British colony in the West Indies. It consists of two groups of islands lying on the southeastern periphery of the Bahamas, of which they form a physical part, and north of the island of Hispaniola. The islands include eight large cays (keys) and numerous smaller cays, islets, reefs, banks, and rocks that have a combined area of 166 square miles (430 square kilometres). The Turks group is composed of Grand Turk, Salt Cay, and lesser cays. The Caicos group, which lies northwest of the Turks and is separated from them by a 22-mile (35-kilometre) deepwater channel, the Turks Island Passage, consists of six principal islands--South Caicos, East Caicos, Middle (or Grand) Caicos, North Caicos, Providenciales, and West Caicos--and several cays. Only six of the larger cays and two of the smaller cays are inhabited. More than 80 percent of the population lives on Grand Turk (which includes Cockburn Town--the seat of government and main commercial centre), South Caicos, and Providenciales.

The name Turks allegedly derives from a species of cactus whose scarlet flowers resemble a Turkish fez; that of Caicos perhaps from cay icoco (a coco plum tree).

Physical and human geography

The land

West Indies

The islands are low-lying coralline limestone precipitated from the ocean and have numerous karst features, including banana holes (small sinkholes containing rich soil), caves, caverns, and sea cliffs. Arable soil acreage is limited. Aragonite exists on the shallow banks off West Caicos. The highest elevation is 163 feet (50 metres), on Providenciales.

The climate is tropical savanna. Winter temperatures average between 75 and 80 F (24 and 27 C), summer temperatures between 85 and 90 F (29 and 32 C). The easterly trade winds moderate the climate. Rainfall averages about 29 inches (736 millimetres) annually at Grand Turk, and drinking water is in short supply. These are the driest islands in the Bahamas chain. The hurricane season is May through November. Hurricanes strike about every 10 years.

The types of vegetation encountered on the islands include xerophytic shrub-scrub, coppice, savanna, and marsh-swamp. Mangroves, cacti, and Caribbean pines are found, and beefwood trees (Casuarina) have been planted as a windbreak. Terrestrial animal life consists mostly of insects (especially butterflies and mosquitoes), lizards (notably iguanas), and birds (flamingos in particular); the islands are on migratory bird routes.

The people

More than 90 percent of the population are blacks. Native-born individuals are called "Belongers." About 14,000 Turks and Caicos citizens live in the Bahamas, where there is greater economic opportunity. The main religious denominations are Baptist, Methodist, and Anglican. English is the official language.

The economy

Lack of arable land restricts agriculture on the islands, though corn (maize), beans, cassava, and subsistence crops (staples and fruits) are grown on the western Caicos Islands. Rough grazing of beef cattle is the dominant land use, although much land is unused. Seafood is the major source of protein. Fishing--for lobster, conch, jacks, snapper, and others--and boatbuilding are traditional industries.

The islands have a food deficit, though lobster and conch are exported. Offshore financial services doing business with more than 7,000 registered companies also contribute to the economy.

Three international airports and several smaller airstrips accommodate tourism, upon which the economy is heavily reliant. Grand Turk and Cockburn Harbour on South Caicos are main ports. Newer port facilities have opened on Providenciales, the main island for tourism.

Administration and social conditions

The constitution of 1976 provides for internal democratic self-government with an appointed executive council and an elected legislative assembly, over which a governor presides. Education is free and compulsory for children ages five to 15. Grand Turk has a hospital, and there are health clinics on several of the islands.

Cultural life

Water sports--sailing, big game fishing, and, especially, scuba diving among the coral reefs--are popular and attract tourists to the islands. Radio and satellite-cable television are available. Publications include the Turks and Caicos News (weekly) and Conch News (weekly).

A pre-Columbian Indian culture (Arawak perhaps) existed on the islands, but they were probably uninhabited when discovered by Juan Ponce de León, the Spanish explorer, in 1512. They remained mostly unsettled by Europeans until 1678, when Bermudans arrived and established a solar salt industry. The Caicos Islands were settled by royalist sympathizers from the United States after the War of Independence; they established cotton plantations employing slaves.

In 1799 the islands were annexed by the Bahama Islands government, but in 1848 they were granted a separate charter. In the meantime slavery had been abolished (1833-43), and the plantation owners left the islands, their former slaves remaining in possession.

After a period of financial difficulties, the colony was placed under the authority of the British governor-general at Kingston, Jam. (1874-1959), because ships voyaging between England and Jamaica passed the Turks and Caicos and made communication much easier than with Nassau in the Bahamas. The islands became a crown colony in 1962 when Jamaica became independent. For a time in the 1960s and '70s the islands were under the control of the Bahama Islands, but with Bahamian independence (1973) the Turks and Caicos were placed under a British governor at Grand Turk. As preparation for independence a commission was appointed in the 1980s to make recommendations on a new constitution and to consider the future economic direction of the islands.