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C H E M C O N T R O L Integrated Supply Solutions
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Main Geographic Markets Our market primarily includes the Eastern Caribbean. See Caribbean GDP Figures.
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TURKS & CAICOS The islands were part of the UK's Jamaican colony until 1962, when they assumed the status of a separate crown colony upon Jamaica's independence. The governor of The Bahamas oversaw affairs from 1965 to 1973. With Bahamian independence, the islands received a separate governor in 1973. Although independence was agreed upon for 1982, the policy was reversed and the islands remain a British overseas territory. History There is strong evidence that Grand Turk was the place of Christopher Columbus's first landfall after crossing the Atlantic in search of the New World. This honour has been traditionally bestowed on Watling's Island in the Bahamas, now San Salvador, the name given by Columbus to the island where he landed and called Guanahani by its indian inhabitants. Study of Columbus's journals and various other sources show that his descriptions of Guanahani much more closely fit Grand Turk than they do San Salvador. It is known that the Spanish explorer Ponce de León came to the Islands in 1512, when they were inhabited by Arawak indians. The Spanish took away the Arawaks to use for slave labour and left the islands uninhabited. Bermudians came to the islands in the 17th century and established what was to become TCI's principal industry for the next 300 years - the production of salt from brine. The islands came under British rule in 1766. The salt industry was based in Grand Turk, Salt Cay and South Caicos, where large inland ponds, called salinas, were converted into a system of salt pans where salt water was evaporated and the remaining crystals raked up. Now defunct, TCI's salt industry once supplied much of the demand of the western world. A legacy of the Bermudian settlement is the architecture of the old buildings still remaining in the "salt islands", the Front Street of Grand Turk being particularly attractive.Large tracts of land in the lower Bahamas and the Caicos Islands were granted by Britain to American Loyalists after the War of Independence by way of recognition of their services to the Crown. These tracts were farmed as cotton and sisal plantations, but after emancipation many of the planters left the land to their erstwhile African slaves. Thus today the prominent families of the islands are those who through the generations have inherited large parcels of land from their predecessors. The origin of the name "Turks" has two possible explanations. Usually the name is said to come from the Turk's Head Cactus which grows in the island group, a squat cactus with a red fez-shaped flower-head. Another theory is that the name originates from the French and Spanish use of the word to describe the buccaneers who in the 16th and 17th centuries used the islands to hide out. The word "Caicos" comes from the French "caiques" perhaps influenced by the Spanish "cayos"; both mean "cays", and both appear on various ancient charts. On a 1794 English chart, the names "The Corcos" and "Les Caquis" are given. Population The total population of TCI is approximately 25,000, of which Grand Turk has about 6,000 and Providenciales 15,000. The indigenous population is of African origin. The expatriate population consists mainly of British, Irish and Commonwealth nationals, North Americans, French, Swiss, Dominicans and Haitians. The official language is English. Economy The Turks and Caicos economy is based on tourism, fishing, and offshore financial services. Most capital goods and food for domestic consumption are imported. The US is the leading source of tourists, accounting for more than half of the annual 93,000 visitors in the late 1990s. Major sources of government revenue also include fees from offshore financial activities and customs receipts. Currency The unit of currency is the United States dollar (US$). TCI currency is also minted, the quarter-crown (= US25˘) and to a much lesser extent the crown (= US$1) being used in addition to United States currency. Other coins are minted for commemorative and numismatic purposes. |
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