.9%, Mixed 2.5.%, East Indian 1.3% and Other 0.7%. There is a small Dominican and Haitian community on the islands. The official language of the islands is English, but the population also speaks Turks and Caicos Islands Creole . Due to its proximity to Cuba and Hispaniola, large Haitian Creole and Spanish-speaking communities have developed in

17664-470: Was deployed to the islands to provide surveillance support to the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police which was confronted with rising gang violence in the territory. Governor Nigel Dakin announced in early December 2019 that the Turks and Caicos will build its own defence regiment, the Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment, with the assistance of the UK's Ministry of Defence and it is to be similar to

17802-485: Was estimated by The World Factbook at 59,367, making it the third-largest of the British overseas territories by population. However, according to a Department of Statistics estimate in 2022, the population was 47,720. The islands are southeast of Mayaguana in the Bahamas island chain and north of the island of Hispaniola ( Haiti and the Dominican Republic ). Cockburn Town , the capital since 1766,

17940-543: Was found in most of the rest of the Caribbean. From the 17th through the 19th century, the European colonial territories of the West Indies were the French West Indies , British West Indies , the Danish West Indies , the Netherlands Antilles (Dutch West Indies), and the Spanish West Indies . In 1916, Denmark sold the Danish West Indies to the United States for US$ 25 million in gold, per

18078-433: Was not the case for British Hong Kong ) which have been delegated responsibility for local legislation, irrevocably guaranteed the same rights and representation they would have if born in England, representation in the national Parliament of the United Kingdom has yet to be extended to any overseas territory. The structure of the territorial government appears to be closely correlated to the size and political development of

18216-406: Was promulgated in 2006; however in 2009 Premier Michael Misick of the Progressive National Party (PNP) resigned in the face of corruption charges, and the United Kingdom took over direct control of the government. During this period of direct British rule, in 2010 the leaders of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands discussed the possibility of forming a federation . A new constitution

18354-529: Was promulgated in October 2012 and the government was returned to full local administration after the November 2012 elections . Rufus Ewing of the PNP was elected as the new, restored, premier. In the 2016 elections , the PNP lost for the first time since they replaced Derek Hugh Taylor's government in 2003. The People's Democratic Movement (PDM) came to power with Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson as Premier. She

18492-413: Was replaced by Washington Misick after the PNP returned to power after winning the 2021 general elections . The two island groups are in the North Atlantic Ocean about 160 kilometres (99 mi) north of Hispaniola and about 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) from Miami in the United States, at 21°43′N 71°33′W  /  21.717°N 71.550°W  / 21.717; -71.550 . The territory

18630-420: Was shared by residents of the UK proper and residents of overseas territories, although most residents of overseas territories lost their automatic right to live in the UK after the ratification of Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 that year unless they were born in the UK proper or had a parent or a grandparent born in the UK. In 1983, CUKC status of residents of overseas territories without the right of abode in

18768-476: Was stated by some Conservative Party backbench MPs that the secret intent of the Conservative government was to restore a single citizenship, with full rights across the United Kingdom and the British Dependent Territories, once Hong Kong and its British Dependent Territories Citizens had been returned to the People's Republic of China in 1997. By that time, the Labour Party was in government with Tony Blair as Prime Minister. Labour had decried discrimination against

18906-414: Was superseded by the development of the salt industry, with the labour done by African slaves forcibly imported from Africa or the other Caribbean islands and their descendants, who soon came to outnumber the European settlers. In 1799, both the Turks and the Caicos island groups were annexed by Britain as part of the Bahamas. The processing of sea salt was developed as a highly important export product from

19044-559: Was the only overseas territory that was part of the EU, although it was not part of the European Customs Union, the European Tax Policy, the European Statistics Zone or the Common Agriculture Policy. Gibraltar was not a member of the EU in its own right; it received representation in the European Parliament through its being part of the South West England constituency. Overseas citizens held concurrent European Union citizenship, giving them rights of free movement across all EU member states. The Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus were never part of

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