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Trinidad & Tobago
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Trinidad
Tobago The Republic of Trinidad and
Tobago is a nation in the southern Caribbean
Sea, situated 11 km (7 miles) off the coast of
Venezuela. It is an archipelagic state[1]
consisting of two main islands, Trinidad and
Tobago, and 21 smaller islands. The larger and
more populated island is Trinidad, while Tobago
is smaller (303 square kilometres; about 6% of
the total area) and less populous (50,000
people; 4% of the total population). Citizens
are officially called Trinidadians or
Tobagonians or Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago,
but are informally referred to as Trinis or
Trinbagonians.
Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean,
Trinidad and Tobago is a primarily
industrialised country whose economy is based on
petroleum and petrochemicals. People of Indian
and African descent make up almost 80% of the
population, while the remainder are mostly mixed
race with small European, Chinese and
Syrian-Lebanese minorities. Trinidad and Tobago
is famous for its pre-Lenten Carnival and as the
birthplace of steelpan and limbo.
The capital city Port-of-Spain is currently a
leading candidate to serve as the headquarters
of the Permanent Secretariat of the Free Trade
Area of the Americas (FTAA-ALCA).
History
Main articles: History of Trinidad and Tobago,
Both Trinidad and Tobago were originally settled
by Amerindians of South American origin.
Trinidad was first settled by pre-agricultural
Archaic people at least 7000 years, making it
the earliest-settled part of the Caribbean.
Ceramic-using agriculturalists settled Trinidad
around 250 BCE and then moved up the Lesser
Antillean chain. At the time of European contact
Trinidad was occupied by various Arawakan- and
Cariban-speaking tribes including the Nepoya,
Suppoya and Yao, while Tobago was occupied by
the Island Caribs and Galibi. The aboriginal
name for Trinidad was Kairi or Iere which is
usually translated as The Land of the
Hummingbird, although others have reported that
it simply meant island. Christopher Columbus
encountered the island of Trinidad on July 31,
1498 and named it after the Holy Trinity.
Columbus reported seeing Tobago, which he named
Bella Forma, but did not land on the island. The
name Tobago is probably derived from tobacco.
The Spanish established a presence on Trinidad,
while Tobago changed hands between British,
French, Dutch and Courlanders. Britain
consolidated its hold on both islands during the
Napoleonic Wars, and they were combined into the
colony of Trinidad and Tobago in 1889. As a
result of these colonial struggles Amerindian,
Spanish, and French and English place names are
all common in the country. African slaves and
Indian, Chinese, Portuguese and free African
indentured labourers were imported to supply
labour in the nineteenth and early twentieth
century. Immigration from Barbados and the
Lesser Antilles, Venezuela and Syria and Lebanon
also impacted on the ethnic make-up of the
country.
Although originally a sugar colony, cacao
dominated the economy in the late nineteenth and
early twentieth century. After the collapse of
the cacao crop (due to disease and the Great
Depression) petroleum increasingly came to
dominate the economy. The Depression and the
rise of the oil economy led to changes in the
social structure.
The presence of American military bases in
Chaguaramas and Cumuto in Trinidad during World
War II profoundly changed the character of
society. In the post-war period, the wave of
decolonisation that swept the British Empire led
to the formation of the West Indies Federation
in 1958 as a vehicle for independence.
Chaguaramas was the proposed site for the
federal capital. The Federation dissolved after
the withdrawal of Jamaica, and Trinidad and
Tobago elected for independence in 1962.
In 1976 the country severed its links with the
British monarchy and became a republic within
the Commonwealth.
Petroleum, petrochemicals and natural gas
continue to be the backbone of the economy.
Tourism is the mainstay of the economy of
Tobago, although it has declined in the
environment after the September 11, 2001
attacks. Trinidad and Tobago is one of the most
prosperous nations in the Caribbean, although
less so than it was during the "oil boom"
between 1973 and 1983.
Geography
Map of Trinidad and Tobago - Click to
enlargeMain article: Geography of Trinidad and
Tobago
The country consists of two main islands,
Trinidad and Tobago, and 21 smaller islands, the
most important being Chacachacare, Monos, Huevos,
Gaspar Grande (or Gasparee), Little Tobago and
St. Giles Is. The terrain of the islands is a
mixture of mountains and plains. The highest
point in the country is found on the Northern
Range at El Cerro del Aripo which is situated at
940 m above sea level. The climate is tropical.
There are two seasons annually: the dry season
for the first six months of the year, and the
wet season in the second half of the year. Winds
are predominantlly from the northeast and are
dominated by the Northeast Trade winds. Unlike
most of the other Caribbean islands, Trinidad
and Tobago have frequently escaped the wrath of
major devastating hurricanes including Hurricane
Ivan, the most powerful storm to pass close to
the islands in recent history in September 2004.
As the majority of the population live in
Trinidad, this is the location of most major
towns and cities. There are three major
municipalities in Trinidad: Port-of-Spain, the
capital, San Fernando, and Chaguanas. Of these
three, Chaguanas is the fastest growing. The
largest town in Tobago is Scarborough.
Trinidad is made up of a variety of soil types,
the majority being fine sands and heavy clays.
The alluvial valleys of the Northern Range and
the soils of the East-West Corridor being the
most fertile.
The Northern Range consists mainly of Upper
Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks, mostly andesites
and schists. The Northern Lowlands (East-West
Corridor and Caroni Plains) consist of
Pleistocene or younger soft sands and clays with
superficial gravel terraces and river and swamp
alluvia. South of this, the Central Range is a
folded anticlinal uplift consisting of
Cretaceous and Eocene rocks, with Miocene
formations along the southern and eastern
flanks. The Naparima Plains and the Nariva Swamp
form the southern shoulder of this uplift. The
Southern Lowlands consist of Miocene and
Pliocene sands, clays, and gravels. These
overlie oil and natural gas deposits, especially
north of the Los Bajos Fault. The Southern Range
forms the third anticlinal uplift. It consists
of several chains of hills, most famous being
the Trinity Hills. The rocks consist of
sandstones, shales and siltstones and clays
formed in the Miocene and uplifted in the
Pleistocene. Oil sands and mud volcanoes are
especially common in this area.
Although it is located just off-shore from South
America, Trinidad and Tobago is often considered
to be part of the North American continent by
virtue of its being a Caribbean country. See
Bicontinental countries.
Culture
The Chaconia (Warszewiczia coccinea) flower is
the national flower of Trinidad and Tobago.Main
article: Culture of Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago is famous for its pre-Lenten
Carnival. It is also the birthplace of calypso
music and the steelpan, which is widely claimed
to be the only acoustic musical instrument
invented during the 20th century. The diverse
cultural and religious background allows for
many festivities and ceremonies throughout the
year. Other indigenous art forms include soca (a
derivate of calypso), Parang
(Venezuelan-influenced Christmas music),
chutney, and pichakaree (musical forms which
blend the music of the Caribbean and India) and
the famous Limbo dance.
The artistic scene is vibrant. Trinidad and
Tobago claims two Noble Prize-winning author, V.
S. Naipaul and St. Lucian-born Derek Walcott.
Mas' designer Peter Minshall is renowned not
only for his carnival costumes, but also for his
role in opening ceremonies of the Barcelona
Olympics, the 1994 Football World Cup, the 1996
Summer Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics,
for which he won an Emmy Award.
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Background:
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The
islands came under British control in the 19th
century; independence was granted in 1962. The
country is one of the most prosperous in the
Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural
gas production and processing. Tourism, mostly in
Tobago, is targeted for expansion and is growing.
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Location:
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Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the
North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
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Geographic coordinates:
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11 00
N, 61 00 W
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Map references:
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Central America and the Caribbean |
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Area:
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total: 5,128 sq km
land: 5,128 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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slightly smaller than Delaware |
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Climate:
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tropical; rainy season (June to December) |
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Terrain:
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ostly
plains with some hills and low mountains |
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Nationality:
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noun: Trinidadian(s), Tobagonian(s)
adjective: Trinidadian, Tobagonian
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Ethnic groups:
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black
39.5%, East Indian (a local term - primarily
immigrants from northern India) 40.3%, mixed 18.4%,
white 0.6%, Chinese and other 1.2% |
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Religions:
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Roman
Catholic 29.4%, Hindu 23.8%, Anglican 10.9%, Muslim
5.8%, Presbyterian 3.4%, other 26.7%
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Languages:
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English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese
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Currency:
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Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD) |
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Currency code:
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TTD
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Exchange rates:
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Trinidad and Tobago dollars per US dollar - 6.2466
(January 2002), 6.2332 (2001), 6.2998 (2000), 6.2989
(1999), 6.2983 (1998), 6.2517 (1997) |
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