History And Geography

History

The Amerindians of South American origin were the first settlers on both the islands of Trinidad and Tobago some seven thousand years ago. Somewhere around 250 BC, the islands became the home of ceramic-using agriculturalists who had moved up the Lesser Antillean chain. By the time the Europeans came to the island, Trinidad was occupied by various local tribes such as the Nepoya, Suppoya and Yao, whereas Tobago was home to the Caribs and Galibi. The island of Trinidad was discovered in 1498 by Christopher Columbus who named it La Trinidad in honor of the divine Trinity. He also sighted the neighboring island and named it Bella Forma, but sailed ahead without landing on the island.

Trinidad was occupied by Spaniards in the early 16th century, but they could not hold on for long due to lack of settlers and eventually left the island in 1534. This paved the way for Roman Catholic Europeans to establish settlements on the island, resulting in considerable immigration from France and elsewhere. During the same time, the smaller island of Tobago changed hands several times between the British, French, Dutch and Courlanders. The British were the first to take complete control of the two islands and formally declared them as the colony of Trinidad and Tobago in 1889. During the 19th and early 20th century, the islands witnessed the arrival of slaves and laborers from different countries such as Africa, China, and India. They never went back and eventually settled on the island. During the same period, many emigrants from Barbados, Syria, Lebanon and Venezuela also arrived and settled on the island.

During World War II, the Americans established military bases in Chaguaramas and Cumuto, changing the geo-political equations of the region. The West Indies Federation was formed in 1958 to fight for the nation's independence and Chaguaramas was proposed as the federal capital of the country. The country severed its links with the British monarchy in 1976 and became a member of the Commonwealth. In 1990, members belonging to the Jamaat al Muslimeen entered the parliament and held the government hostage for six days. The matter was, however, resolved without any causalities and the country has remained peaceful ever since.

Geography

Trinidad is situated 7 miles off the northeast coast of Venezuela and 81 miles south of the Grenadines. It is 50 miles long and 37 miles wide at its maximum breadth and is spread over an area of 3000 square miles. The cigar-shaped island of Tobago is 26 miles long and 8 miles wide, with a total area of 186 square miles. Earlier it was believed that the islands are a part of the Antillean arc, but recent geological surveys have revealed that Trinidad was originally a part of mainland South America and Tobago is part of a sunken mountain chain related to the continent. The islands are separated from the continent by the Gulf of Paria whose northern passage is 12 miles wide and the southern passage is 9 mile wide.

The island of Trinidad is home to three separate mountain ranges that are part of the Venezuelan coastal cordillera. The mountain range on the north side is characterized by rugged hills that run parallel to the coastline. The highest peaks on this range include the El Cerro del Aripo, which is located at an altitude of 3084 feet above sea level and the El Tucuche, which has a height of 3071 feet. The Central Mountain range runs diagonally across the island and the maximum elevation is 1066 feet. Located between the Northern Range and Central Range is the Caroni Plain, which mostly consists of alluvial sediments. The Southern Range is characterized by a broken line of hills and the highest point on the range is located at an altitude of 1000 feet above sea level.

Tobago is rocky and is characterized by the Main Ridge, which is 18 miles long and the maximum elevation is 2100 feet. The northern and southern areas of the Main Ridge are characterized by deep, fertile valleys whereas the southwestern area has a coral platform. Forests constitute 43% of the available landmass and the coastline is indented with several bays, beaches, and narrow coastal plains.