Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago (trĭn`ĭdăd, təbā`gō), officially Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, republic (2005 est. pop. 1,088,000), 1,980 sq mi (5,129 sq km), West Indies. The capital is Port of Spain.

Land and People

The country consists of two islands: Trinidad (1,864 sq mi/4,828 sq km) and Tobago (116 sq mi/300 sq km). Lying just north of the Orinoco River delta in Venezuela, Trinidad is largely flat or undulating except for a range of low mountains (the highest point is Mt. Aripo, 3,085 ft/940 m) in the north. Pitch Lake, in the southwest, is the world's largest (114 acres/46 hectares) basin of natural asphalt. Tobago, just NE of Trinidad, is the exposed top of a mountain ridge (maximum height 2,000 ft/610 m) that is densely forested with large reserves of hardwoods. The climate of both islands is warm and humid, and rainfall (from June to Dec.) is abundant, particularly where the trade winds sweep in over the eastern coasts. The population is about evenly divided between those of African and Asian Indian descent. English is the official language, but a French patois is widely spoken. The main religions are Roman Catholicism, Hinduism, and Anglicanism.

Economy

The most important exports are petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, and chemical products. Trinidad possesses sizable oil and gas reserves, and its prosperity is linked directly to the production of petroleum and petrochemicals. A peaking of petroleum production in the late 1970s and the decline in worldwide petroleum prices in the 1980s caused economic problems, but increased exploitation of the country's natural gas reserves since the 1990s has caused an economic boom. The islands also have a growing tourist industry. Agriculture employs a smaller proportion of the population than industry and services; agricultural products include cocoa, rice, coffee, citrus fruit, and flowers.

History

Trinidad was visited by Christopher Columbus in 1498 but was not colonized because of the lack of precious metals. It was raided by the Dutch (1640) and the French (1677, 1690) and by British sailors. Britain captured it in 1797 and received formal title in 1802. Tobago had been settled by the English in 1616, but the settlers were driven out by the indigenous Caribs. The island was held by the Dutch and the French before being acquired by the British in 1803. The islands were joined politically in 1888.

Before becoming an independent nation in 1962, the islands were part of the short-lived West Indies Federation (1958–62). In 1976 Trinidad and Tobago became a republic. In 1986 the People's National Movement (PNM), which had held power for three decades, was soundly defeated by the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR); party leader A. N. R. Robinson became prime minister. He survived a 1990 coup attempt by Muslim extremists, but discontent with Robinson's economic austerity program helped return the PNM to power in 1991, under Prime Minister Patrick Manning. After the 1995 elections, Basdeo Panday, of the United National Congress (UNC), formed a coalition with the NAR and became Trinidad's first prime minister of Asian Indian descent. He and the UNC were returned to power in the 2000 elections, but corruption charges and a party split led to elections in Dec., 2001. When the UNC and PNM each won half the seats in the parliament, the president appointed Patrick Manning as prime minister, but the split control of parliament resulted in a deadlock that prevented that body from convening. New elections in Oct., 2002, however, resulted in a majority for the PNM.

In May, 2005, opposition leader Panday and his wife were arrested on corruption charges in connection with an airport development project; UNC officials denounced the charges as politically motivated. Panday was convicted in Apr., 2006, of failing to disclose a British bank account he held with his wife. The judge in the case subsequently accused the chief justice of attempting to influence his decision, but the charges against the chief justice were dropped (2007) when the judge refused to testify; impeachment proceedings were also brought against the chief justice. Panday's conviction was overturned (2007) on appeal on the grounds that the judge's actions were indicative of bias.

Bibliography

See G. Carmichael, The History of the West Indian Islands of Trinidad and Tobago, 1498–1900 (1961); J. K. Black et al., Area Handbook for Trinidad and Tobago (1976); S. B. MacDonald, Trinidad and Tobago: Democracy and Development in the Caribbean (1986).

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Trinidad and Tobago

 officially Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

Island country, West Indies. The islands of Trinidad and Tobago—the two southernmost links in the Antilles island chain—lie northeast of Venezuela and northwest of Guyana. Area: 1,980 sq mi (5,128 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 1,298,000. Capital: Port of Spain. The people are mainly of South Asian or African ancestry. Language: English (official). Religions: Christianity (Protestant, Roman Catholic), Hinduism, Islam. Currency: Trinidad and Tobago dollar. The islands are mostly flat or rolling, with narrow belts of mountainous highlands and luxuriant rain forests. The Caroni Swamp, an important bird sanctuary on Trinidad, supports flamingo, egret, and scarlet ibis populations. The country has large reserves of petroleum and natural gas, as well as one of the world's largest supplies of natural asphalt. Other industries include agriculture, fishing, and tourism. Chief crops include sugarcane, citrus fruits, cocoa, and coffee. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. When Christopher Columbus visited Trinidad in 1498, it was inhabited mostly by Arawak Indians, though there were probably some Carib speakers as well; Caribs inhabited Tobago. The islands were settled by the Spanish in the 16th century. In the 17th–18th centuries African slaves were imported for plantation labour to replace the original Indian population, which had been decimated by the impact of slavery and diseases introduced by the Europeans. Trinidad was surrendered to the British in 1797. The British attempted to settle Tobago in 1721, but the French captured the island in 1781 and transformed it into a sugar-producing colony. The British acquired it in 1802. After slavery ended in the islands (1834–38), immigrants from India were brought in to work the plantations. Trinidad and Tobago were administratively combined in 1889. Granted limited self-government in 1925, the islands became an independent state within the Commonwealth in 1962 and a republic in 1976. There occurred some political unrest and in 1990 a failed Muslim-fundamentalist coup against the government.