It's #FunFactFriday, but instead of a usual pic & go, I feel compelled, led by the spirit even to do things a lil' different.

So who am I to ignore the spirit?

Anyway, gather around children, it's story-time & this one called:

"How Tuks Dem Gone on Dey Own"

The Bahamas & Turks and Caicos Islands (Lucayan Archipelago) were all formed as exposed limestone peaks of submerged underwater plateaus. Though, before the last ice-age, they were much larger and some of them were even connected to each other looking completely different.

When the water started to melt at the end of the last ice-age, many of the islands became flooded.

This gave rise to the smaller islands with so much shallow water surrounding them that we're now familiar with in the Lucayan Archipelago.

The first people to live here were the Lucayans. DUH! Hence the name Lucayan Archipelago.

They came from South America & used to keep to theyself. They never used to be into troubling nobody and didn't do too much slapping up with nearby indigenous people.

So for 1000s of years they lived in peace & harmony, but everything changed WHEN THE FIRE NATION ATTA... when the Europeans arrived, first landing on the island of Guanahani, now San Salvador, in 1492.

Now white people ain't just start being annoying, they was always trash.

So they muggling through the Lucayan Archipelago, unimpressed. Then they reach the Greater Antilles & strike gold (literally).

But, they needed people to do the manual labour so they could profit...

Those Lucayans that minded their business for 1000s of years? They became slaves. Yay white people.

By 1520, a search of the Lucayan Archipelago found only 11 Lucayans left... And they were also taken into slavery to the islands of the Greater Antilles.

So for the first time for 1000s of the years, the Lucayan Archipelago, which was Bahama Islands at this point, was completely empty of human life in 1520.

That is until 1648! When white people start fighting over whose Christianity was the right Christianity. LOL!

Anyway, so the folk in Bermuda couldn't take getting do bad anymore, so they get a patent from the English Crown to go start one colony somewhere else.

They came the empty Bahama Islands, crash on the Devil's Backbone reef off Eleuthera and just start living.

But tings wasn't tings for the Eleutheran Adventurers. Yeah they could have worshiped how they liked, but tings was rough. Their life in the Bahama Islands was in shambles.

They ain't had no real food, probably ain't had no rum, soil wasn't the best. Pressure was tall.

Then they realise something, One a them was like, 'Hold on nah. These islands gat salt.' Thus, the salt industry in the Bahama Islands was born thanks to the Eleutheran Adventurers.

So they start muggling through the Bahama Islands, 'cause basically, all the islands except the rainier northern islands does produce salt.

So they outchea in Eleuthera, Exuma, Grand Turk, Long Island, Mayaguana, New Providence, Provo, just raking salt. Tings was tings.

in 1680, the first Bermudians reach the Turks & Caicos islands, which was apart of the Bahama Islands, but they wasn't living permanently. Getting salt, leaving, coming back. Ya know, just getting they paper and dipping out.

But these southern Bahama Islands in general was producing SALT!

So this basically what the system was. Ya rake ya salt, ya sent it Nassau, Nassau sell & then they return you ya profits.

LOL! Nassau was crooked though. They wasn't really giving back what was pose to get give back. (Shocker... Nassau people... Am I right? AM I RIGHT?!)

Funny thing is that once the first Bermudians found out about the salt raking, they basically start fighting the Bahamians (originally Bermudians) for the islands.

Guess the Bermudians were a lil... salty.

So Bermuda steady tryna take Turks & Caicos from the Bahama Islands. I mean, shoots, they was basically duking it out.

Eventually Bermudians start running things in Tuks. Nassau gov't was like haha, we is the gov't. Start making all type law & tax & ting against the Bermudians.

The Nassau gov't play all type sike on Tuks because the Bermudians try start taking over from the lil bit of Bahamians that was there.

TCI people just start having enough though & start begging the crown the be alone. English wasn't really for that.

So then, in 1848, the English was just like (actual words), 'Smt. Here man!'

And voila, the Turks & Caicos Islands were no longer apart of the Colony of the Bahama Islands.

They ain't get to be alone for long, like 25 years later UK say, 'LOL. SIKE!'

The Turks & Caicos Islands became Jamaican & they were all 1 colony... Funny thing is the same thing almost happen to Inagua, but that's another story for another day.

Anyway, they was Jamaican for almost 100 years. Then Jamaica get independence in 1962. Guess wha UK tell them

"Arrite, y'all had y'all fun, time ta go home nah." (Again actual words from the actual English crown.)

So Turks & Caicos Islands came back home to The Bahamas and were all one big happy family again as one colony.

BUT EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN THE FIRE NATION ATTACKED!

Lol, nah, the fire nation never attacked, but things did change though. This time when The Bahamas (change they name from the Bahama Islands, 'cause they thought they was grown) got independence in 1973.

From then on, Turks & Caicos Islands were finally allowed to be by they own, on they own.

But... even though they were separate for almost 100 years, because the two were the same geographically, a lot of trade happened throughout The Bahamas with TCI.

The first people to live in Mayaguana were TCI people. Some of the first people to live & work in the City of Freeport when it was first established were TCI people.

Rake n' scrape, though claimed by Bahamians, is argued to have been created in the TCI.

So, here were are in 2020...

The Bahamas and The Bahamas... I mean and the Turks & Caicos Islands.

All geographically & culturally THE SAME (run on with ya ma), but politically two separate entities. One a sovereign country, the other a British Overseas Territory.