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| 1570, 1586 The map of the Turks and Caicos Islands (1) |
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Posted on 10.05.2015, 17.05.2015, 03.06.2015, 26.07.2015
The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago, part of the larger Antilles island grouping, which lie southeast of Mayaguana in the Bahamas island chain and north of the island of Hispaniola. The resident population is about 31,500, of whom 23,769 live on Providenciales. Cockburn Town, the capital since 1766, is situated on Grand Turk Island. TCI are named after the Turk's-cap cactus (Melocactus communis), and the Lucayan term caya hico, meaning string of islands.
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| 1628 The map of the Turks and Caicos Islands (2) |
The first inhabitants of the islands were Arawakan-speakingTaíno people, who crossed over from Hispaniola sometime from AD 500 to 800. Soon after the conquistador Juan Ponce de León arrived in 1512, the Spanish began capturing the locals as slaves, so that the islands were completely depopulated a year later, and remained so until the 17th century. During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the islands passed from Spanish, to French, and to British control, but none of the three powers ever established any settlements. For several decades around the turn of the 18th century, the islands became popular pirate hideouts.
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| 1781 The map of the Middle Caicos |
After the American War of Independence, many Loyalists fled to British Caribbean colonies; in 1783 they were the first settlers on the Caicos Islands. They developed cotton as an important cash crop, but it was superseded by the development of the salt industry, which was a highly important export product until the 19th century. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the islands were either a separate colony, or part of the Bahamas, or of Jamaica. In 1973 the Turks and Caicos received their own governor. In 2013 and 2014, interest in annexing the islands to Canada, an idea which previously circulated, was renewed.
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| 1782 The map of the Salt Cay |
The eight main islands and more than 299 smaller islands consist 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 official language of the islands is English, but the population also speaks Turks and Caicos Islands Creole which is similar to Bahamian Creole. The islands are a biodiversity hotspot, and have many endemic species and others of international importance.
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| 1587 The flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands |
The flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands, adopted in 1968, is similar to the flags of other British dependencies and colonies as it has the Union Flag in the canton. It is a defaced Blue Ensign; the yellow shield is taken from the territory's coat of arms and contains a conch shell, lobster, and cactus. A Red Ensign with the shield is used as civil ensign, which is an informal (yet popular) usage given that this flag has not yet been approved by Order in Council laid before Parliament. The motto of the island is: "Beautiful By Nature".
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