Turks and Caicos Islands

The English toponym “Turks and Caicos Islands” is formed of two parts: “Turk's” with the loss of the possessive apostrophe, which, in turn, was the abbreviation of the name of the cactus “Turk's cap cactus” ( Melocactus intortus ), which was named after the Turkish fez ; and also “Caicos”, a modified “caya hico”, which is translated from the Indian language by the Lukayans (belonging to a wider group of Taino peoples ) means “a group of islands” ^{[4] [5]} . Thus, the literal translation of the name (in isolation from its etymology) from English (using different variants such as "Turkish" or "Turkic") does not make sense.

The territory is located in the Atlantic Ocean, southeast of the Bahamas archipelago, 144 km north of Haiti.

It consists of 40 large and small islands , forming two groups - Caicos in the west and Turks in the east. The total area of ​​the islands is 430 km² .

Only six islands have a resident population: Grand Turk , Salt Key , North Caicos , Middle Caicos , South Caicos and Providenciales . The islands of Parrot Cay , Ambergris Cay, Water Cay and Pine Cay are resort islands that do not have a permanent population, but have hotels and seasonal households.

The islands are low, composed of limestone . Plenty of salt marshes . The highest island is Providenciales (the highest point is 49 m ). Around the islands are coral reefs .

The climate is tropical , trade wind . The heat during the hot season ( April to November ) is tempered by the northeast trade winds . The amount of precipitation is 700-800 mm per year . Frequent hurricanes .

Vegetation - mangroves on the coast , there are pine forests. The animal world is represented by waterfowl .

The surrounding waters are rich in fish , lobsters and mollusks .

The islands have a relatively dry and sunny marine tropical climate with a relatively constant temperature throughout the year. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 33 ° C, and at night in winter the temperature rarely drops below 18 ° C.

The islands were discovered by the Spaniard Juan Ponce de Leon in 1512 . There was no native population on the islands.

From the 17th century, English colonists from Bermuda began to come to the islands for salt. Then, despite the opposition of Spain , the British established plantations there and brought Negro slaves .

Since 1766, Turks and Caicos officially became a colony of Britain.

In 1848, Turks and Caicos Islands were declared a separate colony, but in 1873 they became part of Jamaica . In 1917, Canadian Prime Minister Robert Borden proposed including the islands in his state, but British Prime Minister Lloyd George rejected the proposal.

In August 1962, Jamaica gained independence from Great Britain, and Turks and Caicos Islands became a crown colony.

Since 1976, there has been a local government and parliament on the islands.

In 1979, local authorities entered into an agreement with London to grant independence to the islands in 1982 , but after the next election, the new composition of the local authorities of Turks and Caicos decided to refuse to gain state independence and maintain the status of overseas territory of Great Britain.

The territory is governed by the Executive Council, headed by the Governor , and consisting of the Prime Minister , six ministers appointed by the Governor from among the members of the assembly and the prosecutor .

The Assembly (local parliament ) consists of 21 members, 15 of them are elected by universal suffrage every 4 years, another 6 are appointed by the governor.

Political parties:

• Progressive National Party (13 seats in the assembly)
• People's Democratic Movement (2 seats in the assembly)

The legal system is based on English law and on some laws of the Bahamas and Jamaica , amended locally.

The administrative center of the islands and the largest city is Coburn Town , located on the island of Grand Turk .

Turks and Caicos Islands are divided into 6 regions. 4 of them are located on the Caicos Islands and 2 on the Turks Islands:

The population is 31,458 people ^[8] ( 2012 census ).

Annual growth is 2.5% (to a large extent from immigration ).

Ethnic and racial composition: Negroes - about 90%, the rest - mulattos and whites (mostly English, Americans , Canadians ).

Language - English ( official ).

Literacy is 99%.

Religions :

• Baptists - 40%
• Anglicans - 18%
• methodologists - 16%
• Pentecostal Church of God - 12%
• others - 14%

The economy of the territory is based on tourism , offshore financial business and fisheries .

In agriculture , corn , beans , tapioca , citrus fruits and vegetables are grown .

Lobsters and shellfish are exported .

In 2008, during a routine inspection of the island’s administration by the British Parliament, reports were received on corruption among senior officials of the local government, as a result of which Governor Richard Tover appointed a special commission for the proceedings. In the same year, Prime Minister Michael Misik was charged with raping an American tourist. As a result, on March 16, 2009, the local government was temporarily suspended, and on March 18, Elizabeth II issued a royal decree allowing the new governor, Gordon Weserell, to repeal parts of the 2006 constitution and to manage the overseas territory himself.

On October 15, 2012, a new constitution came into force, adopted in July 2011 , completing the three-year direct rule of the interim British administration. ^[3]

There are no direct taxes in this jurisdiction on the income of individuals or legal entities, including inheritance and gift taxes. Companies pay annual license fees only. Import duties and stamp duties apply to everyone. Individuals pay the national insurance fee (together with employers), as well as taxes related to tourism activities . The currency of the territory is the US dollar. There is no own central bank and foreign exchange control.

An offshore business in the Turks and Caicos Islands is the insurance business . Since 1990, the Financial Services Commission has issued more than 2,000 licenses for insurance activities.

This jurisdiction is known for its confidentiality regime established by the 1979 Confidential Relationship Ordinance of 1979. In accordance with this provision, the unauthorized release of information by specialists in free professions (for example, lawyers) is a crime for which a fine is imposed on an individual, up to $ 10,000, and on a corporation, up to $ 50,000, and imprisonment for up to three years ( however, the imposition of a fine may be combined with imprisonment).

Two large banks, Barclays and Bank of Nova Scotia, have offices in the jurisdiction. It should also be noted that the United States and Turks and Caicos have signed the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, which allows the Turks and Caicos courts to obtain information from local persons at the request of US authorities in connection with investigations of drug business crimes and money laundering. In addition, there is a tax information exchange agreement between the USA and Turks and Caicos Islands. They were also signed in 2009, but similar agreements with the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands have not yet entered into force.

• Grace Bay on the islands was named the best beach in the world according to the travel site TripAdvisor . ^[9]

• A. S. Zakharov. The well-known offshore Turks and Caicos Islands returned to the direct control of the UK.

In English

• WIV4 The Heart of the Turks and Caicos
• Turks and Caicos Weekly News
• Turks and caicos reservations
• My turks and caicos
• Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands official website (unopened) (link not available) . Archived February 15, 2008.
• Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada - Turks and Caicos profile
• Turks and Caicos - CIA World Factbook
• Turks and caicos free press
• Turks & Caicos Tourist Board
• Geographic features around Cockburn Harbor, Turks and Caicos Islands
• Flights 2 Turks and Caicos Scheduled flight information
• Turks and Caicos Virtual Tours & Videos (unopened) (link not available) . Archived December 18, 2014.
• VLM Turks and Caicos Hotel Directory (unopened) (unavailable link) . Archived March 4, 2016.
• Turks and caicos weather
• VisitTurksandCaicosIslands.com
• CBC News Backgrounder - Canada and the Turks and Caicos (unopened) (link not available) . Archived on April 30, 2004.

Story

• Turks and caicos history
• WorldStatesmen - Turks and Caicos Islands
• History of the Turks And Caicos Islands (Neopr.) (Link not available) . Archived June 24, 2008.
• Turks and Caicos Islands Timeline of Significant Historical Events (unopened) (link unavailable) . Archived July 25, 2008.