TRINDEPEDANCE

this page is celebrating trinidad and tobago's Independance!

leaders

food

national flag etc.

plants

maps

history

The history of Trinidad begins with the settlements of the islands by Amerindians. Both islands were explored by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage in 1498. Tobago changed hands between theBritish, French, Dutch, African, Indian, Chinese and Courlanders, but eventually ended up in British hands. Trinidad remained in Spanish hands until 1797, but it was largely settled by French colonists. In 1888 the two islands were incorporated into a single crown colony. Trinidad and Tobago obtained its independence from the British Empire in 1962 and became a republic in 1976.Human settlement in Trinidad dates back at least 7,000 years. The earliest settlers, termed Archaic orOrtoiroid, are believed to have settled Trinidad and Tobago from northeastern South America around 4000 BC. Twenty-nine Archaic sites have been identified, mostly in south Trinidad and Tobago; this includes the 7,000-year-old Banwari Trace site which is the oldest discovered human settlement in the eastern Caribbean. Archaic populations were pre-ceramic, and dominated the area until about 200 BC.^[1]

Around 250 BC the first ceramic-using people in the Caribbean, the Saladoid people, entered Trinidad and Tobago. Earliest evidence of these people come from around 2100 BC along the banks of the Orinoco River in Venezuela. From Trinidad and Tobago, they are believed to have moved north into the remaining islands of the Caribbean. Thirty-seven Saladoid sites have been identified in Trinidad and Tobago, and are located all over the island.^[1]

After 250 AD a third group, called the Barrancoid people settled in southern Trinidad and Tobago after migrating up the Orinoco River toward the sea. The oldest Barrancoid settlement appears to have been at Erin, on the south coast.^[1]

Following the collapse of Barrancoid communities along the Orinoco around 650 AD, a new group, called the Arauquinoid expanded up the river to the coast. The cultural artifacts of this group were only partly adopted in Trinidad and Tobago and adjacent areas of northeast Venezuela, and as a result this culture is called Guayabitoid in these areas.^[1]

Around 1300 AD a new group appears to have settled in Trinidad and Tobago and introduced new cultural attributes which largely replaced the Guayabitoid culture. Termed the Mayoid cultural tradition, this represents the native tribes which were present in Trinidad and Tobago at the time of European arrival. Their distinct pottery and artifacts survive until 1800, but after this time they were largely assimilated into mainstream Trinidad and Tobago society. These included the Nepoya and Suppoya (who were probably Arawak-speaking) and the Yao (who were probably Carib-speaking). They have generally been called Arawaks and Caribs. These were largely wiped out by the Spanish colonisers under the encomienda system. Under this system which was basically a form of slavery, Spanish encomederos forced the Amerindians to work for them in exchange for Spanish "protection" and conversion to Christianity. The survivors were first organised into Missions by theCapuchin friars, and then gradually assimilated.^[1] The oldest organised indigenous group in Trinidad and Tobago is the Santa Rosa Carib Community centred in the town of Arima, although several new groups have developed in recent years.

HOW TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO BECAME INDEPENDANT

Trinidad and Tobago (

ⁱ/ˌtrɪnɨdæd/ & /tɵˈbeɪɡoʊ/) officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state^[4] in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with other nations including Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west.^[5][6]

The country covers an area 5,128 square kilometres (1,980 sq mi)^[7] and consists of two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous smaller landforms. Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the main islands, comprising about 94% of the total area and 96% of the total population of the country. The nation lies outside the hurricane belt.

The island of Trinidad was a Spanish colony from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498 to the capitulation of the Spanish Governor, Don José Maria Chacón, on the arrival of a British fleet of 18 warships on 18 February 1797.^[8] During the same period, the island of Tobago changed hands between Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlandercolonizers. Trinidad and Tobago was ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens.^[9] The country obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976. Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is primarily industrial,^[10] with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals.

Trinidad and Tobago is known for its Carnival and is the birthplace of steelpan,^[11]calypso,^[12][13] soca, chutney and limbo.