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The Turks and Caicos Islands ( and / / ), or TCI for short, are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago, north of the larger Antilles island grouping. They are known primarily for tourism and as an offshore financial centre. The resident population is about 31,500,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Preliminary 2012 Turks and Caicos Islands census data published )〕 of whom 23,769 live on Providenciales in the Caicos Islands. The total population on the islands including foreigners is approximately 49,000. The Turks and Caicos Islands lie southeast of Mayaguana in the Bahamas island chain and north of the island of Hispaniola. Cockburn Town, the capital since 1766, is situated on Grand Turk Island about east-southeast of Miami, United States. The islands have a total land area of . The first recorded European sighting of the islands now known as the Turks and Caicos occurred in 1512.〔"(World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Turks and Caicos Islands : Overview )". Minority Rights Group International, 2007.〕 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. In August 2009, the United Kingdom suspended the Turks and Caicos Islands' self-government after allegations of ministerial corruption. Home rule was restored in the islands after the November 2012 elections. == Etymology == The Turks and Caicos Islands are named after the Turk's-cap cactus (''Melocactus intortus''), and the Lucayan term ''caya hico'', meaning 'string of islands'. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Turks and Caicos Islands」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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