The Turks and Caicos Islands became part of the Bahamas in 1799, but in 1848 the islanders applied for and were granted a separate colonial status. When Jamaica gained independence from Great Britain in August 1962, the Turks and Caicos Islands became a Crown colony. The closest foreign landmass to the Turks and Caicos Islands is the Bahamian island of Little Inagua, about 30 miles (48 km) from West Caicos. The Turks and Caicos Islands have a tropical savanna (AW) climate, with relatively constant temperatures throughout the year.
South Caicos (21 square kilometers (8.1 square miles) had 1,139 inhabitants, and Parrot Cay (6 square kilometers (2.3 square miles) in area) had 131 inhabitants. According to Columbus, many of the Turks and Caicos Islands, along with the rest of the Bahamas chain, were inhabited by an indigenous people, the Arawac-speaking Taíno Lucayan. Even more interesting, the privileged location of the Turks and Caicos Islands, at the gates of the Atlantic trade routes, made the port of Grand Turk an excellent place for pirates, such as Francois l'Olonnais, to anchor between incursions by Spanish and English ships. Luxury resorts are aimed at the rich, while a new large cruise port and recreation center have been built for the masses visiting Grand Turk.
Newspapers include Turks and Caicos Weekly News, Turks and Caicos Sun (weekly) and Turks and Caicos Free Press (weekly). The Turks and Caicos Islands, which meant little to budding colonialists, had to wait until the 1960s, when wealthy American real estate developers identified the archipelago's natural and exceptional wonders. The move toward independence stalled, and the Turks and Caicos Islands continued to be a British overseas territory. A community college in Gran Turca, with a branch in Providenciales, offers associate degrees and technical and vocational education.
This sublime destination has become synonymous with sophistication with its incredible selection of villas and beauty in the Turks and Caicos Islands, all wrapped in a very natural environment. The Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are a British overseas territory consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the Turks and Caicos Islands in the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. Because of this, the status of the islands as a British colony and their historic commercial ties, some politicians in Canada and the Turks and Caicos Islands have suggested some form of union between Canada (a Commonwealth kingdom, so they already share the British monarch as head of state) and British territory.
In 2004, Conservative MP Peter Goldring visited the Turks and Caicos Islands to explore the possibility once again.
