Turks and Caicos Islands History

History
The first recorded European sighting of the islands now known as the Turks and Caicos occurred in 1512. In the subsequent centuries, the islands were claimed by several European powers with the British Empire eventually gaining control. For many years the islands were governed indirectly through Bermuda, the Bahamas, and Jamaica. When the Bahamas gained independence in 1973, the islands received their own governor, and have remained a separate autonomous British Overseas Territory since. There are over forty islands, only eight are inhabited. 

Timeline
1512 - The Spanish arrived in the islands 1765 – 1783 The islands were under French occupation, and again after the French captured the archipelago in 1783 1799 - Both the Turks and the Caicos island groups were annexed by Britain as part of the Bahamas 1873 - The islands were made part of the Jamaica colony 1962 - When Jamaica was granted independence from Britain, the Turks and Caicos Islands became a Crown colony