History in Turks and Caicos

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 and Caicos Islands.

A Fine Mess -- The first 20 years of the 21st century were tempestuous ones for the TCI: As development of the islands boomed, the TCI was buffeted by major hurricanes, a global recession, and a tabloid-style government scandal involving a charismatic, high-living premier, his Hollywood-star wife, and a whole lot of money. In fact, in 2009, the U.K. took the unprecedented steps of stripping this British colony of its powers of self-governance (forcing the premier to resign in the process) and suspending the constitution -- measures taken after an official Commission of Inquiry found a "culture of corruption" at the highest levels of government. Court documents told of government ministers allegedly pocketing wads of cash in exchange for prime real estate deals and the granting of highly prized "Belongerships" (citizenship status) to developers with deep pockets. The premier was arrested in exile in Brazil and brought to trial in the TCI but managed to run for office in 2016, only receiving 5.6% of the vote. Years later, the trial remains ongoing.