Turks and Caicos

Who Saw the Islands First?

To this day, there is no agreement as to which explorer landed in the Turks and Caicos Islands first, Christopher Columbus or Ponce de Leon.

The Turks and Caicos Islands are named after the indigenous Turk's Head "fez" cactus, and the Lucayan term "caya hico," meaning string of islands. Columbus was said to have discovered the islands in 1492, but some still argue that Ponce de Leon arrived first. Whichever it was, the first people to truly discover the islands were the Taino Indians, who unfortunately left little behind but ancient utensils. The Tainos were eventually replaced by another Indian people, the Lucayans; but by the middle of the 16th Century they too had disappeared, victims of Spanish enslavement and imported disease.

The 17th century saw the arrival of settlers from Bermuda, who established themselves on Grand Turk, Salt Cay and South Caicos. They used slaves to rake salt for British colonies in America, and were later joined by British Loyalists fleeing the American Revolution. The economy of the island revolved around the rich cotton and sisal plantations, their harvests sold in London and New York. Due to competition and the thin soil, however, the cotton plantations slowly deteriorated, most of them finally perishing in a hurricane in 1813. Solar salt became the main economy of the islands.

In 1776, after being controlled by the Spanish, French and British, Turks and Caicos became part of the Bahamas colony, but attempts to integrate failed and were abandoned in 1848. London - Kingston boats frequently visited Turks and Caicos, so links with Jamaica were well developed. Turks and Caicos became a British Crown Colony in 1962 and links were maintained to the Bahamas through the Anglican Church.

The 1976 elections were won by the PDM, the People's Democratic Movement, who were then to negotiate independence if they won the next elections in 1980. But the other main political party, the Progressive National Party (PNP), won the 1980 elections and plans for independence have for now been set aside.

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