- Flag of Trinidad and Tobago
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago consists of the southernmost islands in the Caribbean Sea. Lying just off the northern coast of South America, the islands are linked by geography to the continent. The culture of the islands, however, is closer to that of other Caribbean countries. The capital is Port of Spain. GeographyThe islands of Trinidad and Tobago together cover an area of 1,980 square miles (5,128 square kilometers). Trinidad, the larger island, accounts for most of the total. The Gulf of Paria and two narrow channels separate Trinidad from the northeastern coast of Venezuela. Tobago lies about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Trinidad. Three low mountain ranges cross Trinidad from west to east. They are known as the Northern Range, the Central Range, and the Southern Range. The heavily forested Northern Range is a continuation of the Andes Mountains in Venezuela. The highest of the three mountain belts, the Northern Range rises to 3,085 feet (940 meters) at Mount Aripo. The land between the mountain ranges is mostly flat or rolling plains. Trinidad has many short rivers, the longest being the Ortoire in the south and the Caroni in the north. Low-lying parts of the eastern and western coasts are swampy. Tobago is mostly mountainous. Its dominant physical feature, the Main Ridge, is an extension of Trinidad's Northern Range. Tobago has only a few short streams. Lying close to the equator, Trinidad and Tobago has a tropical climate. Temperatures are warm and humidity is high throughout the year. Rainfall is generally plentiful, but a dry season lasts from January to May. Plants and animalsOn both islands, the highest areas have the richest tropical rain forest vegetation. Flowering trees and plants brighten the hills during the dry season. Unique native animals include the golden tree frog, the nearly extinct bush turkey called pawi, and sightless fish. The forests are home to small animals such as porcupines, armadillos, wild pigs, and rodents called the paca and the agouti. Many tropical birds migrate across the islands. The Caroni Swamp on the western coast of Trinidad is famous for its population of scarlet ibis, the country's national bird. The nearby island called Little Tobago is a refuge for birds of paradise. People and cultureThe largest ethnic groups of Trinidad and Tobago are blacks and East Indians. The blacks are mostly descendants of Africans brought to the islands as slaves by Europeans during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. The East Indians are descended from people who came to the islands as servants after the African slave trade was outlawed in the 19th century. Each of these groups makes up about two fifths of the population. Most of the rest of the people are of mixed race, though small groups of Chinese and Europeans also live on the islands. English is the official and most commonly spoken language. More than half of the population is Christian, but many of the East Indians are Hindu or Muslim. The people of Trinidad and Tobago live mostly in urban areas. The largest cities and towns are in the western part of Trinidad. Port of Spain, the capital, lies on the northwest coast. Other major cities in Trinidad include Chaguanas, San Fernando, Arima, and Point Fortin. Scarborough, the chief town in Tobago, is an administrative center and market town. The ethnic mix in the population of the islands has created a cultural blend as well. Christian, African, and Hindu traditions and festivals are celebrated throughout the year. The annual Carnival celebration in Trinidad is one of the liveliest festivals in the Caribbean. The country is also famous for steel drum bands, calypso music, and the dance called the limbo. Several Trinidadian writers are read throughout the world. The Trinidad-born novelist and short-story writer V.S. Naipaul won the Nobel prize for literature in 2001. EconomyThe economy of Trinidad and Tobago is based largely on the production of oil and natural gas. Trinidad has the largest oil reserves in the Caribbean, and oil is the country's leading export. As oil prices dropped in the late 20th century, however, the government began efforts to make the economy less dependent on oil. Manufacturing and tourism have since become more important to the islands. The most important manufacturing industries include sugar refining and the production of chemicals and fertilizers, steel goods, and cement. Tourism is a rapidly growing industry based particularly on Tobago and on northwestern Trinidad. Agriculture is a fairly small part of the economy. The leading crops grown for export are sugarcane, coffee, and cocoa, which is used to make chocolate. Coconuts, citrus fruits, rice, and vegetables are also raised. Poultry are kept for meat and eggs. HistoryArawak Indians lived on the island now called Trinidad when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1498. Columbus named the island and claimed it for Spain. Few Spanish settlers came to Trinidad, however. The ones who did grew tobacco and cocoa, but production levels were low. The Spanish also used the island as a source of slaves. They forced some of the Indians to work on the island and sent many others to other lands held by Spain. Eventually almost all of the Indians died from overwork and disease. Trinidad remained mostly undeveloped until the late 18th century. At that time the Spanish government encouraged Roman Catholics from other Caribbean islands to settle in Trinidad. Most of the settlers were French, and French influence became dominant. Many slaves were brought in from the other colonies and from Africa. The economy of the island expanded as large farms called plantations began to produce cotton and sugar. British ruleThe British also became a presence in Trinidad and Tobago during the 18th century. They first attempted to settle the island of Tobago in the 1720s. Although Tobago had been spotted by Columbus in 1498, it had remained virtually untouched by European settlement. In the 18th and early 19th centuries the island changed hands between Britain and France several times. The British finally took firm control of Tobago in 1814. Meanwhile, they had seized Trinidad from the Spanish in 1797. A treaty signed in 1802 officially established British control over the island. The British ended slavery in their empire during the 1830s. To replace the African slaves, the British began bringing in servants from India during the 1840s. Sugar production expanded quickly in Trinidad in the second half of the 19th century, but it declined in Tobago. Largely because of the collapse of Tobago's sugar economy, Britain combined Trinidad and Tobago into a single colony in 1889. IndependenceIn the 20th century the people of the islands protested against British rule. In response, the British government began in the 1920s to give the islands some power to govern themselves. In 1962 Trinidad and Tobago became an independent nation. In the early 1990s conflicts among the government's political parties and social unrest led to economic problems. The economy improved after the discovery of huge oil and gas deposits off the coast of Trinidad in 1998. Income from oil exports helped the country maintain one of the most successful economies in the Caribbean region. Population (2001 estimate), 1,298,000. |