The first known inhabitants left evidence of their time here in the form of utensils and a ball court. These were the Taíno and Lucayan Indians who lived a peaceful life of farming, fishing and gardening, cultivating around 50 types of plant, some of which can still be found in the undeveloped areas of the islands. 

After having inhabited the islands for almost 700 years, the Taíno and Lucayan endured the arrival of the European settlers who forced them into slavery, as well as transmitting European diseases that saw the indigenous population decimated by the mid-16th century. 

However, the islands' original inhabitants left a rich heritage of salt raking, seafaring and farming that is still part of the country's identity today, and words derived from the Arawak language such as "caicos", "canoe" and "Caribbean" play a fundamental part in the local culture. The name of the country is also derived from the islands' first inhabitants' language, with Turks referring to the indigenous Turk's head cactus and Caicos coming from the Lucayan "caya hico", which means "string of islands". 

The island was nobody’s priority; the lack of gold, lack of rain to grow to sugar and its location away from main sailing routes meant that development here has been slow, and the islands remained virtually uninhabited until 1678, when some Bermudans settled here and began logging tree and extracting salt- evidence of which you can still see today in the Salinas (salt-drying pans) which exist on many islands. At the time, salt was considered a precious commodity and was used not only for seasoning but also for preserving food. Although the shallow waters surrounding the islands were ideal for salt raking, they were also dangerous for nautical navigation, and resulted in more than 1000 ships being wrecked on their journey to and from the islands. 

Over the next few centuries, the islands were like ping pong balls, with ownership bouncing between the French, Spanish and British, ending finally with Great Britain, who reclaimed the islands for Bermuda. However, Turks and Caicos also became home to groups of pirates between 1690 and 1720, who were hiding in the islands' cays and attacking Spanish treasure galleons travelling to Spain from Cuba, Hispaniola, and other Spanish colonies in Central America. 

Following the American War of Independence, the Bermudans who were making their living with salt and logging were joined by a group of colonial loyalists, who went on to establish cotton plantations. This era however was short-lived as the cotton crop failed to thrive, and by 1820 the majority of planters had moved on. 

The Turks and Caicos became a formal part of the Bahamas in 1799, but following a petition by the Turks & Caicos residents it became self-governing under the guidance of the Governor of Jamaica in 1848. They remained tied to Jamaica until 1962, when they were again linked to the Bahamas. In 1973, they became a separate Crown Colony of Great Britain. 

Nowadays, while there are more than 40 cays making up the Turks and Caicos territory, only eight of them are inhabited by people. The natives here are called "Turks and Caicos Islanders" or "Belongers", and are the descendants of African workers brought to work on the plantations, or of immigrants from neighbouring islands. The native population mixes harmoniously with the large expatriate community, composed of French, British, American, Dominicans, Haitians, Canadians, and Scandinavians, creating the islands' unique international feel and rich culture, and all together living a relaxed and slow-paced life on the beautiful islands.