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91-650: The bank, located southeast of the Turks islands , is the geographic continuation of the carbonate island archipelago comprising the Bahamas , Turks and Caicos Islands, the Silver Bank , and the Navidad Bank . Much of the north side of the bank is awash in two groupings of coral reef. A 1.8 m deep rock lies between the two groupings. There are numerous shallow patches on the bank which break. North East Breaker

182-682: A trace element analysis. Columbus thought the Lucayans resembled the Guanche of the Canary Islands , in part because they were intermediate in skin color between Europeans and Africans. He described the Lucayans as handsome, graceful, well-proportioned, gentle, generous and peaceful, and customarily going almost completely naked. Peter Martyr d'Anghiera said that the Lucayan women were so beautiful that men from "other countries" moved to

273-574: 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 They developed cotton as an important cash crop, but it was superseded by the development of the salt industry, with the labour done by African slaves forcibly imported from Africa or the other Caribbean islands and their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

364-454: 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 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

455-525: A few hairs in back which were never cut. Columbus reported seeing scars on the bodies of some of the men, which were explained to him as resulting from attempts by people from other islands to capture them. In 1492 Christopher Columbus sailed from Spain with three ships, seeking a direct route to Asia. On October 12, 1492 Columbus reached an island in the Bahamas, an event long regarded as the 'discovery' of America. This first island to be visited by Columbus

546-629: A larger Taíno population in the Greater Antilles . The Lucayans, along with the Taínos in Jamaica , most of Cuba and parts of western Hispaniola have been classified as part of a Sub-Taíno, Western Taíno or Ciboney Taíno cultural and language group. Keegan describes any distinctions between Lucayans and Classical Taínos of Hispaniola and eastern Cuba as largely arbitrary. The Lucayans lived in smaller political units, simple chiefdoms , compared to

637-504: A later settlement wave from Hispaniola. Population density in the southernmost Bahamas remained lower, probably due to the drier climate there, less than 800 millimetres (31 in) of rain a year on Great Inagua Island and the Turks and Caicos Islands and only slightly higher on Acklins and Crooked Islands and Mayaguana. Based on Lucayan names for the islands, Granberry and Vescelius argue for two origins of settlement; one from Hispaniola to

728-443: A name. Keegan suggests that the confusion of spellings was due to grammatically differing forms of the name for the chief and for the village or island, or was simply due to Columbus's difficulty with the Lucayan language. Columbus spent three days sailing back and forth along the shore of an island seeking Samaot. At one point he sought to reach Samaot by sailing eastward, but the water was too shallow, and he felt that sailing around

819-628: 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,

910-476: 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

1001-531: A reasonable estimate for Lucayan houses. While not mentioned for Lucayan houses, the houses in Cuba were described as having two doors. Classic Taíno villages in Hispaniola and eastern Cuba typically had houses arranged around a central plaza, and often located along rivers with access to good agricultural land. Lucayan villages were linear, along the coast, often on the leeward side of an island, but also found on

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1092-439: A slow-boiling stew that prevented the spoiling of its ingredients. The Spanish also reported that the Lucayans grew sweet potatoes, cocoyams , arrowroot, leren , yampee , peanuts, beans and cucurbits. The Lucayans probably took most, if not all, of their crops with them to the Bahamas. The Lucayans may have grown papayas, pineapples, guava, mammee apple , guinep and tamarind fruit. There were few land animals available in

1183-423: 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

1274-484: A very small portion of the meat in the Lucayan diet. The balance of dietary meat came from marine mollusks. The main meats were fishes and mollusks from the grass flat and patch reef habitats that are found between the beach and the barrier reef, and include parrotfish, grouper, snapper, bonefish, queen conch, urchins, nerites, chitons, and clams. Maize was a recent introduction to the Greater Antilles when

1365-509: A woman resided with her husband's family, but Keegan argues that this was not patrilocal residence in the strict sense, but rather residence in the husband's uncle's household ( avunculocal residence ). Lucayans, like other Taínos, lived in multi-household houses. Descriptions of Lucayan houses by the Spanish match those of houses used by Taínos in Hispaniola and Cuba: shaped like a round tent, tall, made of poles and thatch, with an opening at

1456-659: 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

1547-453: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Bahamian location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Turks islands 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

1638-553: Is a dangerous rock in the northeast. The bank covers an area of 960 km. Mouchoir Passage, which separates Mouchoir Bank from the Turks Islands further northwest, is about 26 kilometres (16 mi) wide and very deep. Silver Bank Passage separates Mouchoir Bank from Silver Bank further southeast; the latter belongs to the Dominican Republic 's EEZ . This Turks and Caicos Islands location article

1729-559: 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

1820-447: Is closer to both Hispaniola, at 90 kilometres (56 mi), and Cuba, at 80 kilometres (50 mi), than any other island in the Bahamas, and sites on Great Inagua contain large quantities of sand- tempered pottery imported from Cuba and/or Hispaniola, while sites on other islands in the Bahamas contain more shell-tempered pottery ("Palmetto Ware"), which developed in the Bahamas. While trade in dugout canoes between Cuba and Long Island

1911-494: Is the strongest contender with the former Watling Island theory. Columbus visited several other islands in the Bahamas hunting for gold before sailing on to Cuba. Columbus spent a few days visiting other islands in the vicinity: Santa María de la Concepción, Fernandina, and Saomete. Lucayans on San Salvador had told Columbus that he could find a "king" who had a lot of gold at the village of Samaot , also spelled Samoet , Saomete or Saometo . Taíno chiefs and villages often shared

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2002-469: Is vague, perhaps because he was trespassing on Columbus's discoveries, which at the time remained under Columbus. There may have been other unrecorded Spanish landfalls in the Bahamas, shipwrecks and slaving expeditions. Maps published between 1500 and 1508 appear to show details of the Bahamas, Cuba and the North American mainland that were not officially reported until later. European artifacts of

2093-708: The Lucayan Lukku-Cairi , which the people used for themselves, meaning "people of the islands". The Taíno word for "island", cairi , became cayo in Spanish and " cay " / ˈ k iː / in English [spelled "key" in American English]. Some crania and artifacts of " Ciboney type" were reportedly found on Andros Island , but if some Ciboney did reach the Bahamas ahead of the Lucayans, they left no known evidence of occupation. Some possible Ciboney archaeological sites have been found elsewhere in

2184-620: 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 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

2275-520: 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 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

2366-645: The Mission Sui Iuris for Turks and Caicos , which was erected in 1984 with territory taken from the then Diocese of Nassau . Lucayan people The Lucayan people ( / l uː ˈ k aɪ ən / loo- KY -ən ) were the original residents of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands before the European colonisation of the Americas. They were a branch of the Taínos who inhabited most of

2457-784: 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

2548-705: 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

2639-568: The Trouvadore . In November 2008, a cooperative marine archaeology expedition, funded by 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

2730-519: 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 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

2821-423: The Bahamas island chain and north of the island of Hispaniola ( Haiti and the Dominican Republic ). Cockburn Town , the capital since 1766, 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

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2912-556: The Bahamas for hunting: hutias (Taíno utia ), rock iguanas , small lizards, land crabs and birds. While Taínos kept dogs and Muscovy ducks , only dogs were reported by early observers, or found at Lucayan sites. Less than 12% of the meat eaten by Lucayans came from land animals, of which three-quarters came from iguanas and land crabs. More than 80 percent of the meat in the Lucayan diet came from marine fishes, almost all of which grazed on seagrass and/or coral. Sea turtles and marine mammals ( West Indian monk seal and porpoise) provided

3003-464: The Bahamas, but the only one subjected to radiocarbon dating dated to the mid- to late-12th century, contemporaneous with Lucayan presence on the islands. Christopher Columbus's diario contains the only contemporaneous observations of the Lucayans. Other information about the customs of the Lucayans has come from archaeological investigations and comparison with what is known of Taíno culture in Cuba and Hispaniola. The Lucayans were distinguished from

3094-471: The Caribbean islands at the time. The Lucayans were the first Indigenous Americans encountered by Christopher Columbus . Shortly after contact, the Spanish kidnapped and enslaved Lucayans with the displacement culminating in the complete eradication of the Lucayan people from the Bahamas by 1520. The name "Lucayan" is an Anglicization of the Spanish Lucayos , itself a hispanicization derived from

3185-466: 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 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

3276-411: 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,

3367-563: 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 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

3458-594: The Jamaica colony; in 1894, the chief colonial official was restyled commissioner . In 1917, Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden suggested that 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

3549-479: The Lucayans expanded throughout the Bahamas Islands in some 800 years (c. 700 – c. 1500), growing to a population of about 40,000. Population density at the time of first European contact was highest in the south central area of the Bahamas, declining towards the north, reflecting the progressively shorter time of occupation of the northern islands. Known Lucayan settlement sites are confined to

3640-882: The Lucayans, he did note that they traded a type of leaf that they regarded as valuable. Bixa was used to produce a reddish body paint and jagua ( Genipa or Mamoncillo ) for black body paint. Conch shells (pronounced as "konk", known as cobo in Taino ) were a hard material in plentiful supply on the islands. They included several species of conch, including the queen conch and the Atlantic Triton . Lucayans used them to make tools such as canoe gouges, hoes, hammers, picks, net mesh gauges, and fishhooks. They were also made into beads shaped like disks, carved into amulets, and used as inlay for sculptures. Trumpet-like instruments that were played by blowing were also made of conch. A specific term, guamo , existed for trumpets made from

3731-594: 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

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3822-598: 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

3913-470: The Spanish arrived, and was only a minor component of the Taíno and, presumably, Lucayan diets. The Lucayans grew cotton ( Gossypium barbadense ) and tobacco, and used other plants such as agave, furcraea and hibiscus for fiber in fishing nets. One of Columbus's sailors received 12 kilograms (26 lb) of cotton in trade from a single Lucayan on Guanahani. Although Columbus did not see tobacco in use by

4004-687: The Spanish began capturing Lucayans in the Bahamas for use as laborers in Hispaniola. At first the Lucayans sold for no more than four gold pesos in Hispaniola, but when it was realized that the Lucayans were practiced at diving for conchs , the price rose to 100 to 150 gold pesos and the Lucayans were sent to the Isle of Cubagua as pearl divers . Within two years the southern Bahamas were largely depopulated. The Spanish may have carried away as many as 40,000 Lucayans by 1513. Carl O. Sauer described Ponce de León's 1513 expedition in which he encountered Florida as simply "an extension of slave hunting beyond

4095-664: The Spanish of encountering Indians using bows and arrows was at Samaná Bay in northeastern Hispaniola. One of the few artifacts of Lucayan life that has been found in a variety of areas in the Bahama archipelago is the duho . Duhos are carved seats found in the houses of Taíno caciques or chiefs throughout the Caribbean region. Duhos "figured prominently in the maintenance of Taíno political and ideological systems . . . [and were] . . . literally seats of power, prestige, and ritual." Duhos made of wood and stone have both been found, though those made of wood tend not to last as well as

4186-564: The Taínos of Cuba and Hispaniola in the size of their houses, the organization and location of their villages, the resources they used, and the materials used in their pottery. Sometime between 500 and 800 CE, Taínos began crossing in dugout canoes from Hispaniola and/or Cuba to the Bahamas. Hypothesized routes for the earliest migrations have been from Hispaniola to the Caicos Islands , from Hispaniola or eastern Cuba to Great Inagua Island , and from central Cuba to Long Island in

4277-537: 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

4368-646: 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

4459-705: 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

4550-667: The Turks and Caicos Islands through Mayaguana and Acklins and Crooked Islands to Long Island and the Great and Little Exuma Islands, and another from Cuba through Great Inagua Island, Little Inagua Island and Ragged Island to Long Island and the Exumas. Granberry and Vescelius also state that around 1200 the Turks and Caicos Islands were resettled from Hispaniola and were thereafter part of the Classical Taíno culture and language area, and no longer Lucayan. The Lucayans were part of

4641-694: 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 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

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4732-468: The central Bahamas. The settlement sites in the Caicos Islands differ from those found elsewhere in the Bahamas, resembling sites in Hispaniola associated with the Classic Taíno settlements that arose after 1200. William Keegan argues that the sites on Caicos therefore represent a colonization after 1200 by Taínos from Hispaniola seeking salt from the natural salt pans on the island. Great Inagua

4823-462: The custody of the Cuban consul and taken to Cuba for prosecution. An 1878 letter documents 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

4914-482: The empty islands." When the Spanish decided to traffic the remaining Lucayans to Hispaniola in 1520, they could find only eleven in all of the Bahamas. Thereafter the Bahamas remained uninhabited for 130 years. In 2018, researchers successfully extracted DNA from a tooth found in a burial context in Preacher's Cave on Eleuthera Island. The tooth was directly dated to around 776–992 AD. Genetic analysis revealed that

5005-466: The end of his first voyage. Vespucci took 232 Lucayans to Spain as slaves in 1500. Spanish exploitation of the labor of the natives of Hispaniola rapidly reduced that population, leading the Governor of Hispaniola to complain to the Spanish crown. After Columbus's death, Ferdinand II of Aragon ordered in 1509 that Indians be imported from nearby islands to make up the population losses in Hispaniola, and

5096-446: The expansion proceeded to Eleuthera , from which New Providence and Andros to the west and Great and Little Abaco Islands and Grand Bahama to the north were reached. Lucayan village sites are also known on Mayaguana , east of Acklins Island, and Samana Cay , north of Acklins. There are village sites on East , Middle and North Caicos and on Providenciales , in the Caicos Islands, at least some of which Keegan attributes to

5187-459: The governor of the islands. When Jamaica was granted independence from Britain in August 1962, 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

5278-568: The island was "a very long way". Keegan interprets this description to fit the Acklins/Crooked Islands group, with a ship in the west side being able to see the western shore of Acklins Island across the very shallow waters of the Bight of Acklins, where there was a village that stretched about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) along the shore. Amerigo Vespucci spent almost four months in the Bahamas in 1499 to 1500. His log of that time

5369-491: 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 ,

5460-418: 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

5551-477: 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

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5642-438: The islands to be near them. Women past puberty wore a small skirt of cotton, and the men might wear a loincloth made of plaited leaves or cotton. Some people wore head bands, waist bands, feathers, bones and ear and nose jewelry on occasion. They were often tattooed and usually applied paint to their bodies and/or faces. They also practiced head flattening . Their hair was black and straight, and they kept it cut short except for

5733-484: The islands were re-designated a British Overseas Territory, with islanders gaining full British citizenship. A new constitution 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

5824-483: The largest snail available, the Atlantic Triton. These were used, similarly to church bells, to call people into action as well as for religious rites. The Lucayans carved canoes, spears, bowls and ceremonial stools from wood. Stone chopping, cutting and scraping tools were imported from Cuba or Haiti. Most pottery was of the type called "Palmetto Ware", including "Abaco Redware" and "Crooked Island Ware". This

5915-728: The leaders of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands discussed the possibility of forming a federation . A new constitution 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

6006-424: The more elaborate political structures in Hispaniola, and their language and culture showed differences, but they remained Taínos, although a "hinterland" of the wider Taíno world. The Lucayans were connected to a Caribbean-wide trade network. Columbus observed trade carried between Long Island and Cuba by dugout canoe. A piece of jadeite found on San Salvador Island appears to have originated in Guatemala , based on

6097-501: 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

6188-399: 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

6279-420: The nineteen largest islands in the archipelago, or to smaller cays located less than one kilometre from those islands. Keegan posits a north-ward migration route from Great Inagua Island to Acklins and Crooked Islands , then on to Long Island. From Long Island expansion would have gone east to Rum Cay and San Salvador Island , north to Cat Island and west to Great and Little Exuma Islands. From Cat Island

6370-424: The period have been found on San Salvador, the Caicos Islands, Long Island, Little Exuma, Acklins Island, Conception Island and Samaná Cay. Such finds, however, do not prove that Spaniards visited those islands, as trade among Lucayans could have distributed the artifacts. Columbus kidnapped several Lucayans on San Salvador and Santa María de la Concepción. Two fled, but Columbus took some Lucayans back to Spain at

6461-438: The population of 19,886 reported in 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

6552-459: 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 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

6643-437: The spirits and the objects that represent spirits. They include fruitfulness spirits Yocahu , the male giver of manioc, and Attabeira, the mother goddess. Attending to them were the twin spirits Maquetaurie Guayaba, the lord of the dead, and Guabancex, the mistress of the hurricane. The twin spirits were also attended to by sets of twins. During arieto ceremonies, food was offered to the zemi, and shamans (behique) would give

6734-597: The stone chairs and are, therefore, much rarer. There are intact wooden duhos in the collections of the Musée de l'Homme in Paris and British Museum in London (the latter found on the island of Eleuthera ). The Taino pantheon of cemís, also known as zemís, play an active role in the lives of humans, and distinguish between the cultural, pleasing human theme and the anti-cultural, nonhuman, foul theme. The term refers to both

6825-407: 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

6916-443: 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

7007-536: The tooth belonged to a woman. When compared against contemporary populations, the ancient individual shows closest genetic affinity to Arawakan speakers from the Amazon and Orinoco Basins , with closest affinity to the Palikur . The individual was assigned to mtDNA Haplogroup B2 . Lucayan society was based on descent through the mother's line , which was typical of Taíno culture as a whole. The Spanish reported that

7098-437: The top to let smoke out. Columbus described the houses of the Lucayans as clean and well-swept. The houses were furnished with cotton nets (some kind of hammocks) for beds and furnishings, and were used mainly for sleeping. Each house sheltered an extended family. There are no surviving reports of the size of Lucayan houses, but estimates of about 20 people per house in Taíno communities in pre-contact Cuba are cited by Keegan as

7189-517: 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

7280-569: 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

7371-419: The windward side wherever tidal creeks provided some protected shoreline. The Lucayans grew root crops and hunted, fished and gathered wild foods. At least half of the diet came from plant foods. The staple crop of the Lucayans was manioc ( cassava ), followed by sweet potato. Sweet manioc was eaten like sweet potato, by peeling and boiling. Bitter manioc, which has a dangerous amount of hydrogen cyanide ,

7462-534: 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

7553-421: Was called Guanahani by the Lucayans, and San Salvador by the Spanish. The identity of the first American landfall by Columbus remains contested, but many authors accept Samuel E. Morison 's identification of what was later called Watling (or Watling's) Island as Columbus' San Salvador. The former Watling Island was officially renamed San Salvador in 1925. Luis Marden 's identification of Samaná Key as Guanahani

7644-471: 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

7735-462: 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 , 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

7826-431: Was prepared by peeling, grinding, and mashing. The mash was then filtered through a basket tube to remove the hydrogen cyanide as a poisonous juice. The filtered mash was dried and sieved for flour, which was used to make pancake-like bread cooked on a flat clay griddle. The poisonous hydrogen cyanide juice was boiled, which released the poison, and the liquid base mixed with chili peppers , vegetables, meat, and fish to make

7917-557: Was produced in the islands using local red clay soils tempered with burnt conch shells. Palmetto Ware pottery was usually undecorated. There are no known differences that can be used to date or sequence Palmetto Ware pottery. Some (usually less than one percent of collected sherds in most of the Bahamas, about ten percent in the Caicos Islands) sand-tempered pottery was imported from Cuba and/or Haiti. The Lucayans made fish hooks from bone or shell and harpoon points from bone. The Lucayans probably did not use bows and arrows. The first mention by

8008-549: 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

8099-479: Was reported by Columbus, this involved a voyage of at least 260 kilometres (160 mi) over open water, although much of that was on the very shallow waters of the Great Bahama Bank . The Taínos probably did not settle in central Cuba until after 1000, and there is no particular evidence that this was the route of the initial settlement of the Bahamas. From an initial settlement of Great Inagua Island,

8190-467: Was restyled). In 1974, Canadian New Democratic Party MP Max Saltsman proposed in his private member's bill C-249, "An Act Respecting 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

8281-467: 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 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

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