Trinidad and Tobago
The
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is a country in the southern
Caribbean Sea, situated 11
kilometres (7
mi) off the coast of
Venezuela. It lies between 10° 2' and 11°12'N. Lat., and 60°30' and 61°56' W Long.
The average length of Trinidad is 80 kilometres (50 mi) and its average width is 59 kilometres (37 mi). Tobago is 41 kilometres (25½ mi) long and 12 kilometres (7½ mi) at its greatest width.
The country is an
archipelagic state[Archipelagic Waters and Exclusive Economic Zone Act No 24 of 1986] consisting of two main islands,
Trinidad and
Tobago, and
21 smaller islands with a total area of 5,128 square kilometres (1,979
sq mi). The estimated population for July, 2006 is 1,065,842.
The larger and more populated island is Trinidad, while Tobago is smaller (303 km² or 116 sq mi; about 6% of the total area) and less populous (50,000 people; or 5% of the total population). Citizens are officially called
Trinidadians or
Tobagonians or
Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, but Trinidadians are informally referred to as
Trinis and both Trinidadians and Tobagonians are called
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
African and
Indian descent make up almost 80% of the population, while the remainder are mostly
mixed race with small Euro-Trinidadian/
European, Sino-Trinidadian/
Chinese and Arab-Trinidadian/
Syrian-
Lebanese minorities. Trinidad and Tobago is famous for its pre-
Lenten Carnival and as the birthplace of
steelpan,
calypso and
limbo.
The capital city
Port-of-Spain, with population in the metro area of about 350,000 residents, is currently a leading candidate, along with
Miami, to serve as the headquarters of the Permanent Secretariat of the
Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA-ALCA).
Both Trinidad and Tobago were originally settled by
Amerindians of
South American origin. Trinidad was first settled by pre-agricultural Archaic people at least 7,000 years ago, 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 Amerindian 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 in Trinidad, but due to a lack of settlers, eventually allowed any
Roman Catholic European to settle on the island, leading to substantial immigration from France and elsewhere. Meanwhile, 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, French and English
place names are all common in the country.
African slaves and
Chinese,
Portuguese,
Indian, and free African
indentured labourers arrived to supply labour in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Emigration 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.
In 1990, 114 men of the
Jamaat al Muslimeen, led by
Yasin Abu Bakr (formerly known as Lennox Phillip), stormed the Trinidad & Tobago Parliament at the
Red House, and the only TV Station in the country at the time, and held the country's government hostage for six days. The matter was resolved, and the country has been largely at peace since.
Petroleum, petrochemicals and
natural gas continue to be the backbone of the economy. Tourism is the mainstay of the economy of Tobago, and the island remains a favorite destination for many European tourists. 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.
Trinidad and Tobago is a
liberal democracy with a
two-party system and a
bicameral parliamentary system based on the
Westminster System. The
Head of State of Trinidad and Tobago is the
President, currently
Professor Emeritus George Maxwell Richards. The
Head of Government is the
Prime Minister. The President is elected by an
Electoral College consisting of the full membership of both houses of
Parliament. The
Prime Minister is appointed by the
President. The President is required to appoint the leader of the party who in his opinion has the most support of the members of the House of Representatives to this post; this has generally been the leader of the party which won the most seats in the previous election (except in the case of the
2001 General Elections).
The
Parliament consists of two chambers, the
Senate (31 seats) and the
House of Representatives (36 seats, will increase to 41 seats after the next election). The members of the Senate are appointed by the president. Sixteen Government Senators are appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, six Opposition Senators are appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and nine Independent Senators are appointed by the President to represent other sectors of civil society. The 36 members of the House of Representatives are elected by the people for a maximum term of five years.
Since
December 24 2001, the governing party has been the
People's National Movement led by
Patrick Manning; the
Opposition party is the
United National Congress led by
Kamla Persad-Bissessar (
Leader of the Opposition) and
Winston Dookeran (UNC political leader).
Trinidad and Tobago is an active member of the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the
CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). It is also the Seat of the Caribbean Court of Justice, which was inaugurated on 16th April 2005.
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Map of Trinidad and Tobago - Click to enlarge |
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 metres (3,085
ft) 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.Trinidad and Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. A leading performer the past four years has been the booming
natural gas sector.
Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from low
inflation and a trade surplus. The year 2002 was marked by solid growth in the
oil sector, offset in part by domestic political uncertainty.
The ethnic composition of Trinidad and Tobago reflects a history of conquest and immigration. Two major ethnic groups -
Indo-Trinidadians and
Afro-Trinidadians - account for almost 80% of the population, while people of
Mixed-race, Euro-Trinidadian/
European, Sino-Trinidadian/
Chinese and Arab-Trinidadian/
Syrian-
Lebanese descent make up most of the rest of the population. According to the
1990 census, Indo-Trinidadians make up 40.3% of the population, Afro-Trinidadians 39.5%, Mixed-race people 18.4%, Euro-Trinidadian 0.6% and Chinese, Syrians and others 1.2%. Euro-Trinidadians, especially those descendant of the former
plantocracy, are often referred to as
French Creoles, even if they are descended from Spanish, British, Portuguese [
1] or German settlers. The mixed-race
Cocoa Payols are descendant of the original
Spanish settlers and immigrants from
Venezuela. The Trini
Portuguese population includes both whites and mixed people. The small Amerindian population is largely mixed-race - the small
Carib population, descendant of the indigenous inhabitants, are organised around the
Santa Rosa Carib Community.
Emigration from Trinidad and Tobago, as with other Caribbean nations, has historically been high; most emigrants go to the
United States, with
Canada and
Britain receiving most of the rest. Emigration has continued, albeit at a lower rate, even as the birth rate sharply dropped to levels typical of industrialised countries. Largely because of this phenomenon, as of 2006, Trinidad and Tobago has the lowest population growth rate in the Americas (-0.87%).
Many different religions are present in Trinidad and Tobago. The largest two are the
Roman Catholics and
Hindus; the
Anglicans,
Muslims,
Presbyterians,
Methodist are among the smaller faiths. Two
Afro-Caribbean syncretic faiths, the
Shouter or
Spiritual Baptists and the
Orisha faith (formerly called
Shangos, a less than complimentary term) are among the fastest growing religious groups, as are a host of American-style
evangelical and
fundamentalist churches usually lumped as "
Pentecostal" by most Trinidadians (although this designation is often inaccurate). The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has also expanded its presence in the country since the mid-
1980s.
English is the country's only official language, but
Bhojpuri, locally known as
Hindi, is also spoken by a few Indo-Trinidadians and widely used in popular music such as chutney and chutney soca. The main spoken language, Trinidadian English is either classified as a
dialect or variety of English or as an
English Creole (
Trinidadian Creole English). The major spoken language in Tobago is
Tobagonian Creole English. Both languages contain elements from a number and variety of African languages; Trinidadian English, however, is also largely influenced by French and French Creole and by Bhojpuri/Hindi. The creole languages and other vernaculars are normally spoken in informal situations, and there is not yet a formalized system of writing (other than as in standard English). Short-term visitors need not be concerned about learning Dialect/Creole, as virtually everyone speaks English. However, visitors should expect to hear Dialect/Creole spoken frequently when they are not being directly addressed. Although Patois (a variety of
French Creole) was once the most widely spoken language on the island (and also on the Venezuelan Paria coast), it is now rarely heard.
Due to Trinidad's location on the coast of
South America, the country has been slowly redeveloping a connection with the
Spanish-speaking peoples, but has been impeded by the fact that in 2004, only 1,500 of Trinidad's 1.3 million inhabitants spoke Spanish. In 2004 the government initiated the
Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative [
2], with a public launch in March 2005. Government regulations now require Spanish to be taught to all high school students, while thirty percent of public employees are to be linguistically competent within five years. Venezuelans often come to Trinidad and Tobago to learn English, and many English schools have expanded to feature both English and Spanish.
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The Chaconia (Warszewiczia coccinea) flower is the national flower 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
Nobel Prize-winning authors,
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.
Cricket: Trinidad and Tobago plays both
one day international and
Test cricket as a member of the
West Indies team. The
national team plays at the
first-class level in regional competitions. Double world record holder for the most runs scored in a Test and First class innings
Brian Lara is from Trinidad and Tobago.
Football: The national football team qualifed for the
2006 FIFA World Cup by beating
Bahrain in
Manama on
16 November 2005, making them the smallest country ever (in terms of population) to qualify. This was their first successful qualification and brought their ranking to 51st in the World. The team, coached by
Dutchman Leo Beenhakker, drew their first group game - against Sweden in Dortmund - 0-0. But lost the second game to England on late goals 0-2. Due to a player with the same surname, Scotland (who did not qualify for the 2006 world cup) fans (the
Tartan Army) are supporting Trinidad and Tobago and have even made their own song (mostly about the player
Jason Scotland) due to the fact that they play Scotland's arch rival team, England. Paraguay sent them home by winning 2-0 in the last game of the Group Stage. Trinidad & Tobago also hosted the
2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship.
Olympics: Hasely Crawford won the first and only
Olympic gold medal for Trinidad and Tobago in the men's 100
m dash in the
1976 Summer Olympics. Twelve athletes from Trinidad and Tobago have won medals at the Olympics, beginning with a
silver medal in
weightlifting, won by
Rodney Wilkes in 1948 [
3], and most recently a bronze medal with by George Bovell III [
4].
Ato Boldon has won the most medals for Trinidad and Tobago with 4.
''See also
Trinidad and Tobago at the OlympicsThe card-game
All-Fours is sometimes described as the "Unofficial national sport".
The following holidays are observed in Trinidad and Tobago.
*
Trinidad and Tobago Television*Besson, Gérard & Brereton, Bridget. 1992.
The Book of Trinidad. 2nd ed. Port of Spain: Paria Publishing Co. Ltd. ISBN 976-8054-36-0.
*Mendes, John. 1986.
Cote ce Cote la: Trinidad & Tobago Dictionary. Arima, Trinidad.
*Saith, Radhica and Lyndersay, Mark. 1993.
Why Not a Woman? Port of Spain: Paria Publishing Co. Ltd. ISBN 976-8054-42-5.
*
The Trinidad and Tobago Webdirectory*
Trinidad and Tobago Online Community*
Official Government Website*
Official Tourism Website*
Official Site of the Soca Warriors football team*
Select Bibliography*
National emblems of Trinidad and Tobago*
Central Statistical Office, Government of Trinidad and Tobago*[https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/td.html CIA World Factbook : Trinidad and Tobago]
*
Map of Trinidad*
Map of Tobago*
Football - Soca Warriors Online
