Turks and Caicos Islands
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- to 1875
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- 1875 - 7 Nov 1968
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- 7 Nov 1968 - 25
Jan 1999
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- Adopted 25 Jan
1999
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Map
of Turks and
Caicos
Islands |
Hear
National Anthem
"God Save the King"
("God
Save the Queen"
1837-1901, 1952-2022) |
Hear Local
Anthem
"This Land of Ours"
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Constitution
(15 Oct 2012)
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Former
Constitution
(9 Aug 2006; suspended
from 14 Aug 2009) |
Capital:
Cockburn Town
(on Grand Turk)(named 1840) |
Currency:
Turks and Caicos
Crown (TCC) and US Dollar
(USD); 1900-1969 Jamaica
Pound (JMP)
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National
Holiday: 3
Aug (1834)
Emancipation Day
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Population:
55,926 (2019) |
GDP: $762.7 million
(2015) |
Exports: $10.5 million
(2017)
Imports: $209
million (2017) |
Ethnic
groups: black 87.6%, white 7.9%,
mixed 2.5%,
East Indian 1.3%, other 0.7% (2006)
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Total
Police Force: 90 (1987)
Defense is the
Responsibility of the U.K.
Merchant marine: 4
ships (2019) |
Religions:
Protestant 72.8% (Baptist 35.8%, Church
of God 11.7%, Anglican 10%, Methodist
9.3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%),
Roman Catholic 11.4%, Jehovah's Witness
1.8%,
other 14% (2006) |
International
Organizations/Treaties: ACS
(associate), Caricom (associate), CDB,
Interpol (subbureau), UPU, WMO
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Turks
and
Caicos Islands
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Chronology
12 Oct
1492
Possibly sighted by Columbus and
claimed for Spain.
1512
Juan Ponce de León explores Grand Turk
(which is
later called Del Viejo).
1563
Capt. John Hawkins (b. 1532 - d. 1595)
is the first
known English visitor to the Turks and
Caicos.
1662
Frenchman Bertrand d'Ogeron (b. 1613 -
d. 1676), a
shareholder in the one of the first
French West
Indian companies, laid claim to the
Lucayan
(Bahama) and Caicos Islands "from 20th
to 28th
degree North latitude" (not
effected).
1 Nov
1670
Granted by Letters Patent of King
Charles II to the
Duke of Albemarle and others in the
Bahamas.
1673
English salt collecting
from Bermuda begun on
Salt Cay, and on Grand
Turk in 1678.
Salt-rakers
stayed between Mar and Nov each year.
1706 - 1710
French and the Spanish privateers
occupy Grand
Turk
and expel the salt-rakers.
1710
British ship Rose under Capt.
Lewis Middleton from
Bermuda retakes possession of the
Islands.
10 May 1753 - Jan 1754
French invasion taking Sand Cay, on 14
May 1753
Middle Caicos, and Grand
Inagua on 24 Jul 1753
under Krusoret le Borgne (Iles
Turques et les
Caïques).
31 May 1764 - 1766
French
invasion and eviction of Bermudans to
Haiti
under Luc Urbain du Bouëxic, comte de
Guichen
(b. 1712 - d. 1790).
1766
British sloop Druid retakes
possession.
25-29 Sep 1778
French
occupation under the sieur
de Courrejeolles.
1781 -
1783
British
Loyalists settle on
Caicos Islands.
29 Jun
1781
Royal Regulation, 1781 state "All His
Majesty's
subjects whatever are to have free
liberty of
making and gathering salt at Turks
Islands."
12 Feb 1783 - Sep 1783
French occupation of Grand Turk under
sieur de
Courrejolles.
4 Apr
1788
Imperial Act of 1788 confirms Bahamian
power of
taxation over the Turks
and Caicos salt ponds.
2 Dec 1799 - 25 Dec
1848 Both island groups annexed
as part of the Bahamas
by the Bahamas legislature (as two
parishes of
Saint Thomas and Saint George).
29 Apr
1804
U.K. confirms that Turks Islands are
part of the
Bahama Islands.
25 Dec
1848
Separate
colony (Presidency of the
Turks and Caicos
Islands).
1 Jan 1874
- 4 Jul 1959 Part of Jamaica (by
Order in Council of 4 Aug 1873),
as
the Dependency of Turks and Caicos
Islands.
21 Mar
1917
Canadian
prime minister Robert Borden suggests
that Canada annex the Turks and Caicos
Islands,
which is not accepted by the U.K.
parliament.
4 Jul
1959
Separate colony (Turks and Caicos).
4
Jul 1959 - 31 May 1962 Part of
the Federation of the West Indies
(see Trinidad
and Tobago).
6
Aug 1962
Crown
colony.
15 Mar 1973
Islands' council prepared a petition
to the
Canadian government seeking a closer
form of
association and asking U.K. permission
to do so.
25 Apr
1973
Bahamas become independent, remaining
ties lapse.
30 Aug
1976
Responsible government granted.
1979
Independence agreed upon in principle
for 1982,
but a government change causes a
policy reversal.
24 Jul 1986
- 3 Mar 1988 Direct rule
by U.K.
21 Apr
2004
Canadian province of Nova Scotia's
legislature
votes unanimously to invite the Turks
and Caicos
to
join the province, if the islands ever
become
part of Canada.
18 Aug 2009 - 13 Nov 2012 Direct
rule by U.K.
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Agents
1766 - c.1772/81
Andrew Seymour (or Symmer)
c.1772/81 - 16 Jul 1791 ....
16 Jul 1791 - Jul 1799 Alexander
Murray (1st time) (b. 1764 -
d. 1842)
Jul 1799 - 28 Aug 1799 ....
28 Aug 1799 - 31 Dec 1801 Alexander
Murray (2nd
time) (s.a.)
1 Jan 1802 - 1 Jul 1803 ....
1 Jul 1803 - 1 Oct 1804 Alexander
Murray (3rd time) (s.a.)
1 Oct 1804 - 27 Jan 1849
.... (acting)
[John Lorimer (d. 1807), St. George Tucker, John Good]
Governors
25 Dec 1848 - 31 Dec 1873 the
governors of Jamaica
Presidents of the Council (president
administering the Government)
27 Jan 1849 -
1854
Frederick Henry Alexander Forth (b. 1808 -
d. 1876)
11 May 1854 -
1862
William Robert
Inglis
(b. 1823 - d. 1888)
14 Nov 1862 - Apr 1869
Alexander Wilson Moir
(b. 1825 - d. 1897)
Apr 1869 - 1873
Alexander Augustus Melfort
(b. 1827 - d. 1890)
Campbell
1873 - 31 Dec 1873
Daniel Thomas
Smith
(b. 1808? - d. 1888?)
Commissioners
1 Jan 1874 -
1878
Daniel Thomas Smith
(s.a.)
1878 - 1879
Edward Noel Walker (acting)
(b. 1842
- d. 1908)
3 Jan 1879 -
1883
Robert Baxter
Llewelyn
(b. 1845 - d. 1919)
1883 -
1885
Frederick Shedden
Sanguinetti (b. 1847 - d.
1906)
(acting)
24 Oct 1885 -
1888
Henry Moore Jackson
(b. 1849 - d. 1908)
Apr 1888 - Jul 1888
Alexis Wynns
Harriott (acting) (b. 1835 - d. 1916)
Mar 1891 -
1893
Henry Higgins
Mar 1893 -
1899
Edward John
Cameron
(b. 1858 - d. 1947)
(acting to 2 Jan 1894)
1899 -
1901
Geoffrey Peter St. Aubyn (acting) (b. 1858 - d.
1921)
29 Sep 1901 -
1905 William
Douglas
Young
(b. 1859 - d. 1943)
Mar 1906 - Jul
1914 Frederick
Henry
Watkins
(b. 1859 - d. 1928)
Jul 1914 - Dec
1914 Hugh
Houston Hutchings (1st time) (b. 1869 - d. 1937)
(acting)
Dec 1914 -
1923
George Whitfield
Smith
(b. 1861 - d. 1934)
25 Jun 1923 -
1932
Harold Ernest
Phillips
(b. 1877 - d. 1941)
1932 - 2 Aug
1934
Hugh Houston Hutchings (2nd time) (s.a.)
(acting)
2 Aug 1934 - Jul 1937
Frank Cecil Clarkson
(b. 1882 - d. 19..)
Jul 1937 -
1940
Hugh Charles Norwood Hill
(b. 1890 - d. 1968)
Feb 1940 - Jun
1946 Edwin
Porter
Arrowsmith
(b. 1909 - d. 1992)
Oct 1946 - Jul 1951
Cyril Eric
Wool-Lewis
(b. 1906 - d. 1975)
Jul 1951 - Apr
1952 Thomas
William Willis (acting) (b. 1894
- d. 1958)
Apr 1952 -
1955
Peter Bleackley
(b. 1915 - d. 2002)
1955 - Aug
1958
Ernest Gordon
Lewis
(b. 1918 - d. 2006)
Aug 1958 - 4 Jul
1959 Geoffrey Colin
Guy
(b. 1921 - d. 2006)
Governors
4 Jul 1959 - 5 Aug 1962 the
governors of Jamaica
5 Aug 1962 - 5 Nov 1965
Post abolished
5 Nov 1965 - 25 Apr 1973 the
governors of The Bahamas
Administrators
4 Jul 1959 - 15 Jan 1965 Geoffrey
Colin
Guy
(s.a.)
15 Jan 1965 - 5 May 1965 Robert
Everard
Wainwright
(b. 1913 - d. 1990)
(1st time) (acting)
5 May 1965 - May
1967 John Anthony
Golding
(b. 1920 - d. 2012)
Jul 1967 -
1971
Robert Everard
Wainwright
(s.a.)
(2nd time)
Mar 1971 - 25 Apr 1973
Alexander Graham
Mitchell
(b. 1923 - d. 2010)
Governors
25 Apr 1973 - May 1975
Alexander Graham
Mitchell
(s.a.)
24 May 1975 - Jul 1978
Arthur Christopher
Watson
(b. 1927 - d. 2001)
Aug 1978 - Sep
1982 John
Clifford
Strong
(b. 1922 - d. 2003)
Oct 1982 - Jan 1987
Christopher John
Turner
(b. 1933 - d. 2014)
Jan 1987 - Jun
1993 Michael
John
Bradley
(b. 1933 - d. 2010)
Jun 1993 - Sep
1996 Martin
Bourke
(b. 1947)
Oct 1996 - Jan 2000
John Philip Kelly
(b. 1941)
27 Jan 2000 - 26 Nov 2002 Mervyn Thomas
Jones
(b. 1942)
26 Nov 2002 - 16 Dec 2002 Cynthia Anita
Louise Astwood (f) (b. 1946)
(acting)
16 Dec 2002 - 21 Jun 2005 Jim
Poston
(b. 1945 - d. 2007)
21 Jun 2005 - 11 Jul 2005 Mahala Kathleen
Wynns
(f)
(b. 1948)
(1st time)(acting)
11 Jul 2005 - 16 Jul 2008 Richard David
Tauwhare
(b. 1959)
16 Jul 2008 - 5 Aug 2008 Mahala
Kathleen Wynns
(f) (s.a.)
(2nd time)(acting)
5 Aug 2008 - 22 Aug 2011 Gordon
Geoffrey Wetherell (b.
1948)
22 Aug 2011 - 12 Sep 2011 Martin Stanley
(acting)
(b. 1948)
12 Sep 2011 - 15 Sep 2013 Damian Roderic
"Ric"
Todd
(b. 1959)
15 Sep 2013 - 4 Oct 2013
Anya Kashora Williams (f)(1st time)(b. 1980?)
(acting)
4 Oct 2013 - 9 Oct 2013 Huw
Owen Shepheard (acting)
(b. 1957)
9 Oct 2013 - 10 Oct 2016 Peter
Beckingham
(b. 1949)
10 Oct 2016 - 17 Oct 2016
Anya Kashora Williams (f)(2nd time)(s.a.)
(acting)
17 Oct 2016 - 7 Jul 2019
John Patrick George Freeman
(b. 1951)
7 Jul 2019 - 15 Jul 2019 Anya Kashora Williams (f)(3rd
time)(s.a.)
(acting)
15 Jul 2019 - 29 Mar 2023 Nigel John Dakin
(b. 1964)
29 Mar 2023 - 29 Jun 2023 Anya Kashora Williams
(f)(4th time)(s.a.)
(acting)
29 Jun 2023 -
Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam
(f) (b. 1976?)
Chief ministers
31 Aug 1976 - 9 May 1980 James
Alexander George
Smith (b. 1945 - d.
1980) PDM
McCartney
19 Jun 1980 - 4 Nov 1980 Oswald
O'Neil Skippings (1st time) (b.
1953)
PDM
4 Nov 1980 - 28 Mar 1985 Norman
Benjamin
Saunders
(b.
1943)
PNP
28 Mar 1985 - 24 Jul 1986 Nathaniel
Joseph Selver Francis (b. 1912 - d.
2004) PNP
Jul 1986 - May 1987
Executive Committee (interim)
- Ariel Rudolph Misick
(b. 1951)
NDA
- Richard Emmanuel Misick
NDA
- Clement Ernest Howell
(b. 1935 -
d. 1987) PDM
- Carlos Wilbert
Simons
(b. 1954)
NDA
May 1987 - Mar 1988
Executive Committee (interim)
- Daniel Manfred Malcolm
PNP
- Tom Lightbourne
PNP
- Herbie Ingham
NDA
3 Mar 1988 - Apr
1991 Oswald O'Neil Skippings
(2nd time)
(s.a.)
PDM
Apr 1991 - 3 Feb
1995 Charles Washington
Misick (b.
1950)
PNP
3 Feb 1995 - 15 Aug 2003
Derek Hugh
Taylor
(b.
1951)
PDM
15 Aug 2003 - 9 Aug 2006 Michael
Eugene
Misick
(b.
1966)
PNP
Premiers
9 Aug 2006 - 23 Mar 2009
Michael Eugene
Misick
(s.a.)
PNP
23 Mar 2009 - 14 Aug 2009 Oliver Galmo
"Gilley" Wenthpuel (b. 1966)
PNP
Williams
18 Aug 2009 - 13 Nov 2012 Advisory
Council (interim)
- Joseph P. Connolly
Non-party
(to 5 Jul 2012)
- Edith
Cox (f)
PNP
- Theophilus "Theo" Durham
Non-party
- Carlton Mills
PNP
- Eugene Otuonye (to 13 Jul 2011)
Non-party
- Doreen Quelch-Missick-Stubbs (f)
PNP
- John T. Smith
Non-party
- Clayton
Thomas
(b. 1961?)
Non-party
(from 11 Aug 2011)
(plus ex
officio the governor, deputy governor, chief executive,
attorney general, and permanent secretary,
finance)
13 Nov 2012 - 20 Dec 2016 Rufus Washington
Ewing (b. 1968)
PNP
20 Dec 2016 - 20 Feb 2021 Sharlene Linette
Cartwright- (b. 1971)
PDM
Robinson (f)
20 Feb 2021
-
Charles Washington Misick
(s.a.)
PNP
Territorial
Disputes: Have
received Haitians fleeing economic and civil
disorder.
Party abbreviations: PDM = People's
Democratic Movement (conservative,
christian democratic, center-right, est.Oct
1975); PNP = Progressive National Party (social
democratic, christian democratic, center-left, est.1976);
- Former parties: NDA = National
Democratic Alliance (split from PNP, c.1986)
© Ben Cahoon
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