Trinidad and Tobago

For other uses of the word Trinidad, see Trinidad (disambiguation)

Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Together we aspire, together we achieve"
Anthem: Forged From The Love of Liberty
Capital	Port of Spain 10°40′N 61°31′W
Official languages	English
Government	Republic
- President	George Maxwell Richards
- Prime Minister	Patrick Manning
Independence
- from the United Kingdom	31 August 1962
Area
- Total	5,128 km² (172nd) 1,979 sq mi
- Water (%)	negligible
Population
- July 2005 estimate	1,305,000
- Density	207.8/km² 538.6/sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
- Total	$18.352 billion
- Per capita	$19,700
HDI  (2004)	0.809 (high)
Currency	Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TTD)
Internet TLD	.tt
Calling code	+1-868

The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (IPA: [ˈtrɪnɪdad ɒnd təˈbego]) is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the South American nation of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It also shares maritime boundaries with Barbados to the northeast and Guyana to the southeast. The country covers an area of 5,128 square kilometres (1,979 sq mi) and consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and 21 smaller islands. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands; Tobago is much smaller, comprising about 6% of the total area and 4% of the population. The nation lies outside the hurricane belt.

Originally settled by Amerindians of South American origin at least 7,000 years ago, Trinidad and Tobago was occupied by Arawakan- and Cariban-speaking peoples at the time of European contact in 1498. A history of slavery and indentureship has left the country with a mixture of African, Indian, European, Middle Eastern and Chinese people. All these groups have left an imprint on the national culture, and there is an increasingly high percentage of mixed-race people. Trinidad and Tobago became an independent nation (from the United Kingdom) in 1962 and a republic in 1976.

Officially Trinidadians or Tobagonians, the people from Trinidad and Tobago are often informally referred to as Trinbagonians or Trinis. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago is a primarily industrialised country whose economy is based on petroleum and petrochemicals. 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, 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).

Geography

Map of Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic republic consisting of 23 islands in the southern Caribbean between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela. They are southeasterly islands of the Lesser Antilles, located close to the South American mainland.

Covering an area of 5,128 square kilometres (1,979 square miles), the country consists of the two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and 21 smaller islands – including Chacachacare, Monos, Huevos, Gaspar Grande (or Gasparee), Little Tobago, and St. Giles Island. Trinidad is 11 km (7 mi) off the northeast coast of Venezuela and 130 km south of the Grenadines. The island measures 4,768 km² (1,841 sq mi) in area (comprising 93.0% of the country's total area) with an average length of 80 km (50 mi) and an average width of 59 km (37 mi). The island appears rectangular in shape with three projecting peninsular corners. Tobago is 30 km northeast of Trinidad and measures about 298 km² (115 sq mi) in area, or 5.8% of the country's area, 41 km (25.5 mi) in length and 12 km (7.5 mi) at its greatest width. The island is cigar-shaped in appearance, with a northeast-southwest alignment.

Geologically, the islands are not part of the Antillean arc. Rather, Trinidad was once part of the South American mainland and is situated on its continental shelf, and Tobago is part of a sunken mountain chain related to the continent. The islands are now separated from the continent of South America by the Gulf of Paria; Dragon's Mouth, a 19-kilometer-wide northern passage; and Serpent's Mouth, a 14-kilometer-wide southern passage.

Trinidad is traversed by three distinct mountain ranges that are a continuation of the Venezuelan coastal cordillera. The Northern Range, an outlier of the Andes Mountains of Venezuela, consists of rugged hills that parallel the coast. This range rises into two peaks. The highest, El Cerro del Aripo, is 940 meters high; the other, El Tucuche, reaches 936 meters. The Central Range extends diagonally across the island and is a low-lying range with swampy areas rising to rolling hills; its maximum elevation is 325 meters. The Caroni Plain, composed of alluvial sediment, extends southward, separating the Northern Range and Central Range. The Southern Range consists of a broken line of hills with a maximum elevation of 305 meters.

There are numerous rivers and streams on the island of Trinidad; the most significant are the Ortoire River, 50 kilometers long, which extends eastward into the Atlantic, and the 40 kilometer-long Caroni River, reaching westward into the Gulf of Paria. Most of the soils of Trinidad are fertile, with the exception of the sandy and unstable terrain found in the southern part of the island.

Tobago is mountainous and dominated by the Main Ridge, which is 29 kilometers long with elevations up to 640 meters. There are deep, fertile valleys running north and south of the Main Ridge. The southwestern tip of the island has a coral platform. Although Tobago is volcanic in origin, there are no active volcanoes. Forestation covers 43 % of the island. There are numerous rivers and streams, but flooding and erosion are less severe than in Trinidad. The coastline is indented with numerous bays, beaches, and narrow coastal plains.

Tobago has several small satellite islands. The largest of these, Little Tobago, is starfish shaped, hilly, and consists of 1.2 km² of impenetrable vegetation.

Trinidad and Tobago, well within the tropics, both enjoy a generally pleasant maritime tropical climate influenced by the northeast trade winds. In Trinidad the annual mean temperature is 26 °C, and the average maximum temperature is 33 °C. The humidity is high, particularly during the rainy season, when it averages 85 to 87 %. The island receives an average of 211 centimeters of rainfall per year, usually concentrated in the months of June through December, when brief, intense showers frequently occur. Precipitation is highest in the Northern Range, which may receive as much as 381 centimeters. During the dry season, drought plagues the island's central interior. Tobago's climate is similar to Trinidad's but slightly cooler. Its rainy season extends from June to December; the annual rainfall is 250 centimeters. The islands lie outside the hurricane belt; despite this, Hurricane Flora damaged Tobago in 1963, and Tropical Storm Alma hit Trinidad in 1974, causing damage before obtaining full strength.

Because it was once part of South America, Trinidad has an assortment of tropical vegetation and wildlife considerably more varied than that of most West Indian islands. Tobago has a generally similar but less varied assortment.

History

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 B.C.E. and then moved further 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, although the correct pronunciation is "tah-BAY-go".

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 from modern-day Latvia. Britain consolidated its hold on both islands during the Napoleonic Wars, and they were combined into the colony of Trinidad and Tobago in 1899. As a result of these colonial struggles, Amerindian, Spanish, French and English place names are all common in the country. African slaves and Chinese, Indian, and free African indentured labourers, as well as Portuguese from Madeira, arrived to supply labour in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Emigration from Barbados and the other Lesser Antilles, Venezuela, 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 the society. In the post-war period, the wave of decolonization 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, though it retained the British Privy Council as its final Court of Appeal.

In 1990, 114 members of the Jamaat al Muslimeen, led by Yasin Abu Bakr, formerly known as Lennox Phillip, stormed the Red House (the seat of Parliament), and Trinidad and Tobago Television, the only television station in the country at the time, and held the country's government hostage for six days before surrendering (see Jamaat al Muslimeen coup attempt).

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. Recently, economic turmoil has caused an increase in violence and political instability.

Politics

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). Support for these parties appears to fall along ethnic lines with the PNM consistently obtaining a majority Afro-Trinbagonian vote, and the UNC gaining a majority of Indo-Trinbagonian support.

Trinidad and Tobago is a leading 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 (CCJ), which was inaugurated on 16th April 2005. The CCJ is intended to replace the British Privy Council as the final Appellate Court for the member states of the CARICOM. Since its inauguration, only two states, Barbados and Guyana, have acceded to the appellate jurisdiction of the CCJ.

Economy

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 four major banks are Republic Bank Limited, Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago Limited, Scotiabank Trinidad & Tobago Limited and First Citizens Bank. The 2002 to 2006 period has been marked with striking economic trends, high inflation fueled by massive government spending on construction programs and massive growth due to high oil prices. The total GDP has doubled during this period and now stands near 90 billion US dollars. It is feared that high inflation and a bubble economy created by high oil prices may lead to a crash if the bubble were to burst due to a fall in oil prices or a natural disaster.

Agricutural products include sugar cane, citrus, cocoa, and other products. Sugar cane was and continues to be a prominent crop of Trinidad.

Trinidad and Tobago does not import or export any electricity. Confrences are being held by the government to find alternaive energy sources, with a heavy focus on renewable energy.

Tobago's economy is based on tourism. There has been a push by the government to bring more tourists to Tobago, as well as to Trinidad.

After the coup attempt on the Trinidad and Tobago government, the economy has sufferd. It experenced 9 years of decline, but it is now getting back on is feet. The exchange rate average so far from 2007 is 1USD=6.30TTD. In 1995, the exchange rate was 1USD=5.89TTD.

Demographics

Of the country's 1.3 million inhabitants (as of 2005), most (96%) reside on the island of Trinidad with most of the remainder (4%) in Tobago. 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, or German settlers. The mixed-race Cocoa Payols are descendant of the original Spanish settlers and later immigrants from Venezuela. Today, the Trinidadian Portuguese population includes both whites and mixed people. The small Amerindian population is largely mixed-race. The Carib population, which is descendant of the indigenous inhabitants, is primarily 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, Canada and Britain. 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 2007, Trinidad and Tobago has the second lowest population growth rate in the world (-0.87%).

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 Creole, as virtually everyone speaks English. 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 inhabitants spoke Spanish. In 2004 the government initiated the Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative [1], with a public launch in March 2005. Government regulations now require Spanish to be taught to all beginning at the primary school level, 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.

Culture

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. A man called Hasely Crawford was the first man from Trinidad and Tobago to win the Olympic Gold Medal in the men's 100m dash.

Religion

Many different religions are present in Trinidad and Tobago. The largest two are the Roman Catholics (26%) and Hindus (22%); the Anglicans (8%), Muslims (6%), Seventh-day Adventists (4%), Presbyterians and Methodists are among the smaller faiths. Two African 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 evangelical and fundamentalist churches usually lumped as "Pentecostal" by most Trinidadians (although this designation is often inaccurate).

Sports

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 qualified 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. Because Scotland did not qualify for the 2006 world cup, the Tartan Army supported Trinidad and Tobago and made their own song (primarily about player Jason Scotland) because they played England, Scotland's arch rival. They were eliminated after losing 2-0 to Paraguay in the last game of the Group Stage. Trinidad and Tobago was host to 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship.

Horse Racing: Trinidad has Santa Rosa Park, a horse racing track. There is also goat racing and crab racing in Tobago.

Olympic Games:

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. Nine different athletes from Trinidad and Tobago have won twelve medals at the Olympics, beginning with a silver medal in weightlifting, won by Rodney Wilkes in 1948 [2], and most recently a bronze medal with by George Bovell III [3] in 2004. Ato Boldon has won the most medals for Trinidad and Tobago with 4.

The card-game All-Fours is sometimes described as the "Unofficial national sport"^{[citation needed]}.

Sailing: As Trinidad and Tobago is just south of the hurricane belt it is very popular with international cruising yachtsmen, especially from August to October. Consequently there have been a number of repair centres and other facilities developed, the majority of these are situated in Chaguaramas. This international community is also part of the tourism industry along with eco tours and carnival. Dragon boat racing recently started in 2006 has become quite vibrant with competitions to be held throughout the year.

Human rights

The Cat o' nine tails is no longer used to flog prisoners - before, occasionally even women and boys under 16^{[citation needed]} - apparently in breach of the provisions of the "Corporal Punishment (Offenders over Sixteen) Act" of 1953. On 11 March, 2005 the Government of Trinidad & Tobago was ordered by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to pay US$ 50,000 for "moral damages" to a prisoner who had received 15 strokes of the "Cat" plus expenses for his medical and psychological care (http://www.worldlii.org/int/cases/IACHR/2005/4.html). {{Caesar vs. Trinidad and Tobago - Series C No. 123 [2005] IACHR 4 (11 March 2005) }} It is unclear whether the Court's decisions were met. Prisoners sentenced to death for capital crimnes used to be hanged, but recent attempts to execute persons sentenced to death have been blocked by the Privy Council, with sentences being commuted to life imprisonment.

Homosexual acts are illegal in Trinidad and Tobago (see Gay rights in Trinidad and Tobago) and under Article 8 (18/1) of the Immigration Act, homosexuals are not allowed to enter the country. However, homosexuals have not been actively targeted under current law and Trinidadian society is considered to be tolerant towards homosexuality.

See also

Template:Trinidad and Tobago topics

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• 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.
• Article and downloadable pdf file on corporal punishment in Trinidad and Tobago by Harvard Law School
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights orders Trinidad to pay compensation for flogging and humiliation of prisoners in March 2005
• Amnesty International report recording use of Cat o' nine tails on woman and young boy in Trinidad
• Inter-American Court of Human Rights' decisions and documents
• ILGA

External links

• Official Government Website
• Central Statistical Office, Government of Trinidad and Tobago
• National emblems of Trinidad and Tobago
• The Trinidad and Tobago Webdirectory
• Trinidad and Tobago Online Community
• Official Tourism Website
• Official Tourism Website - Maps of Trinidad and Tobago
• Select National Bibliography
• Official Site of the Soca Warriors football team
• Football - Soca Warriors Online

see also:

• BBC Country Profiles: Trinidad and Tobago
• CIA World Factbook: Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic locale

Countries and territories of the Caribbean Sovereign states Commonwealth Realms Antigua and Barbuda · Bahamas · Barbados · Grenada · Jamaica · St. Kitts and Nevis · St. Lucia · St. Vincent and the Grenadines Commonwealth republics Dominica · Trinidad and Tobago Other republics Cuba · Dominican Republic · Haiti Dependencies and other territories British Anguilla · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Montserrat · Turks and Caicos Islands Dutch Aruba · Netherlands Antilles French Guadeloupe · Martinique · Saint-Barthélemy · St. Martin American Navassa Island · Puerto Rico · U.S. Virgin Islands

International membership

Template:Commonwealth of Nations Template:OAS

Credits

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