Area: Trinidad 4828 sq km (1883 sq mi); Tobago 300 sq km (117 sq mi)
Population: 1,270,000 (Trinidad 1,220,000; Tobago 51,000)
Capital city: Port of Spain (pop 300,000)
People: African (39%), East Indian (40%), with significant European,
Chinese, Syrian, Lebanese and Carib minorities
Language: English, Hindi, Creole, Spanish and Chinese
Religion: Roman Catholic (30%), Hindu (24%), Anglican (11%), other Protestant
denominations (29%) and Muslim (6%)
Government: Independent republic within the British Commonwealth
GDP: US$9.41 billion
GDP per head: US$8,500
Inflation: 3.5%
Major industries: Petroleum, processed foods, fertilizers, cement, steel,
cotton, electronics, sugar, rice, cocoa, citrus, coffee
Major trading partners: US, Caricom countries, Central and South America,
EU, Japan
Trinidad was sighted in 1498 by Columbus, who christened it La Isla de la Trinidad,
for the Holy Trinity. It took until 1592 for the Spanish to establish their
first settlement, San Josef, just east of the present-day capital of Port of
Spain. Over the next two centuries unsuccessful attempts were made by Spanish
colonizers to establish tobacco and cacao plantations but crop failures and
a lack of support from Spain left the island only lightly settled.
As a result, the British took the islands from the Spanish in 1797. Slavery
was abolished in the1830s prompting the British to import thousands of indentured
workers, mostly from India, to work in the cane fields and service the colony.
The indentured labor system remained in place for over 100 years.
Tobago was also sighted by Columbus and claimed by the Spanish but there were
no attempts to colonize it. During the 17th century, Tobago changed hands numerous
times as the English, French, Dutch and even Courlanders (present-day Latvians!)
wrestled for control. In 1704 it was declared a neutral territory, which left
room for pirates to use the island as a base for raiding ships in the Eastern
Caribbean. The British returned to establish a colonial administration on Tobago
in 1763, and within two decades 10,000 African slaves were imported to establish
the island's sugar, cotton and indigo plantations. In 1889 the British made
Tobago, which previously had its own independent legislature, a ward of neighboring
Trinidad. The depression of the 1930s led to a series of strikes and riots and
the growth of a labor movement on the islands. As a consequence, the British
granted universal suffrage in 1946 and took measures to institute self-government.
Independence eventually came in 1962.
An oil boom in the 1970s brought prosperity to the islands but the East Indian
community became increasingly isolated from political power. In July 1990, members
of a minority Muslim group attempted a coup. They stormed parliament and took
45 hostages, including prime minister ANR Robinson, who was shot in the leg
after refusing to resign. Since then, the oil business has taken a downturn
and the government has implemented austerity programs while boosting its efforts
to promote tourism on the islands.
Trinidad and Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses. Successful economic reforms were implemented in 1995, and foreign investment and trade are flourishing. Persistently high unemployment remains one of the chief challenges of the government. The petrochemical sector has spurred growth in other related sectors, reinforcing the government's commitment to economic diversification. Tourism is growing, especially in the pleasure boat sector. New investment and construction also will continue to drive the economy.
Many consider the Carnival to be Trinidad's highest form of tradition and cultural
expression. It is the most famous in the Caribbean. Integral to the festivities
is the music of the steel drum (pan), which was invented in Trinidad half a
century ago using the hammered-out ends of discarded oil drums.
Calypso, a medium for political and social satire, has roots on Trinidad. It
stems back to the days when slaves sang in patois, mocking their colonial masters.
Today, the music of indentured servants from India has also become an integral
part of Trinidad's musical repertoire.
A number of internationally known writers hail from Trinidad, including VS and
Shiva Naipaul, Samuel Selvon and CLR James. St Lucian native Derek Walcott,
the 1992 Nobel Prize winner for literature, lived in Trinidad for much of his
adult life and is an active advocate for local theater projects.
V.S. Naipaul (1932- )
Naipul, who is of Indian parentage, was born in Trinidad in 1932 and has lived
in England since 1950. He was knighted in 1990 and in 1993 he won the first
David Cohen British Literature Prize for "lifetime achievement by a living
British writer". Naipaul's manuscripts and extensive archives have been
deposited in the University of Tulsa. Sir V.S.Naipaul was awarded the Nobel
Prize for Literature in 2001.
Works:
· The Mystic Masseur, 1957
· The Suffrage of Elvira, 1958
· Miguel Street, 1960
· A House for Mr. Biswas, 1961
· The Middle Passage: Impressions of Five Societies -- British, French
and Dutch in the West Indies and South America (nonfiction), 1963
· In a Free State, 1971
· The Overcrowded Barracoon and Other Articles, 1972
· Guerrillas, 1975
· Finding the Center, 1986
· The Enigma of Arrival, 1987
· A Turn in the South, 1989
· India: A Million Mutinies Now, 1990
· A Way in the World, 1994
· Beyond Belief: Islamic Excursions Among the Converted Peoples, 1998
CLR James
The intellectual legacy of Cyril Lionel Robert James is complex and controversial.
Best known as the author of The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the
San Domingo Revolution, James also made significant contributions in the fields
of sport criticism, Caribbean history, literary criticism, Pan African politics
and Marxist theory.
Works:
World Revolution, 1917-1936 (1937), a polemic against Stalinism written
at the height of his attraction to Trotskyism
Beyond a Boundary (1953), a major study of cricket
Mariners, Renegades and Castaways: Herman Melville and the World We Live
In (1953), a cultural study that anticipates much of postmodern theory
Party Politics in the West Indies (1962), written as his native Trinidad
gained independence
Nkrumah and the Ghana Revolution (1977), an analysis of the triumph and
failure of Africa's independence movement
The best time to visit the country in his full splendor is two days before Ash Wednesday in either February or March, when the famous Carnival takes place.
Visas: Citizens of the USA, Canada, and most European Commonwealth countries do not require visas. Citizens of some countries, including Australia, New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka, require visas. In most countries, visas are obtained through the British Embassy.
Health risks: Dengue fever; a vaccination certificate for yellow fever is required for travelers who have been in any country in the past six months where yellow fever is endemic