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HistoryThe islands of the Turks and Caicos were first populated by Carib Amerindians but, shortly after the islands' discovery – depending on the source, on 12 October 1492 by Christopher Columbus, who would have claimed them for Spain, or by Juan Ponce de León in 1512 – Spanish explorers began raiding the archipelago for slaves. Though many nations controlled the islands, official settlement didn't occur right away. For several decades around the turn of the 18th century they became popular pirate hideouts. Bermudian salt collectors were the first to settle the Turk Islands in 1678 or 1681. In 1764-1783 they were under French occupation. After the American Revolution (1763-1783) many loyalists fled to British Caribbean colonies, including (in 1783) the first settlers on the Caicos Islands; cotton became an important crop briefly. In 1799 both island groups were annexed by Britain as part of the Bahamas. There was a great deal of political turmoil surrounding the ownership of the Turks and Caicos even within the British empire: the Bahamas and Bermuda were fighting for control of the archipelago. The British government eventually assigned political control to the Bahamas, which the Turks and Caicos remained a part of until the 1840s. In 1848 they were declared a separate colony under a Council President. The last incumbent was maintained in 1873 when the islands were made part of Jamaica colony; in 1794 the chief colonial official was restyled Commissioner. On 4 July 1959 they were again a separate colony (Turks and Caicos), the last Commissioner being restyled Administrator, but till 31 May 1962 they were one of the constitutive parts of the Federation of the West Indies (see Trinidad and Tobago). By 1973 they had gained independence and their own governor (the last Administrator was restyled). They have their own government head by a Chief minister since August 1976. In 1979 independence was agreed upon in principle for 1982, but a change in government caused a policy reversal. Their political troubles in recent years have resulted in a rewritten constitution.
GeographyThe two island groups are in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the Bahamas, north of Hispaniola, and 914 km from Miami, at . The territory is geographically part of the Bahamas, but is politically a separate entity. The Caicos Islands are separated by the Caicos Passage from the closest Bahaman islands, Mayaguana and Great Inagua. The eight main islands and more than 20 smaller islands have a total land area of 616.3 km², primarily of low, flat limestone with extensive marshes and mangrove swamps. The weather is usually sunny 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. The United Nations Committee on Decolonisation includes the Turks and Caicos Islands on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories.
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