Prehistory and Early European Contact
The first inhabitants of the Turks and Caicos Islands were Amerindians, who migrated from the island of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) around AD 700. After approximately 300 years, pottery styles suggest that these local inhabitants of the islands established a unique culture. The people inhabiting the islands in the Bahamian archipelago up to the period of contact are known as Lucayans.
The first European to sight the islands was Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León, who did so in 1512, though some historians claim that Guanahani, the native name of the island Christopher Columbus called San Salvador on his 1492 voyage, is Grand Turk Island or East Caicos Island.
Spanish slavers frequently raided the islands, enslaving the Caribs of the islands. Only a year after first being discovered, the entire archipelago was completely depopulated.
Read more about this topic: History Of The Turks And Caicos Islands
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