The State of Turks and Caicos
Early history
Turks and Caicos is geographically part of the Bahamian archipelago, and before colonization its people were from the same group, known as the Lucayans. The Lucayans disappeared in the aftermath of Spanish slaving and disease.
The Turks and Caicos islands were later colonized by English sailors coming from Bermuda, who developed the islands for salt production. Turks and Caicos' sandy beaches and shallow seas were perfect for raking salt. Eventually, the Bahamas disputed Bermuda's control, and the Congress of the Nations ultimately settled the issue in Bermuda's favor. More details of this history are on the Bermuda page.
The Turks and Caicos islands were later colonized by English sailors coming from Bermuda, who developed the islands for salt production. Turks and Caicos' sandy beaches and shallow seas were perfect for raking salt. Eventually, the Bahamas disputed Bermuda's control, and the Congress of the Nations ultimately settled the issue in Bermuda's favor. More details of this history are on the Bermuda page.
The flag and the Aquamarine Revolution
A local citizen, Lucinda Knowles, created a version of the flag of Turks and Caicos around 2002. A few months later, with help from a writer for the islands' newspaper and a graphic artist from Cuba, she published an official description and began to promote it more widely. Its symbolism is multi-layered. The striped design reflects the islands' past as a possession of Virginia, but the stripes are wavy as befitting an island territory. There are seven stripes for the seven populated islands. The aquamarine represents the seas around the islands: they are in the same shallow banks as the Bahamas, resulting in the characteristic bright aqua color to the sea. The yellow stripes call to mind sunlight shimmering on the water, representing a new dawn for Turks and Caicos. There are two of them, one for the Turks islands and one for the Caicos. The white stripe in the center represents peace and friendship among the islands and between the islands and their neighbors. It also resembles mounds of salt raked up from an evaporation pool, recalling the industry that drove the Turks and Caicos for most of their recorded history.
The flag caught on quickly both as an expression of civic pride and as a nice piece of branding for Turks and Caicos' tourist industry, which was going through a period of almost explosive growth.
That growth was the origin of the turbulence of the ensuing period. The islands were flush with cash and drawing new workers, some staying just for the tourist season, others moving in permanently. The newcomers can be forgiven for not immediately getting involved in local politics, but this meant that that Turks and Caicos continued to be governed by the same clique of politicians. Most local leaders had gotten their start when the islands were a sleepy backwater, but now found themselves managing a rapidly growing population and tax revenues exponentially greater than what they had known before. Opportunities for corruption abounded. Bermudan state officials uncovered uncovered many of them. So rotten did Turks and Caicos' government seem to be that in 2011 the state assembly voted to dissolve it. A state-appointed board of local leaders was formed to govern the islands while necessary reforms could be put in place.
Five years later, the board was still there. Progress on the promised anti-corruption reforms from the board and the state assembly had been slow. And during that time, the islands' tourism had continued to grow, and many of the new citizens had started to get involved in the local community. Political coalitions formed around the issue of restoring self-government to the islands. Frustrated islanders began a demonstration outside the government house in February 2016, which stretched out for days. People from Providenciales, the main tourist center, crossed to Grand Turk to join the demonstration, and many who could not demonstrated in Providenciales Town. Business was crippled at the height of the tourist season. The unofficial Turks and Caicos flag was ubiquitous among the participants in what the press called the "Aquamarine Revolution". It reached a dramatic climax when most of the appointed board members came out of the government house to join the protesters.
The Aquamarine Revolution brought Turks and Caicos to the attention of the entire ASB. People asked how it was that Bermuda, of all places, had apparently been allowed to be the last colonial power in the confederation. Confederal officials stepped in to put pressure on Bermuda. A new committee of state and local leaders was formed to make a final draft of a reform package, and elections were scheduled to quickly restore Turks and Caicos' local assembly. The new assembly met in late 2016. In early 2017, it adopted the new-famous flag as the official flag of Turks and Caicos.
The movement did not go away. It shifted toward promoting statehood and organized as a new political party. Pro-statehood members won a clear majority in the local assembly and most of Turks and Caicos' delegates in the Bermudan state assembly. A new, binding referendum took place at the same time as the next round of elections, in March 2018. With a strong feeling of momentum, and a flag to rally around, supporters of Turks and Caicos statehood were enthusiastic about their chances for success.
The flag caught on quickly both as an expression of civic pride and as a nice piece of branding for Turks and Caicos' tourist industry, which was going through a period of almost explosive growth.
That growth was the origin of the turbulence of the ensuing period. The islands were flush with cash and drawing new workers, some staying just for the tourist season, others moving in permanently. The newcomers can be forgiven for not immediately getting involved in local politics, but this meant that that Turks and Caicos continued to be governed by the same clique of politicians. Most local leaders had gotten their start when the islands were a sleepy backwater, but now found themselves managing a rapidly growing population and tax revenues exponentially greater than what they had known before. Opportunities for corruption abounded. Bermudan state officials uncovered uncovered many of them. So rotten did Turks and Caicos' government seem to be that in 2011 the state assembly voted to dissolve it. A state-appointed board of local leaders was formed to govern the islands while necessary reforms could be put in place.
Five years later, the board was still there. Progress on the promised anti-corruption reforms from the board and the state assembly had been slow. And during that time, the islands' tourism had continued to grow, and many of the new citizens had started to get involved in the local community. Political coalitions formed around the issue of restoring self-government to the islands. Frustrated islanders began a demonstration outside the government house in February 2016, which stretched out for days. People from Providenciales, the main tourist center, crossed to Grand Turk to join the demonstration, and many who could not demonstrated in Providenciales Town. Business was crippled at the height of the tourist season. The unofficial Turks and Caicos flag was ubiquitous among the participants in what the press called the "Aquamarine Revolution". It reached a dramatic climax when most of the appointed board members came out of the government house to join the protesters.
The Aquamarine Revolution brought Turks and Caicos to the attention of the entire ASB. People asked how it was that Bermuda, of all places, had apparently been allowed to be the last colonial power in the confederation. Confederal officials stepped in to put pressure on Bermuda. A new committee of state and local leaders was formed to make a final draft of a reform package, and elections were scheduled to quickly restore Turks and Caicos' local assembly. The new assembly met in late 2016. In early 2017, it adopted the new-famous flag as the official flag of Turks and Caicos.
The movement did not go away. It shifted toward promoting statehood and organized as a new political party. Pro-statehood members won a clear majority in the local assembly and most of Turks and Caicos' delegates in the Bermudan state assembly. A new, binding referendum took place at the same time as the next round of elections, in March 2018. With a strong feeling of momentum, and a flag to rally around, supporters of Turks and Caicos statehood were enthusiastic about their chances for success.
Statehood
The referendum produced a solid majority in favor of statehood. Bermuda and Turks-Caicos agreed to take one year to work out the details of a separation. The date was pushed back to May so that the celebrations can be free of distractions from the winter-spring tourist season.