NationMaster - Encyclopedia: History of the Turks and Caicos Islands

The first inhabitants of the Turks and Caicos Islands were Amerindians, first the Arawak people, who were, over the centuries, gradually replaced by the warlike Carib. Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ... The term Arawak (from aru, the Lokono word for cassava flour), was used to designate the friendly Amerindians encountered by the Spanish in the Caribbean. ... Carib or Island Carib is the name of a people of the Lesser Antilles islands, after whom the Caribbean Sea was named; their name for themselves was Kalinago for men and Kallipuna for women. ...

The first European to sight the islands was Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León, who did so in 1512, though some historians claim that Guanahani, the native name of the island Christopher Columbus called San Salvador on his 1492 voyage, is Grand Turk Island or East Caicos Island. World map showing location of Europe When considered a continent, Europe is the worlds second-smallest continent in terms of area, with an area of 10,600,000 kmÂ² (4,140,625 square miles), making it larger than Australia only. ... Conquistador (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who achieved the Conquista (this Spanish term is generally accepted by historians), i. ... Juan Ponce de LeÃ³n Juan Ponce de LeÃ³n (c. ... Events April 11 - Battle of Ravenna. ... Guanahani was the name the natives gave to the island that Columbus called San Salvador when he first arrived at the Americas. ... Christopher Columbus (conjectural image) For information about the film director, see the article on Chris Columbus. ... Events January 2 - Boabdil, the last Moorish King of Granada, surrenders his city to the army of Ferdinand and Isabella after a lengthy siege. ... The Turks and Caicos Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, southeast of the Bahamas, at 21°45N, 71°35W. The thirty islands total 166 sq. ...

Spanish slavers frequently raided the islands, enslaving the Caribs of the islands. Only a year after first being discovered, the entire archipelago was completely depopulated. The Buxton Memorial Fountain, celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, London. ...

During the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the islands passed from Spanish, to French, to British control, but none of the three powers ever established any settlements. (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

From about 1690 to 1720, pirates hid in the cays of the Turks and Caicos Islands, attacking Spanish treasure galleons en route to Spain from Cuba, Hispaniola, and the Spanish possessions in Central America and Peru. Events Giovanni Domenico Cassini observes differential rotation within Jupiters atmosphere. ... // Events January 6 - The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings February 11 - Sweden and Prussia sign the (2nd Treaty of Stockholm) declaring peace. ... A pirate digging for treasure. ... A cay or key is a small, low island consisting mostly of sand or coral. ... For the fictional unit of money called a galleon, see Money in Harry Potter. ... 15th century map of Hispaniola Hispaniola (from Spanish, La EspaÃ±ola) is the second-largest island of the Antilles, lying east of Cuba. ... Central America is the region of North America located between the southern border of Mexico and the northwest border of Colombia, in South America. ...

The islands were not fully colonised until 1681, when salt collectors from Bermuda built the first permanent settlement on Grand Turk Island (thought to be so named due to the presence of cacti with, what appeared to them to be red fez-like structures on their tops, but this not likely to be true, since the fez was unknown to Turkey before 1826). The salt collectors were drawn by the shallow waters around the islands that made salt mining a much easier process than in Bermuda. Their colonization established the British dominance of the archipelago that has lasted into the present day. Huge numbers of trees were felled to discourage rainfall that would dilute the salt mining operation. Most of the salt mined in the Turks and Caicos Islands was sent to Newfoundland to be used for preserving cod. Events March 4 - Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania. ... 1826 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

The agricultural industry sprung up in the islands in the late 1780s after 40 Loyalists arrived after the end of the American Revolution, primarily from Georgia and South Carolina. Granted large tracts of land by the British government to make up for what they lost in the American colonies, the Loyalists imported well over a thousand slaves and planted vast fields of cotton. Events and Trends 1787 United States Constitution 1788 Great Britain established the prison colony of New South Wales in Australia. ... Loyalists (often capitalized L) were British North American colonists who remained loyal subjects of the British crown during the American Revolutionary War. ... Before the Revolution: The 13 colonies are in red, the pink area was claimed by Great Britain after the French and Indian War, and the orange region was claimed by Spain. ... State nickname: Palmetto State Other U.S. States Capital Columbia Largest city Columbia Governor Mark Sanford (R) Senators {{{Senators}}} Official languages English Area 82,965 kmÂ² (40th) - Land 78,051 kmÂ² - Water 4,915 kmÂ² (6%) Population (2000) - Population {{{2000Pop}}} (26th) - Density 51. ... Cotton is a soft fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to the tropical and subtropical regions of both the Old World and the New World. ...

Though in the short term highly successful, the cotton industry quickly went into decline, with hurricanes and pests destroying many crops. Though a few of the former cotton magnates changed to salt mining, just about every one of the original Loyalists had left the islands by 1820, leaving their slaves to live a subsistence lifestyle through fishing and hunter-gathering. This article is about weather phenomena. ... A pest is an animal which has characteristics which people regard as injurious or unwanted. ... For a wealthy or powerful business baron, executive, or tycoon, see business magnate Magnate is a title of nobility commonly used in Sweden, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and some other medieval empires. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... Fishing is the activity of hunting for fish. ... In anthropology, the hunter-gatherer way of life is that led by certain societies of the Neolithic Era based on the exploitation of wild plants and animals. ...

In 1799 the islands were given representation in the Bahamas Assembly, and they remained part of that colony until 1848, when the inhabitants successfully petitioned to be made a separate colony under the supervision of the governor of Jamaica. This arrangement proved to be a financial burden, and in 1873 the Turks and Caicos Islands were annexed to Jamaica with a Commissioner and a Legislative Board. 1799 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1848 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up Petition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary A petition is a request to an authority, most commonly a government official or public entity. ... 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

The islands remained a dependency of Jamaica until 1959, when they received their own governor. When Jamaica was granted independence from Britain in August 1962, the Turks and Caicos Islands became a crown colony. 1959 was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Note: as an adjective (stressed on the second syllable instead of the first), august means honorable. ... 1962 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The salt industry, along with small sponge and hemp exports, sustained the Turks and Caicos Islands (only barely, however; there was little population growth and the economy stagnated) until in the 1960s American investors arrived on the islands and funded the construction of an airstrip on Provo Island and built the archipelago's first hotel, "The Third Turtle". A small trickle of tourists began to arrive, supplementing the salt economy. Club Med set up a resort at Grace Bay soon after. In the 1980s, Club Med funded an upgrading of the airstrip to allow for larger aircraft, and since then, tourism has been gradually on the increase. It is common for foreign couples to be married in the Turks and Caicos Islands today. It has been suggested that Porifera/Temp be merged into this article or section. ... U.S. Marihuana production permit, from the film Hemp for Victory. ... The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ... Investment is a term with several closely related meanings in finance and economics. ... A hotel is an establishment that provides lodging, usually on a short-term basis. ... A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Beaches make popular tourist resorts Tourist redirects here; for the album by Athlete, see Tourist (album) Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ... Club Med (short for Club MÃ©diterranÃ©e) is a group of vacation resorts found in many parts of the world, usually in highly exotic locations. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ... An aircraft is any machine capable of atmospheric flight. ... Marriage is a legal, social, and religious relationship between individuals which has formed the foundation of the family for most societies. ...

In 1980, the ruling pro-independence party, the People's Democratic Movement, agreed with the British government that independence would be granted if the PDM was reelected in the elections of that year. The PDM lost the elections to the Progressive National Party, which supported continued British rule. The PNP's leader, Norman Saunders, became chief minister, and won the 1984 elections. However, in 1985 Saunders and two associates were convicted in the USA on drug charges. 1980 is a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The Peoples Democratic Movement is a political party in Papua New Guinea. ... Norman Saunders (1907-1989) was a prolific commercial artist who produced paintings for pulp magazines, paperbacks, mens magazines, comic books, and trading cards. ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1985 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The term narcotic, derived from the Greek word for stupor, originally referred to a variety of substances that induced sleep (such state is narcosis). ...

The PNP emerged victorious from the following by-elections, but on July 24, 1986, the governor dissolved the government and replaced it with an advisory council after a report on allegations of arson and fraud found that the chief minister post-Saunders, Nathaniel Francis, along with four other PNP officials were unfit to rule. A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office when the incumbent has died or resigned. ... July 24 is the 205th day (206th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 160 days remaining. ... 1986 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Arson is the crime of setting a fire with intent to cause damage. ...

Under the careful guidance of the governor and the advisory council, a new constitution for the Turks and Caicos Islands was created and elections held in 1988, with the PDM winning by a landslide, and Washington Misick becoming the new chief minister. 1988 is a leap year starting on a Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Wenika Ewing was the islands' representative to the Miss Universe contest in 2005. Weniecka Ewing (sometimes spelled as Wenika Ewing) is a fashion model from the Caribbean islands of Turks & Caicos. ... Miss Canada Universe 2005, Natalie Glebova reacts after being crowned Miss Universe 2005 by former Miss Universe 2004, Jennifer Hawkins of Australia in Bangkok, Thailand. ... 2005(MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Encyclopedia > History of the Turks and Caicos Islands

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