In Depth

A Little History

The earliest inhabitants of these islands were Lucayan Indians, who settled in the Bahamas archipelago some 800 years before Columbus arrived in the New World. Some historians believe that Grand Turk was the site of Columbus's first landfall -- and experts have established that the explorer was indeed greeted on his arrival by Lucayan Indians -- but no hard evidence exists to support this theory either way. The Lucayans' idyllic existence came to an end when Spanish explorers arrived, enslaving the natives and exposing them to diseases. In a generation, the Lucayan population was wiped out. Habitation was spotty after that, with the islands passing through Spanish, French, and British control and industries coming and going -- from salt-raking, which drew Bermudans -- and the British crown -- in the late 17th century, to cotton, which brought Loyalists fleeing the States after the American Revolution. The cotton industry was eventually done in by storms and pests, and by the early 19th century, the main inhabitants left on the islands were the slaves that had been brought in to work the plantations. The salt industry -- labor-intensive work that broke the backs of many a worker in the tropical heat -- lasted until the 1960s, around the time a small airstrip was built on Provo and a nascent tourist industry began to stir. But it wasn't until 1984, when the development of Club Med led to the construction of a larger airport, that commercial tourism started to take root on the Turks & Caicos Islands.

Turks & Caicos at a Glance

Location: The Turks & Caicos archipelago is located in the British West Indies, 48km (30 miles) south of the Bahamas, 161km (100 miles) northeast of the Dominican Republic, and 925km (575 miles) southeast of Miami. The TCI is not officially in the Caribbean -- it's in the Atlantic Ocean.

Population: The country's population is approximately 30,000 people. Citizens of the TCI, called "Belongers," are the descendants of African slaves and comprise more than half the islands' population. A large group of Haitian expats live and work in the TCI (many of them so long they have become Belongers). Other expat groups include a growing number of Jamaicans and Filipinos.

Size: The two island groups -- the Turks islands and the Caicos islands -- together comprise 500 sq. km (193 sq. miles) and are separated by the 35km (22-mile) Columbus Passage, the sea route Christopher Columbus took during his exploration of the New World in 1492.

Economy: Tourism, fishing, and the offshore finance industry are the big three. Regarding the latter, the islands are a "zero tax" jurisdiction and have no taxes on income, capital gains, corporate profits, inheritance, or estates. There are no controls on transferring funds or assets in or out of the country.

Government: The TCI is a British Crown Colony. A queen-appointed governor holds executive power and presides over an Executive Council. A 1987 constitution established a representative democracy, and today the local government is elected by the citizens and includes a premier (the country's first), a deputy premier, other ministers, and a legislative council empowered to enact local statutes. The TCI seat of government is Cockburn Town in Grand Turk. Rumblings of independence from Great Britain continue to make the news, especially at election time.

Last time the queen visited: 1966. She stopped in at South Caicos for the day. She sailed in on the royal yacht Britannia.