50 Years of Ministerial Government

A series by Joan Astwood Sutton

When the history of political change in the Turks and Caicos Islands is discussed, much of the focus is on elections, speeches, ministers, rallies, and public events. But behind the public story was another history, one that unfolded quietly in homes, around dinner tables, in private conversations, and among trusted friends who believed the country could become something greater.

Before and after the 1976 election, my family's home on West Road in Grand Turk became one of those places. International visitors connected to political activism, Black consciousness movements, and regional discussions on self-determination often came through our home. Conversations about the future of the Turks and Caicos Islands were held privately, out of the public eye

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Most people never knew these meetings were taking place.  At the centre of many of those discussions was J. A. G. S. McCartney.  To the public, he was a political leader. To my family, he was also a close family friend.

My father, Lewis Edwin Astwood, believed deeply in JAGS McCartney and the movement growing around him. Their relationship extended far beyond politics. Wherever JAGS went, my father was often there. They travelled together, organised together, discussed strategy together, and shared a vision for the country's future. 

My father affectionately called JAGS “Whoopie,” a nickname our family remembers warmly, and that reflects the closeness between the two men. Our families were close. My mother and JAGS’ wife were friends.

We visited JAGS’ home at #1 Corktree Beach, and JAGS regularly visited ours. Discussions about the future political direction of the Turks and Caicos Islands often took place quietly in these trusted spaces.  Many of the meetings associated with the growing political awakening and the spread of Black consciousness across the Caribbean in the 1970s were held privately.

Those involved understood the sensitivity of the moment. Very few outsiders fully grasped the extent of the organising, discussion, and preparation underway behind the scenes.

At the time, many young people across the Caribbean were becoming more politically aware. Conversations about Black identity, local leadership, empowerment, self-determination, and political representation were spreading throughout the region. The Turks and Caicos Islands were not isolated from these influences.

 A movement was building.  But movements are not built only through speeches. They are also built through friendship, trust, sacrifice, organizing, and community support. At the same time, my mother, Mildred Garland, became involved in fundraising and community-based organizing connected to the early People's Democratic Movement. 

She organised what is believed to have been the first political beauty pageants connected to the party:

·      Little Miss PDM 

·      Big Miss PDM 

These events were not simply social activities. They became fundraising efforts that brought communities together and helped support the movement during its early years.

She also organised children’s parties, community activities, care packages for elderly residents, and care packages for prisoners. During that period, politics was not viewed solely as elections and campaigning. For many involved, it was also connected to caring for people, strengthening communities, and creating hope.

Communication also became an important part of the political awakening occurring in the country.  My father helped establish a newspaper called The Voices of the People, edited by Edward “Ed” Stack. A radio talk show, The Voice, hosted by Herbert Been, was also launched during this period. These platforms became part of the growing atmosphere of public discussion, political awareness, and national conversation emerging across the islands. Then came 1976.

For many people, the election victory and the arrival of ministerial government represented hope. It felt as though the Turks and Caicos Islands were entering a new era in which local people would finally play a stronger role in shaping their country's future.

But on 9th May 1980, everything changed.  Chief Minister JAGS McCartney died in a plane crash.  Shortly before the trip, my father had planned to travel to New York to see his newborn son, Ricky.  According to our family’s recollection, JAGS encouraged him to go. 

That decision may have saved his life.  At the time of the tragedy, many government ministers were outside the Turks and Caicos Islands.  Charles (Liam) McGuire was among those who first announced the devastating news to the country.

For many supporters, the emotional impact was overwhelming. The sense of momentum and hope that had carried so many people through the 1970s was deeply shaken after JAGS McCartney’s death.

I still remember standing among the large crowd gathered at the American Base Airport in Grand Turk, the very airport that today bears JAGS McCartney’s name.  I was fifteen and a half years old, just one month away from my sixteenth birthday.  Dignitaries, residents, children, government officials, and ordinary people stood together in grief as his body was brought home to the Turks and Caicos Islands.

 I remember watching American soldiers lift his casket onto their shoulders in military honours as they carried him from the plane. At that age, I could not fully grasp the political weight of the moment, but I understood the sorrow.

People everywhere around me were crying, grown men, women, and children alike. I remember the silence, the emotion in the crowd, and the dignity of the ceremony. Even today, the memory gives me cold chills. It was one of the most powerful public moments of mourning I have ever witnessed in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

For many people, it felt as though an era had suddenly come to an end. This article is not intended to rewrite history or to speak for everyone who lived through that period. It is simply part of the oral history and lived experience preserved within the Astwood family. 

Too much of our national history still lives only in memory.  And if these stories are not recorded, preserved, and shared carefully, an important part of the human story behind the political transformation of the Turks and Caicos Islands may eventually disappear forever.

About the Author

Joan Astwood is a cultural heritage researcher, storyteller, and founder of the Hon. Lewis Edwin Astwood Research Library, Museum and Learning Facility in the Turks and Caicos Islands. She is the daughter of Lewis Edwin Astwood and Mildred Garland Astwood.

Her work focuses on preserving the political, cultural, and social history of the Turks and Caicos Islands through oral histories, museum exhibitions, storytelling, archival preservation, and educational initiatives. She has spent years collecting historical materials, family histories, government records, cultural traditions, and community memories connected to the development of the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Joan Astwood is also developing national heritage exhibitions and educational programmes connected to the 50th Anniversary of Ministerial Government in the Turks and Caicos Islands.