The Turks & Caicos Islands: Overview - Macmillan Caribbean

1 The Turks & Caicos Islands: Overview Dr Carlton Mills

The Turks & Caicos Islands are an archipelago of about forty islands at the southeastern end of the Bahamas chain. Only the six largest islands and two small cays are inhabited. The inhabited islands range in size from Middle Caicos (48 sq. miles) to Salt Cay (2.5 sq. miles). The total land area of Turks & Caicos is estimated to be approximately 193 sq. miles, with a population of 19,886 according to the 2001 census and an estimated population of 33,200 in 2006. The islands are divided into two groups, each surrounded by a continuous ring of reefs. The Turks Islands comprise Grand Turk (the capital), Salt Cay and adjacent cays. The Caicos Islands, the largest in the chain, comprise Providenciales, South Caicos, East Caicos, Middle (or Grand) Caicos, North Caicos, West Caicos, Pine Cay and Parrot Cay. West Caicos and Ambergris Cay are becoming inhabited as development projects on the two islands materialise. Parrot Cay and Pine Cay have a population only by dint of the private resorts on those two islands. The Turks Islands are separated from the Caicos Islands by a twentytwo mile wide channel, the Columbus Passage. It was named in honour of Christopher Columbus, based on the controversial claim that Columbus made his first landfall in the “New World” on the island of Grand Turk in 1492. With some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, and their crystal clear waters, the Turks & Caicos Islands are truly deserving of their slogan “beautiful by nature”.

Location

The Turks & Caicos Islands lie some 575 miles to the southeast of Miami, Florida, about 375 miles to the northeast of Jamaica, approximately 100 miles to the north of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and 350 miles northwest of Puerto Rico.

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History of the Turks & Caicos Islands

Grand Turk

The island of Grand Turk is the capital of Turks & Caicos and the farthest east of the archipelago. Its land area is approximately 10.5 sq. miles. Its population, according to the latest census (2001), is 3,976 (estimated to have risen to 5,718 in 2006). The island has an abundance of golden sand beaches and is close to several uninhabited cays. At the northern end of Grand Turk there is an inland channel, North Creek, which has traditionally served as a shelter from hurricanes for yachts and small boats. Grand Turk was one of the first of the Turks & Caicos Islands to be settled by Bermudians, beginning in 1678, and where they produced salt for export. There is still evidence of Bermudian architecture on the island (houses, gates and doorways), despite the increased number of more contemporarystyle homes in recent years. The Bermudian legacy is preserved in common family names on the island, such as Smith, Lightbourne, Basden, Ferguson, Misick, Taylor, Penn, Rigby and Stubbs. When salt was produced on Grand Turk, the main means of transportation were donkeys, horses and cattle. Wells, located in the north and south of the island, were the main source of water supply during the salt era. Donald Keith, from the Florida Ships of Discovery project, has spearheaded research on Grand Turk that strongly suggests that some of the earliest preColumbian inhabitants of the island were indigenous Amerindians. Coralie, on the western shore of North Creek, at the northwestern end of the island, is the oldest archaeological site in the Bahamas–Turks & Caicos area. Carbon dating indicates it was occupied from about AD 700 until around 1170. The first undersea communications cable was landed at Grand Turk in 1898 by the Halifax Cable Company (later called the Direct West India Cable Company), and Grand Turk became an important cable station. An inter-island radio service was inaugurated in 1923. It operated until 1941 when the Grand Turk station was taken over by Cable and Wireless Ltd which also took over the Direct West India Cable Company’s cables. This is believed to be the first ever radio-telephone service operated by a British dependency. Cable and Wireless established a radio connection with the Dominican Republic in 1942, and a direct radio-telephone connection with Kingston, Jamaica, on 1 December 1947. An anti-aircraft battery was set up on Grand Turk during World War II. The US military constructed an airstrip and established a temporary airbase on South Caicos in 1944. It was handed over to the Turks & Caicos government in 1947. In 1951 an agreement between the UK and the USA resulted in the construction of a US Air Force base on Grand Turk. Its purpose was to observe and monitor experimental flights of guided missiles. In 1947 a small civil airstrip for light aircraft was built on Grand Turk. Two years later a

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The Turks & Caicos Islands: Overview

fortnightly air service started between Ciudad Trujillo, in the Dominican Republic, and Grand Turk. It was abandoned in 1951 because of the high cost of subsidising the transport of mail. Eminent visitors Over the years a number of eminent people have visited Grand Turk. On 31 August 1947 the Rt Hon. Arthur Creech Jones MP, then secretary of state for British colonies, and Mrs Creech Jones, paid a brief visit. A member of the Royal Family, HRH Prince George (later the Duke of Kent), visited in 1928. Sir Hugh Foot KCMG, KCVO, OBE, then governor of Jamaica, visited in 1953 and 1954. Amongst other eminent visitors in the 1950s was Mr C.M. Deverell CMG, CVO, OBE, colonial secretary, Jamaica. On 28 July 1955 a delegation from the UK branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association visited Grand Turk, in the personages of the Rt Hon. Patrick Gordon Walker MP and Lady Tweedsmuir MP. On 20 February 1962 astronaut John Glenn, of the Project Mercury space programme, became the first American to orbit the Earth in a space capsule. At the end of his flight he splashed down in the Atlantic 160 miles due east of Grand Turk and was brought to the island for medical attention and debriefing. A native of Grand Turk, Mr Joseph Williams, was said to have assisted in the recovery mission. The then vice-president (later president) of the USA, Lyndon B. Johnson, came to Grand Turk to welcome the astronaut. This historic event is commemorated by postal stamps and a special envelope autographed by Col. Glenn. Five “Gemini”, one “Apollo” and one “Aurora” splashdowns took place in later years, to the north, northeast and east of Grand Turk (C.D. Hutchings, 1977). Air transport and infrastructure In March 1956 Bahamas Airways started a weekly air service between Nassau and Grand Turk. The service provided a steady flow of business people and other travellers to the island, including several buyers from the USA to inspect the salt production operations on Grand Turk. British West Indian Airways (BWIA) also operated occasional charter flights between Kingston, Jamaica, and Grand Turk. In 1958 the US Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Number 7 (the “Sea Bees”) arrived in Grand Turk to build permanent structures for the US Navy facility there. They also built a coastguard station at South Caicos. Their arrival provided more employment opportunities for the people of Turks & Caicos. A significant event took place on Grand Turk in 1964 with the inauguration of the supply of electricity, on the date of the Queen’s birthday. This was made possible in part by a grant from the US Agency for

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International Development together with the Colonial Development and Welfare Funds. Shell Oil won the government tender to erect bulk fuel tanks, to supply the electricity generating station, and started operations in April 1964. In 1970 the Hawks Nest Sailing Club was formed on Grand Turk, to stimulate interest in sailing, boating, fishing, scuba diving and boat-building. It provided harbour facilities for small boats, and recreational and social facilities for its members. Activities Grand Turk is home to several festive events during the year. The Grand Turk Carnival in July is a popular occasion for many islanders, as is the Grand Turk Summer Jam featuring music, sports, dancing and drinking. Cricket has traditionally played an important role in the islanders’ lives, especially during festival times. Teams from Grand Turk, Salt Cay and South Caicos compete in the annual Goldblatt cricket competition. Grand Turk is renowned, too, for its spectacular diving, snorkelling and fishing, for which it is consistently ranked amongst the top ten destinations in the world. The seas around the island abound with numerous species of marine life, including humpback whales migrating through the Columbus Passage each year between February and April. The main offshore sporting event of the year is the annual Game Fishing Tournament in the summer. One of the most spectacular undersea sites is “The Wall”, which is the side of the reef platform of Grand Turk that plunges vertically 7,000 ft down and is located just five minutes by boat offshore. The coral formations and sand gullies that characterise the reef platform are the main object of efforts to protect Grand Turk’s undersea resources. Historical sites Bermudian emigrants built Grand Turk Lighthouse in 1852, to guide ships away from the reefs surrounding the island. A century later, in the 1950s, the US military built a radar tracking station and a US Air Force base on Grand Turk. The bases provided employment for the people of Grand Turk and Salt Cay and were a mainstay of the local economy for over thirty years. The US government also constructed the island’s airport, which is now named in honour of the first Chief Minister of Turks & Caicos, the Hon. James Alexander George Smith (JAGS) McCartney. Grand Turk is the home of the Turks & Caicos National Museum. The museum, housed in a building previously called the Guinep House and believed to have been built before 1850, displays the human history of the Turks & Caicos Islands from pre-Columbian indigenous occupation to the present. Artefacts from the Molasses Reef wreck from around 1515 are also

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displayed at the museum. The wreck is thought to be the oldest known European shipwreck in the New World (Sadler, 2001). St Thomas’ Anglican Church is also located on Grand Turk. It was built in 1823 and is considered to be the oldest church on the island. Other heritage sites include the former HM Prison, Oddfellows Lodge, the Timco Building, Columbus Landfall National Park, Gun Hill and South Creek. The first secondary school in Turks & Caicos was established on Grand Turk in 1921. It was formerly the Turks & Caicos High School but is now called the Helena J. Robinson High School. The two primary schools on the island, the Ona Glinton Primary and the Eliza Simmons Primary, were named in honour of prominent educators from Grand Turk. There are also several private pre-schools on the island. The Turks Head Inn guest house opened in 1965. Religion The main religious denominations on Grand Turk are Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, Roman Catholic, the Church of God Prophecy, the New Testament Church of God, the Lighthouse Church, Echoes of Calvary, Seventh Day Adventists and Jehovah’s Witness. Grand Turk was once a wholly Christian community. With the rapid pace of development on the island in recent times, other religions have been introduced.

Salt Cay

Lying to the south of Grand Turk, Salt Cay is a quiet and charming island of tranquil bays and beaches and excellent swimming and snorkelling. The island is approximately 5 sq. miles in area. The 2001 census identified a population of just around 120 which was estimated in 2006 to have fallen to 114. Bermudians are thought to have first visited Salt Cay in 1645, to produce salt for export. The island has changed little since 1900 when the salt industry was at its peak. The industry declined through both world wars but revived in the second half of the 1940s. Exports remained consistent until the 1950s, but the industry went into terminal decline in the 1960s. Buildings, salinas (salt ponds) and artefacts related to the salt industry remain. The Old Salt Shed is a prime example. The Doris Robinson Primary is the only school on Salt Cay. At the age of eleven, students go to Grand Turk for secondary school education. Historical sites Bermudian merchant families have played a prominent role in the history of Salt Cay. The Harriotts are one such family. Their White House family home has been a Salt Cay landmark since the 1880s and is one of the island’s

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most famous historical sites. It is a prime example of Bermudian architecture: living quarters are on the upper level and salt storage underneath, the roof is limestone and concrete, and the walls are made from the timbers of the ship that originally brought the family to Salt Cay. The White House is now owned by Ian Dunn and his late brother Michael’s estate. The Dunn family are the heirs of Natalie Harriott Dunn, the youngest daughter of Howard and Rosalie Hinson Harriott. Other buildings and historical sites on Salt Cay date back to the 1600s. The island itself is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Other heritage sites include the White House, the Historic District (town), and the District Commissioner’s House. About 40 minutes offshore, south of Deannes Dock, lies the unsalvaged wreck of a seventeenth-century British warship, the Endymion, where visitors can see cannons, a giant anchor and chain, and a variety of marine life encrusting the wreck. Activities Salt Cay offers spectacular opportunities for diving, snorkelling, fishing and sailing. Rodale’s Scuba Diving magazine has rated Salt Cay amongst the top 100 sites in the world for “wall diving”. The island is also rated amongst the top five places in the world for diving and advanced diving, macro life, fish life, healthiest marine life, and underwater photography. As with Grand Turk, diving at Salt Cay is just a five minute boat ride to the offshore 7,000 ft vertical reef wall. Coral reefs and unspoilt waters surround the island. Visitors can engage in bird watching, beachcombing…and hammock napping! Whale watching is another popular tourist attraction, especially during the migration season for humpback whales, between January and April. Salt Cay is also a rest stop for migrating birds such as pink flamingos and blue herons. The peace and tranquillity of the island make it ideal for birdwatching. Religion Traditional Sunday worship is the integral fibre of the life of the Salt Cay community. The small population are members of the following church groups on the island: St John’s Anglican Church, Mount Zion Baptist Church, Church of God of Prophesy and Salt Cay Methodist Church. There is very little in the way of infrastructural development on Salt Cay. The roads built in the salt era are now one of the main attractions for visitors interested in the island’s salt production heritage. Because of the slow pace of Salt Cay life, it is generally felt that the island should not be disturbed by developers and preserved primarily to attract people who want to relax away from the hustle and bustle of life elsewhere. For this reason the island is referred to as “the place that time has forgotten”.

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South Caicos

The island of South Caicos, on the western side of Turks Island Passage and 25 miles from Grand Turk, comprises 8 sq. miles of coral rock. It had a 2001 census population of 1,063 and an estimated population of 1,118 in 2006. Known as East Harbour, The Rock and The Big South, the island boasts of having the finest natural harbour of all the islands. It is also known as the fishing capital of Turks & Caicos and the leading destination for bonefishing. Cockburn Harbour is thought to have been a hideout for Caribbean pirates. It also used to have a thriving economy based on salt production: at one time it exported most of the salt produced in Turks & Caicos. The historic visit to South Caicos by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh took place in February 1966 and was the first visit by a reigning monarch to Turks & Caicos. To commemorate the occasion, the South Caicos Annual Regatta was inaugurated the following year. In 1968 the Turks & Caicos Rescue Squadron was formed. The aim of the squadron was to provide funds to assist with the expense of locating and going to the aid of ships and aircraft in distress, and to compensate owners of sailing vessels who lost their livelihood in the event of the wreck of their vessels. After the salt industry closed down in the late 1960s, fishing emerged as the mainstay of the South Caicos economy. Several fish processing plants still operate on the island. There are also the remains of the former coastguard station and the island’s first hotel, the Admiral’s Arms. The hotel is now used by the School for Field Studies where students come from the USA to study marine and reef ecology. In the 1980s the drugs trade circulated substantial amounts of illegal money, which gave rise to another name for South Caicos, “The Big South”. This activity came to a sudden halt after the Miami Affair of 1985 when three government officials were arrested in Miami by US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) officials on drug-related charges. Since then the South Caicos economy has suffered a significant decline. Many of the local residents, and young people in particular, have left to look for jobs on Providenciales. The area called “The Town” is at the southern end of South Caicos and was once the island’s commercial centre. Salt used to be stored at the Old Salt Shed and at the Customs House. Tall pillars of salt there could be seen from a distance. Haitians have since removed the salt, shipping it by sea to Haiti. In the 1960s and 1970s there was a regular trade route between South Caicos and Haiti. Dry conch and salt fish were exported from South Caicos to Haiti, while fruits, ground provisions and clothing were brought from Haiti to South Caicos. Several Haitian and local sloops were engaged in this trade. Notable local merchants in the trade were: Mr Emmanuel Hall and

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Mr Ebenezer Forbes from Middle Caicos; Mr Felix Morley, Mr Archie Morley and Mr James (Belgrade) Parker from Providenciales; and Mr Thomas and Mr Ossie Gardner from Kew, North Caicos. In 1944 the USA built an airstrip and established a temporary airbase on South Caicos. The Turks & Caicos government took over the airstrip in 1947. Caicos Holdings Ltd later built a refuelling facility for light aircraft and also accommodation for pilots and other visitors, the Admiral’s Arms, opened in 1964. A facility was set up at Cockburn Harbour in 1962 to process seashells and manufacture shell handicrafts, and to buy conch shells for export. Activities The South Caicos Regatta, in May, is the main event celebrated on the island each year, attracting locals from other islands and from abroad. South Caicos is the centre of the fishing industry in Turks & Caicos, primarily for queen conch, spiny lobster and bonefishing. The USA is the main export market for lobster and conch. Although there is a 7,000 ft deep wall off South Caicos, along the Columbus Passage, other islands (Providenciales, Grand Turk and Salt Cay), rather than South Caicos, are promoted as the main dive sites in Turks & Caicos. The waters off South Caicos are nevertheless pristine and full of marine life. Almost in the centre of the island is the mysterious Boiling Hole, a major tourist attraction. Salt ponds occupy a significant part of South Caicos. At one time in the past South Caicos was the only island in Turks & Caicos where international flights landed. Bahamas Air, from Nassau, serviced the islands through South Caicos with a weekly flight. Air Florida, the first commercial jet service to Turks & Caicos, came into South Caicos. The island is also renowned for nature walks around the Boiling Hole and the old salt ponds, and for its virtually untouched stretches of beaches. Flamingos, pelicans and ospreys are common. To the north of the island, towards East Caicos, are Belle Sound and the bonefish flats. In the past, most South Caicos fishers landed their catch at Conch Ground. The Cow House, where animals were slaughtered, is also located there. In recent years a Fisherman’s Day was introduced in the annual calendar, to honour the outstanding contribution fishers made to the local South Caicos economy. Tooks Bay is named after a well known fisher, Mr Thomas Stubbs Jr. Other locations include Banna Bay, Johnny Bay, Moxy Bush and the Moxy Bush Channel. Popular fishing spots include East Bay, Little Harkless, Belle Sound, Long Bay and The Valley. Notable buildings and points of interest on South Caicos include the District Commissioner’s Residence, Mike’s Fishing Plant, Captain Brown’s Fishing Plant, Harold Plant and Harold Wharf, and the District Commissioner’s

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Office which once housed the local prison, on the ground floor. Other historically important buildings include the Salt Shed, the Butman, the Admiral’s Arms, the Clinic, the Public Tank (the government tank from which people obtained their weekly supply of fresh water) and the lighthouse. Cooperative societies on South Caicos that helped their members with medical and burial expenses were the Odd Fellows, the Household of Ruth, the Benevolent and Savings Association and the St George’s Industrial Trade Union. These organisations held annual parades which people always looked forward to, especially when the song “Peter Cast Your Net” was played and members would dance to amuse the crowd. There is one government-run primary school on South Caicos, the Iris Stubbs Primary, named in honour of Mrs Iris Stubbs, a former head teacher of the school. The Marjorie Basden High School (originally the Pierson High School but renamed after veteran educator Mrs Marjorie Basden) was established by the Seventh Day Adventists in 1968 but taken over by the government in 1978. There is also the Calvary Christian Academy affiliated with the Calvary Baptist church. In 1967 the South Caicos cricket pitch was laid out. Barclays Bank (now First Caribbean Bank) donated £300 towards the construction of a pavilion on the ground.

Middle Caicos

The largest island in the Turks & Caicos chain, Middle Caicos (also called Grand Caicos) is 48 sq. miles in area but one of the least populated of the islands. The 2001 census identified just 301 residents, which was approximately the same (estimated 307) in 2006. This compares with a population around the year 1300 of an estimated 4,000 Taino (Lucayan) indigenous people (Dale Witt, 1998). A substantial part of the island is comprised of protected wetlands and natural habitats. There are about 38 separate archaeological sites on Middle Caicos. In 2007 a new paved causeway was completed linking Middle and North Caicos. Conch Bar, Bambarra and Lorimers are the three settlements on Middle Caicos. Bambarra is believed to originate from the survivors of a Spanish slave ship, the Gambia, wrecked off the north coast of the island in 1842 en route to Cuba. The name Bambarra is thought to refer to the Bamberra people in West Africa where plantation slaves were said to have been captured. It is also believed that slaves from the Trouvadore shipwreck added to the population of the island, and that many families on Middle Caicos trace their family heritage back to those shipwrecked slaves. The settlement of Lorimers is thought to derive its name from a Loyalist, Dr John Lorimers, who owned a plantation on Middle Caicos.

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Vegetation Middle Caicos is a very lush island with agricultural potential. Subsistence farming has traditionally been a significant part of the life of the people there, with the cultivation of cassava, okra, yam and potato, and corn as a staple. Several fruits, such as guava, tamarinds, sapodillas and sugar apples, are still produced. Home-grown corn is used to produce “fabulous grits”. After harvesting, the corn is dried and the kernels stripped from the cob. The kernels of corn are then ground with hand grinders, once for a coarse grind and twice for fine. Fanning baskets are used in a process called fanning, whereby the lighter chaff of the ground corn blows away. Heritage sites Although Middle Caicos is renowned for its bonefishing, the Village Caves at Conch Bar are the main attraction on the island. The caves were thought to have been eroded out of the limestone rock and used by the indigenous Lucayan people as a place of worship as well as a shelter from hurricanes. In the 1880s they were worked for guano, for use by farmers as manure. Artefacts found in the cave, such as two wooden stools and some crude bedsteads, support the theory that pre-Columbian indigenous people lived on Middle Caicos. The British geographer Dr David Richards, in Counting Drips in Conch Bar Caves, identifies the Orange Tree cave and a hill called Dead Man’s Skull Bluff, both near Conch Bar. Within a mile of Lorimers are Day Night Well cave and Banana Tree cave. A number of mounds made of coral rock from the Lucayan period are located on the salina flats about four miles southwest of Lorimers. The mounds average three feet wide by twelve feet long. Ancient Lucayan mounds are also located on two hills, Gamble Hill and Indian Hill, a few miles north of Lorimers. Other heritage sites on Middle Caicos include: Increase Plantation, Industry Plantation, Big Well, Lorimer’s Field Road, Big Pond Field Road, Dark Night Well, Harriet Bun, Charles Rigby Hole, Big Pond, John Lorimer’s Tomb, Haulover Plantation, Lorimer’s School House, Garden Pond Field Road, Garden Ponds, Nanny Ponds, Armstrong Pond, Brown’s Plantation, Bambarra Field Road, Montpeller Pond, Bambarra Eco-Centre, Washing Pond and Corry Pond Wetlands area, Pine Yards, Indian Cave, Blowing Hole, Fish Ponds and King and Bay Roads (Turks & Caicos National Trust). Activities Middle Caicos is well known for its traditional straw work and handi crafts, such as fanner grass and palm top baskets, table mats, runners, trays, hats, bags, wallets, purses, coasters, mosquito whips, whisk brushes and brooms. Boat-building is a traditional craft and a key part of the

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island’s culture. Boats are built from large branches of the “gum-elemi” tree. Weatherboards are fitted to each boat for stability in the water. The boats are mainly used for fishing and to transport goods from South Caicos to Middle Caicos. Well-known boat-builders from Middle Caicos include Emmanuel Hall, Carlin Forbes, Marcus Forbes, Headley Forbes and Jeffrey Hall. The Middle Caicos Sailing Association, formed in recent years, preserves the culture of boat-building and sailing on Middle Caicos. The Association holds regular regattas of model sailing boats built by local people and sailed on festive occasions, with cash prizes for winning competitors. The Turks & Caicos National Trust sponsors a 15 mile long nature trail that traces the Crossing Place Trail, a coastal path used by the local people leading to North Caicos at Crossing Place. Man O’ War Bush, on the south coast of the island, is a clump of mangroves surrounded by the sea and inhabited by hundreds of frigate birds. One of the island’s best beaches is at Mudjin Harbour.

North Caicos

Adjacent to Middle Caicos, to the west, North Caicos is approximately 41 sq. miles in area, with a population of 1,347 by the 2001 census and estimated at 1,537 in 2006. The island is 12 miles northeast of Providenciales, with regular sea and air transport services between the two. A ferry service from the new marina at the easternmost end of Providenciales runs between three and five times a day to and from North Caicos. A new deepwater port is being constructed at Bellfield Landing in North Caicos. It is expected to be completed in 2008–09. North Caicos is commonly known as “the Garden Island”, or “the bread basket” of Turks & Caicos, because most of the country’s agricultural produce has traditionally come from there. It is also where some of the finest sailing vessels in Turks & Caicos were built, used mainly to transport locally farmed produce to other islands. There are four main settlements on North Caicos: Bottle Creek, Whitby, Kew and Sandy Point. Bottle Creek is itself divided into four areas: Major Hill, Pepper Town, Belmont and Lockland. Other notable places on North Caicos include the Three Mary’s Cays Sanctuary, Pumpkin Bluff Pond Nature Reserve, Dickhill Creek, Bellfield Landing, Pond Nature Reserve, Cottage Pond Nature Reserve and East Bay Island National Park. The famous Horses Stable Beach and Pelican Point are excellent locations for birdwatching. Caves near Sandy Point are thought to have been used by pre-Columbian indigenous people when they settled on the island. Cottage Pond, near Sandy Point, is surrounded by ferns and tropical vegetation.

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Wade’s Green Wade’s Green Plantation, just outside Kew, is one of the most popular heritage sites in Turks & Caicos. It was one of the most successful plantations during the Loyalist period. Many of its ruins are preserved to this day. A look-out tower was built in recent times and provides a fascinating panoramic view. A History of Wade’s Green Plantation, published in pamphlet form by the National Trust, notes that a Loyalist from Florida, Wade Stubbs, founded the site in 1789. Stubbs was awarded 860 acres of land on North Caicos, on which he built a plantation called Belle Field. In 1806 he changed the name to Wade’s Green where he grew cotton for a brief period. Wade’s Green is said to have had the largest group of slaves to have escaped at any one time to the Bahamas. The escape took place on the night of 9 September 1800 when 14 slaves escaped from North Caicos in a small, onemasted boat. Stubbs offered a reward of $500 for their capture and return. The plantation survived for 23 years before succumbing to soil exhaustion, drought, weevils and the 1812 hurricane which ultimately destroyed it. Stubbs’ executors sold some of his slaves to his nephew, Henshell Stubbs. Many of the slaves remained on North Caicos, left mostly to survive on their own. They congregated in Kew, along with others, to establish a community of pioneer developers of the Caicos Islands. The Turks & Caicos National Trust now has a 99 year lease on Wade’s Green Plantation, to maintain it for posterity. The southern part of North Caicos comprises swamps, ponds and tidal flats that are home to the largest sanctuary of West Indian flamingos in Turks & Caicos. It is a protected area, and aircraft are prohibited from flying over it. There is a viewing point located at Whitby, on the bluff above the flats, to observe the flamingos. The rare whistling duck is also found in the area of Pelican Point at Whitby, on the north coast. Historical significance In the nineteenth century North Caicos was the seat of government of Turks & Caicos. Bellfield Landing was the principal port for the harvesting of cotton. The island has also been home to a number of prominent political figures, including Mr Harold Robinson, Dr Rosita Butterfield, Mr Charles Misick, Mr Danny Williams, Mr Stafford Misick (deceased), Mr Ariel Misick QC, Mr Washington Misick (former Chief Minister, 1991–95) and the Hon. Michael Misick (Chief Minister of Turks & Caicos between 15 August 2003 and 9 August 2006, and first Premier of Turks & Caicos from 9 August 2006). Education A government primary school was built in each of the settlements of North Caicos. To avoid the duplication of resources, small numbers of students and

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to curtail costs, the Progressive National Party (PNP) government, in their term of office from 1991 to 1995, amalgamated the school in Sandy Point with the Charles Hubert James Primary School in Kew, and the Whitby school with the Adelaide Oemeler Primary in Bottle Creek. The Raymond Gardiner High School (formerly North Caicos Junior High School) was founded in 1973. It assumed the status of a high school in 1983 and now accommodates students from the islands of North and Middle Caicos. Heritage sites Apart from heritage sites already mentioned, others include: Bellmont Plantation, Bottle Creek Sisal Shed, Teen Hill Plantation (botanical collections), Wade’s Green Slave Quarters, Plantation Roads (Kew area), Silver Buttonwood Field-Road, Moore Hall Plantation, Lewby Moore Plantation and Street Wall Plantation. The Silver Buttonwood Field-Road is being transformed by the Turks & Caicos National Trust into an ecotourism field-road with numbered markers and guide cards. The field-road has also been presented as an example of eco-tourism opportunities to international wetlands specialists.

Providenciales

The island of Providenciales, formerly called Blue Hills and known locally as Provo, is on the western side of the Caicos archipelago. According to one theory, it got its name from a group of people caught in a storm at sea. When the storm subsided, they sighted this island which they believed they came upon by the providence of God, for which they named it Providenciales. The island is about 37.5 sq. miles in area. The 2001 census recorded the population of Provo as 13,021, but it is commonly thought to be far higher than that because of large numbers of immigrant workers. The 2006 population was estimated to have increased to 24,348. The origins of the development of Providenciales date back to the 1960s. It was spearheaded by Fritz Ludington, a businessman who formed a company called Provident Ltd, which was part of an agreement with the Turks & Caicos government to build the airport and the Third Turtle Inn. Mr Gustavaus Lightbourne, the local elected member of the Legislative Assembly at the time, made representation in the Legislative Assembly to support the developments. The Club Med Project in the 1980s fuelled further infrastructure projects at the airport, the terminal building and on settlement roads. Places of interest on Providenciales include the Conch Farm, Cheshire Hall, the Rice Plantation ruins, and some of the finest beaches and turquoise clear waters in the world. The mainstay of the economy is tourism, offshore banking, fishing and construction.

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Historical sites The famous Cheshire Hall Plantation is on Providenciales, near the airport. Wade Stubbs, the owner of Wade’s Green Plantation on North Caicos, persuaded his brother Thomas Stubbs, in Cheshire, England, to move to Providenciales, which he did. At that time Providenciales was called Provident Bay, or, alternatively, Blue Caicos. Thomas Stubbs named his plantation after his home county, Cheshire, in England. Thomas was not as fortunate as his brother Wade, and in 1810 he sold his plantation to his brother. This is commemorated by a cornerstone at Cheshire Hall, inscribed “W. Stubbs 1810”. The property occupied some 5,000 acres and was worked by some 384 slaves. Other heritage sites on Providenciales include: The Hole, Tucker Plantation, Airport Caves, Chalk Sound, Five Cays and Bird Rock Point. The Turks & Caicos National Trust has worked extensively with the San Diego Zoo on the relocation of iguanas to the islands of Five Cays. They have also produced lists and maps of plants and vegetation of those sites.

Conclusion

The Turks & Caicos Islands has a rich and fascinating history. Tourism is now the bedrock of the economy. Turks & Caicos continues to promote itself as a heritage tourism site, reflected in its slogan “beautiful by nature”. The islands are also experiencing astronomic growth as a result of the rapid development of the tourist and financial services industries, attributable in part to the country’s strategic geographical location. There is also evidence of more sustainable economic activity on all the islands. Despite this, internal migration to Providenciales continues, particularly amongst school-leavers looking for work. A primary concern now is the extent to which the local population is being empowered through activities related to the surge of economic growth. Foreigners still control most of the economic activity on the islands. Many of them hold the top jobs, which locals often resent. In the 2001 census, “citizens” of Turks & Caicos, called Belongers, accounted for 52% of the total population and non-Belongers, 48%. In 2006 the estimated population of Belongers (11,750) was just 35% of the total population and non-Belongers (21,452), 65%. The Turks & Caicos government will therefore have to respond with a greater sense of urgency to provide the necessary human resource capacity to sustain and maintain the current cycle of growth and development, in the interest of, and for the benefit of, the local population.

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