The Turks and Caicos Islands are two groups of islands on the Lucayan Archipelago. This British Overseas Territory is dispersed on the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies. The islands were home to indigenous peoples for centuries before being first spotted by Europeans in 1512.
Over time, various European powers claimed them, with the British Empire eventually taking control. Initially governed through Bermuda, the Bahamas, and Jamaica, they gained their own governor after the Bahamas gained independence in 1973. Since then, the islands have maintained their autonomy as a separate territory.
The Turks and Caicos Islands are best known for tourism and as an offshore financial hub. Historically, the Turks and Caicos Islands relied on the salt industry, along with small exports of sponges and hemp. However, the economy struggled, with minimal population growth and stagnation.
In the 1960s, American investors arrived and transformed the economy. They funded the construction of an airstrip on Providenciales and erected the first hotel in the archipelago that attracted a small number of tourists. Club Med later established a resort at Grace Bay. Tourism gradually grew, especially after the upgrading of the airstrip in the 1980s. Import duties, financial services, and construction became major contributors to the GDP.
Limited amounts of maize, beans, cassava, and citrus fruits form the main agricultural products. Fish and conch serve as significant exports. However, the catch has been declining in recent years. Previously a major trans-shipment point for South American narcotics to the US, the territory has seen a significant reduction in this trade due to joint efforts by the US, Bahamian, and Turks and Caicos authorities. The islands primarily import food, beverages, tobacco, clothing, and construction materials from the United States and the United Kingdom.
English, US, and Canadian coins are used in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the 1800s. Soon after the introduction of subsidiary coinage for Jamaica in 1869, local banks issued their own banknotes. When Jamaica introduced the Jamaican Pound in 1920 the Turks and Caicos used the Jamaican Pound and later adopted the Turks and Caicos Crown at par with the Jamaican Dollar in 1969. While the Cayman Islands created their own currency, the Turks and Caicos use the US Dollar.