Turks and Caicos Islands

Grand Turk, in the Turks and Caicos Islands. This island is one of the six inhabited islands in this British Crown colony.

The islands were annexed to Jamaica before becoming a British dependency. The shield bears a queen conch shell and a spiny lobster - both major exports - and a Turk's Head cactus representing the plant life of the islands.

British crown colony in the West Indies, the southeastern archipelago of the Bahamas; area 430 sq km/166 sq mi; population (1997 est) 14,600 (90% of African descent). The capital is Cockburn Town on Grand Turk, which is the site of a US tracking station for guided missiles. Exports include crayfish and conch (flesh and shell); financial services and tourism are important to the economy, and the main tourist island is Providenciales.

Turks and Caicos consist of a group of 30 islands, of which six are inhabited. The largest is the uninhabited Grand Caicos; others include Grand Turk, South Caicos, Middle Caicos, North Caicos, Providenciales, and Salt Cay.

The then uninhabited islands were discovered by the Spanish in 1512. They remained unoccupied until British settlers from Bermuda established a salt panning industry in 1678. Secured by Britain in 1766 against French and Spanish claims, the islands were a Jamaican dependency (1873-1962), and became a separate colony in 1962.

The government comprises a governor, with executive and legislative councils. The currency is the US dollar, and since 1982 the Turks and Caicos have developed as a tax haven. The main languages are English and French Creole, and the principal religion is Christianity.