In the Atlantic Ocean, the Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory called the Turks and Caicos Islands. They belong to the Caribbean region. There are even more than 40 tiny cays as well as islands or even eight islands that also are inhabited. They are split into two groups: the Turk Islands in the east are Grand Turk & Salt Cay, and also the Caicos Islands in the west are South Caicos, North Caicos, Middle Caicos, Pine Cay, Providenciales, and Parrot Cay. To the southeast of Miami, Florida, the islands are 575 miles away. They are south of the Bahamas, east of Cuba, and to the west of the country called Hispaniola, which is called Cuba (the Dominican Republic and Haiti). Over 31,000 people live on the islands full-time, and more than 1 million people visit them each year. A total of 1300,575 people visited the Turks as well as Caicos Islands in 2016. Among them were 453,612 people who came for a stopover and the rest who came on cruise ships.
History
The first residents of these Turks as well as Caicos Islands were the Taino people and thought to cross with hand-carved canoes that travelled the sea coming from Caribbean Island Hispaniola between 500 and 800 AD. In 1513 however, the islands were abandoned, and they remained that way until the 17th century. The Spanish arrived in the islands during the first explorations led by Christopher Columbus in 1492. They immediately began capturing indigenous people and bringing the islanders to Hispaniola to be enslaved.
Following this, the islands were repeatedly taken over by other European powerhouses as they sought to take over another island in the Caribbean. However, none settled in the islands. In the absence of a population, the islands were a preferred destination where pirates could hide in the 18th century. They took riches from and around the Caribbean Sea and fled here to escape from capture.
In 1765, the French returned the islands to France, and in 1783 the first settlement of Caicos islands was established. Caicos islands were found with the help of loyalists in America fleeing persecution during the American War of Independence. In 1799 Caicos islands were captured by the British 1799. Turks, as well as the Caicos islands, were taken by the British and because of the strength of the empire they had at the time, their move was uncontested.
At first, Turks and Caicos formed part of the larger colony of the Bahamas. However, in 1848, these islands became an independent colony, even though they depended on Jamaica up to 1959. In 1917, a proposal was proposed by the Premier of Canada to integrate Turks and Caicos into Canada; however, this idea was denied by Britain.
The political connection with Canada was maintained through the 20th century. In 1982, there was a second attempt to officially be a part of Turks and Caicos with Canada; however, this too fell through. Another time in 2004, when Nova Scotia, the provincial government of Nova Scotia, gave an official invitation to be a part of Canada, but the Canadian government did not accept it. Canadian government.
The country has remained under British control and is now an officially recognized overseas territory under its own government. However, it has been a source of controversy. As recently as 2006 in the year 2006, the British government was in direct control over Turks and Caicos politics after investigations exposed corruption at the level of ministers. Home rule was restored in 2012 following the democratic elections.
Culture
Turks and Caicos is an outside territory of the UK with direct connections with Britain for over 200 years. Additionally, geographic proximity and the historical links towards North America mean that an American and Canadian influence is widespread. To illustrate this mix of cultures, cricket is the nation’s sport in the country, as well as an export from cricket, is the export of British Empire, but the currency used can be found in that of the US dollar.
One of the most distinctive aspects of the tradition in Turks and Caicos is the indigenous Ripsaw music. The primary component in the musical is created by scraping a metal object through the blade of a typical handsaw. This makes an eerie sound similar to the paper being cut. The saw scraping can be accompanied by various other instruments, including guitar, drums and accordion. The design originated on the Middle and North Caicos islands and has been exported to the Bahamas.
