History History

Walking through the fords that dot the bed of Grand Rivière or Shark River, it's not uncommon to gently turn over the age- and water-polished stones that litter the bottom. If you're lucky, you may catch a glimpse of man-made indentations on one of them. As you bend down to pick it up, you suddenly become strangely aware of the many presences around you. You're not alone... You feel spied on through the palms and creepers of the nearby forest. This is the land of the many Arawak and Karib ethnic groups who populated the island in pre-Columbian times. The tool you hold in your hand belongs to them... Today, they have long since disappeared. But the memory of their immemorial presence still haunts the place. As night falls, their spirits still seem to hover in the primeval forest. Like a gentle breeze.

Trinidad is considered to be the first island in the Caribbean to be settled by the first peoples, as they are now known. These first inhabitants of Trinidad & Tobago were pre-agricultural indigenous groups from the Orinoco delta in South America, who settled here at least 7,000 years ago. Until the ^15th and ^16th centuries, Trinidad was home to a number of groups related to the Arawak (Taino) and Karibs, including the Nepoya, Suppoya and Yao, while Tobago was occupied by the Karibs and Galibi. The island's indigenous name was I-ere, the Island of Hummingbirds. The name "Trinidad" comes from Christopher Columbus, who named it after the Holy Trinity when he discovered the territory in July 1498, seeing only three mountains in the distance. Tobago, on the other hand, has had several indigenous names, most notably "Urupaina", which means "big snail" in Karib Indian. A long-standing controversy surrounds the modern name of Tobago, which has appeared on maps since 1511, but which Christopher Columbus apparently named "Bellaforma" on his discovery.

These early peoples were farmers, clearing and burning the forest to grow cotton and manioc. They lived in tribes commanded by a chief, had ritual feasts, jewelry and magical ornaments. But if there's one thing their magic couldn't prevent, it was the arrival of a certain Christopher Columbus, in the year 1498, at the head of his third expedition to the region.

If you'd like to learn more about the island's first inhabitants, known here as the first peoples, be sure not to miss the Santa Rosa first peoples community in Arima, where you can visit an interesting museum about them and enjoy detailed explanations from some of their descendants, such as Chief Riccardo, who currently heads the community.

Columbus discovers Trinidad during his voyage in search of the Indies.

" After seventeen days, during which Our Lord gave me good wind, on Tuesday July 31st, land appeared. I had hoped for it on the previous Monday, but I held this course until, at sunrise, for want of water, I decided to go to the Cannibal Islands, and took the direction. And as His High Majesty has always been merciful to me, a sailor chanced to climb the jib and spotted three contiguous mountains. We landed there, having named the island Trinidad ". Christopher Columbus, The Discovery of America, Travelogues, 1493-1504.

It was a certain Alonzo Perez Nirando, who boarded the ship at around midday on Tuesday July 31, 1498, who was the first European to set eyes on the relief of this newly-discovered island and cry out "terre!", the long-awaited magic word. The fact that he first caught sight of three peaks emerging from the mist could only have strengthened Columbus' resolve to name the island Trinidad. Indeed, even before landing, Columbus had vowed to use this name for the very first land he would discover on his third expedition. According to some historians, this would be the mountain range to the south of the island, known as the La Trinidad chain, but it is more likely that, arriving from the north-east, Columbus first saw the peaks of the mountain range to the north of Trinidad.

Before taking on this very Christian name, the island was called Lëri (the island of the hummingbird) by the Amerindians, who must have appreciated the hummingbirds that are so much photographed on the island today.

It was on this same voyage that Columbus discovered Tobago, which he named Bella Forma, seeing it as a haven of peace for sailors, who could find protection in its many small coves thanks to its beautiful shape.

When Columbus died, his son Diego was appointed governor of the island of Trinidad.

The battles for Tobago begin. English sailors claim possession of Tobago.

Spaniard Antonio de Berrio de Aruna is appointed governor of Trinidad and founds Puerto España, which becomes the present-day capital of Port of Spain. Sir Walter Raleigh discovers Asphalt Lake in the south of the island and sacks Port of Spain. King James ^I claims Tobago as an English possession.

Dutch slave traders land the first African slaves.

English King Charles II solemnly declares English sovereignty over Tobago. Adventurers from Barbados try to settle on the island. They are driven out by the Carib Indians.

The English attempt to settle Tobago. Charles II leased ships from the Dutch East India Company, with the aim of starting to settle the island.

During the ^16th and ^17th centuries, Arima was the cradle of the Nepuyo Indians who lived in Trinidad, descended from the Carib family. Here they established a pocket of resistance to the Spanish invaders who landed in the north of the island. Their chief Hyarima was the first national hero, as he was enslaved by the Spanish colonists, escaped in 1627 and led the fight against the invaders. In 1637, he led a rebellion to sack St. Joseph, the main settler village, with the help of the Dutch in Tobago. The church was burned and many colonists were killed. The fate of Chief Hyarima is unknown, but in 1699 he took part in the revolt of the enslaved Amerindians of the Catholic mission plantation of Arima. Although the revolt resulted in the destruction of a church and the death of three priests and the island's governor, hundreds of Amerindians were imprisoned or killed. Many preferred to commit suicide rather than remain in Spanish hands; some managed to escape, and 22 of them were hanged in the public square. This sad episode is now known as the "Arima Massacre". Smallpox decimated the population in the years that followed.
In 2012, a statue in Hyarima's honor was erected on Hollis Avenue in Arima, in the Santa Rosa district, home to the island's community of Amerindian descendants. It is in front of this statue that the "Amerindian Heritage Day" or "Smoke Day" is celebrated every October 14, with incantations and a procession in traditional costume, music and song in honor of Chief Hyarima and the island's Amerindian people.

Jacob Kettler, the future Duke of Courland (Latvia), of which he was already regent, sent 200 pioneers to Tobago. They were unable to resist the climate or the Indians, who put them to flight.

The Dutch also tried to take Tobago, which they named New Walcheren.

Latvians return to Tobago. The English, under the command of the Duke of Courland, are sent to Tobago to occupy the island and settle on the shore of what is now Great Courland Bay, on the Caribbean side. The Dutch occupied the opposite shore, on the Atlantic side.

In Europe, the Duke of Courland is captured by the Swedes, allies of the Dutch, who succeed in taking Tobago from the English. The English Crown demanded that the Dutch withdraw and once again seized the island. Shortly afterwards, the French force the English garrison to surrender and take the island.

The French claimed supremacy over Tobago after various battles with the English who had driven out the Dutch in the meantime.

The French abandon Tobago to the Dutch, who have defeated them in various battles. The Dutch reoccupy the island and build the fortress of Lampsinburgh, on the site of today's Scarborough.

The French lead a victorious assault on the Dutch at Lampsinburgh. Tobago becomes French again.

The Treaty of Nijmegen, which put an end to the Dutch War, stipulated that the colonies of each party would remain distributed as they were at the end of hostilities between the European countries concerned, which were France, Holland, England and Spain. Tobago should therefore have remained French, but in the end was declared neutral and considered a habitat for the Kalinago Indians. This agreement was formalized in the Treaty of Aix la Chapelle in 1748.

On December¹, 1699, a group of Amerindians forced by the Spanish to build a new church rebelled, killing three Capuchin friars and the Spanish governor of the region, José León de Echales. The Spanish reprisals were terrible, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of indigenous people.

The Compagnie de Caracas (under Spanish domination) obtained a monopoly on trade with Trinidad and undercut prices to the detriment of local production.

A French expedition led from Martinique attempts to seize Tobago.

The English drove the French out of Tobago and founded the city of Georgetown, which they made their capital.

First meeting of the Tobago House of Parliament in Georgetown.

English immigrants settled in Lampsinburgh, which they renamed Scarborough. The Parliament House was moved to Scarborough, which became the new capital of Tobago.

First major slave revolt, led by a slave named Sandy who killed his master Samuel Hall between November 11 and 13, 1770. Sandy and his peers burned down various slave plantations before being repulsed by an English garrison sent from Grenada to reinforce them. The fate of Sandy himself is not known with certainty, although rumor has it that he left clandestinely for Trinidad.

The Spaniards' desire to consolidate their presence on Trinidad and get the island's economy back on track soon came up against a simple constraint: the number of settlers on the island had become insufficient to guarantee the survival of the Spanish colony. So, at all costs, the island's doors had to be opened to new planters. The latter were apparently easier to recruit from friendly nations than on Iberian soil itself. In 1776, a Spanish decree guaranteed the island's rights to any foreign Catholics wishing to settle there. In 1777, Philippe Rose Roune de Saint-Laurent, from French Grenada, was the first French Catholic settler to take an interest in the island. In 1783, the "Cédula de Poblacion", a decree issued by Charles III, King of Spain, allowed a large number of immigrants from the French West Indies to settle on the island. Most of them sought to escape the discrimination they faced from Protestants in British Grenada and Martinique.
The cédule stipulated that the amount of land granted to new settlers would depend on the number of slaves they brought with them. This provision was not limited to the white population. Métis and Blacks could also take advantage of it, provided they were freed, of course, and if they brought slaves with them, they too could receive land in exchange (with, however, a clause somewhat different from that which applied to the white population: they could only receive half of what was authorized for whites).
Application of the cédule increased the island's white, mixed-race and slave population from 700 to 17,000, more than 20-fold. The island became a sort of West Indian Wild West for gentlemen of fortune.

Immigration to Trinidad begins. Roune de Saint-Laurent travels to Trinidad to assess the possibilities of large-scale French immigration.

The French retake Tobago from the English. Scarborough becomes Port Louis.

Governor José María Chacón declares Port of Spain the new capital of Trinidad.

The French garrisons sent to Tobago mutinied because of poor pay and living conditions on board. Port Louis is burned to the ground.

The British recaptured Tobago following the defeat of revolutionary France against the British crown in Europe.

The English, at war with revolutionary France, also took possession of Trinidad.

Publication of the first English-language daily newspaper, The Trinidad Courant.

Sir Thomas Picton, a cruel Welsh officer and governor of Trinidad from 1797 to 1803, was accused of torturing Louisa Calderon, a 13-year-old mulatto girl suspected of involvement in a robbery. He was initially found guilty, but had his conviction overturned on the grounds that torture was authorized under Spanish law prevailing in Trinidad at the time. His statue was finally removed from the Gallery of Welsh Heroes in Cardiff City Hall in 2020.

Trinidad was ceded to England by the signing of the Treaty of Amiens, sealing the end of the war between revolutionary France and England. However, the French asked to keep Tobago but this possession lasted only one year before the English took it over again.

The destruction of Spanish and French naval forces at the Battle of Trafalgar left the English completely free to establish their position on both islands.

The British Parliament declares the abolition of the slave trade.

The abdication of Napoleon ^I sealed the fate of the country, which officially became part of the British Crown.

From 1812 to 1814, in the American territories bordering Canada, war continued to pit the British Crown against the new United States of America. To bring it to a successful conclusion, England raised troops and recruited them on British soil and in its colonies. Among those recruited were emancipated blacks who were quickly dubbed "Buffalos soldiers" by the Amerindians they fought, probably because of their frizzy hair resembling buffalo fur. At the end of the war, in 1815, some 50 of these men arrived in Trinidad to settle. A year later, 34 men, 15 women and 7 children joined them. In the end, veterans from six companies settled in Trinidad at England's expense. Most settled near Princess Town, in villages named after the companies to which they belonged. In 1816, the population of these free blacks was swollen by a thousand former slaves recruited by England in the southern American states at the time of the Virginia War in 1812-1813. As it was impossible to return them to slavery, they were sent south to Trinidad and Manzanilla, where they were able to establish themselves. Each man in these "American encampments", as they were called at the time, received a dozen hectares of land from the authorities, whether married or not. They organized their camps into zones, which they named first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth companies. They spoke a special language, Manzanillan, a mixture of English, French and African idioms. The "Third Company" and "Sixth Company" villages, located near Princess Town, still exist today.

This African slave was a Muslim marabout and member of the Koramantyn tribe, formed by the African diaspora in Trinidad and mixing different cultures from the continent from which its members were exiled. He arrived in Trinidad in 1805 and was exploited as a slave in the construction of Fort George in Port of Spain. As a marabout, he had great influence over the other Muslims who worked on the site with him. He was therefore named colonial negro, who had the privilege of being paid. With the money he received for this work, he paid for the freedom of nearly 200 of the island's slaves. After completing the fort, he bought land in Santa Cruz Valley, where he built his estate, Mizra Estate, after an Arabic name. He died in September 1838, just one month before the emancipation of African slaves in Trinidad.

The British Parliament decreed the abolition of slavery. Tobago fell under the control of the General Government of the English Leeward Islands, which included Barbados, Grenada and their neighbors.

Emancipation of slaves, who became free... on condition of spending a six-year "probationary period" on the plantations, with the imposed status of apprentices.

Inauguration of the first steamship line linking Trinidad to England.

First general census of the population of the British West Indies.

Following the great census of the West Indies, the English decided to bring in labor from India to make up for the shortfall caused by the abolition of slavery. The first coolies arrive.

Creation of public schools, a library and postal services in Trinidad.

It was in this year that oil exploration pioneers such as Walter Darwent, who died of yellow fever a few years later, drilled the first well near the famous Pitch Lake asphalt lake in the south of the country.

Inauguration of Trinidad's first tramway line, linking San Fernando and Mission (the former name of Princess Town).

Tobago officially became a colony of the British crown, as the planters who ran it and who were in a large minority on the island needed reinforcements to combat the growing militancy of the black population.

Royal visits to Trinidad by George V and the future Duke of Clarence. Mission is renamed Princess Town for the occasion.

That year, the former slaves who had been forbidden by the British police to celebrate Carnival began to rebel. The invention of the steelpan dates from this period. The riots lasted 3 years and caused many casualties.

One country, two islands: administrative union of Trinidad and Tobago.

Introduction of electricity in Port of Spain. First electric streetcar

Tobago comes under the jurisdiction of Trinidad.

First oil company established in Trinidad.

The government of British India stops the immigration of Indian labor to the West Indies.

The Legislative Council of Trinidad & Tobago, created in 1831 and made up of selected notable, was the British Crown's advisory body on the management of the country, but in 1921 a popular consultation organized in San Fernando highlighted the desire of a large majority of the population to have elected representatives. 4 years later, the British authorities agreed to hold elections - the first in the country.

In 1941, a military collaboration agreement between the United States and England, known as the "Destroyer Base Agreement", authorized the Americans to set up military bases on the island, on the Bocas, the Chaguaramas peninsula, east of Port of Spain, and at Wallerfield, in the center, not far from today's Piarco airport. A large number of Americans and Canadians landed on the island to supervise the construction and installation of these bases. In this confrontation with American modernity and wealth, the people of Trinidad found both an undeniable improvement in their standard of living, and a resurgence of the old vexations of colonial times. Huge construction projects were launched, providing jobs for local workers in large numbers. Tens of thousands of Trinidadians were employed there, in wage and working conditions that no worker had been able to enjoy until then. However, the attitude of the American soldiers towards the population was less subtle and nuanced than that of the British occupiers. Soon, the arrival of the greenback on the island rhymed not only with easy money, but also with racism and prostitution, and the American presence ended up being resented by a majority of the population. This presence did not end until 1961, a year before independence.

When the Allies announce victory over the ^Third Reich, steel bands play in the streets for the first time.

In 1956, a new constitution authorized the formation of government parties. In January, a group of black intellectuals formed the People's National Movement - the PNM - under the leadership of Dr. Eric Williams, an Oxford-educated historian. The black nationalist demands of this new party, and the charisma and immense intellectual prestige of its leader, ensured the PNM immense success with a population doubly tired of colonial rule and the dissensions at work within the Labour Party. The only real political opposition to the PNM at this time was the People's Democratic Party (PDP), whose activists and base were drawn from the rural Indian community.

In the September elections, the PNM won the majority of seats in the assembly. The British colonial office took note and authorized the PNM to form the government. One of the very first decisions taken by the new government was to take over management of the carnival, an event hitherto run by private capital, and to encourage the calypsonian current.

Creation of the Department of Tobago Affairs. Headed by a permanent secretary, this institution was tasked with studying problems specific to Tobago and proposing solutions to the country's government.

The same year sees the creation of the Federation of the West Indies, also known as the Federation of the British West Indies. Comprising 24 main islands, including Trinidad & Tobago, it was short-lived, disappearing in 1962.

Jamaica rejects the Federation of the West Indies, causing its demise. Trinidad & Tobago decide to gain independence.

The British decide to withdraw from their colonies. Independence is proclaimed. The PNM revises the Constitution, without even consulting the opposition PDP, bringing the country to the brink of civil war. A last-minute compromise between the two parties narrowly avoided this. In the end, the first elections of this new era of independence saw the PNM win by 20 votes out of 30. The PNM remained in power until 1986.

A politician and historian, he led the country to independence in 1962. Born in Port of Spain, the son of a small postal official, he won a scholarship to study at England's prestigious Oxford University. During his studies, he published his thesis The Economic Aspect of the West Indian Slave Trade and Slavery, a draft of his most famous work, Capitalism & Slavery, published in 1944. His theory links triangular trade and slavery on the one hand, to the industrial boom and capitalist development in Great Britain on the other. A political activist, in 1956 he founded the People's National Movement (PNM), which won a majority of seats in the country's first elections. He became Prime Minister and helped create the Federation of the West Indies, which eventually led to Trinidad & Tobago's independence in 1962. He died 20 years later while still in power, in March 1981.

Hurricane Flora, with winds of more than 230 km/h, devastated Tobago, killing more than 20 people and causing $30 million in damage to the country. This hurricane will kill more than 7,000 people in the Caribbean, including 5,000 in Haiti.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is recognized by the Treaty of Chaguaramas.

On August¹, Trinidad & Tobago adopts a new constitution, still in force today. The small country becomes a republic and wins its first gold medal at the Montreal Olympic Games, thanks to Hasley Crawford in the 100-meter dash.

The American company Texaco gave way to a nationalized oil industry, the Trinidad & Tobago Oil Company (Trintoc).

Change of ruling party. For the first time in the history of the young Republic, the People's National Movement (PNM) lost the elections, to the Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR).

Failure of the coup d'état organized by the supporters of Jamaat al Muslimeen, an Islamist grouping led by Abu Bakr.

The PNM wins the elections and returns to power. The new Scarborough Harbour is opened in Tobago.

In October 2002, Patrick Manning's PNM was recalled to power after a narrow electoral victory. It decided to dissolve the National Assembly in view of the lack of reforms and the political status quo.

For the first time in the country's history, a coalition takes over the leadership of the country and gives the reins to an Indian-based party, the UNC. With 17 seats won in the elections, the United National Congress (UNC) is neck and neck with the PNM. The NAR contributed its two seats to the UNC to form a coalition government, with Basdeo Panday as Prime Minister. Panday remained in power until 2000.

Trinidadian Wendy Fitzwilliam wins the title of Miss Universe.

George Maxwell Richards is elected President of the Republic on March 17. He would remain so for 10 years. But the office of President of the Republic remains a position without many powers, apart from choosing the Prime Minister after the elections. It has more of a symbolic and cultural role.

Trinidad & Tobago participates in its first Soccer World Cup, becoming the smallest country to take part in the competition.

Patrick Manning, head of the PNM, which had been in power since 2001, dissolved the National Assembly, prompting early elections that were won by the People's Partnership, a coalition of opposition parties (UNC, COP, TOP). Kamla Persad-Bissessar, leader of the UNC, became the country's first female prime minister and formed a cohabitation government.

Violence broke all records: 472 murders were reported, i.e. 36 per 100,000 inhabitants, seven times more than in the United States, which led the Prime Minister to ask the President to declare a partial state of emergency.

A state of emergency was declared for three months to contain the rising violence in the country.

Visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, including trade agreements and oil investments.

The PNM regained power and Dr. Keith Rowley was appointed Prime Minister.

On March 19, 2018, Paula-Mae Weekes became the first President of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago.

In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, Trinidad & Tobago closes its doors and will not reopen until April 2022, two years later...

The regional elections held in January 2021 saw the PNM lose its supremacy in Tobago for the first time. While Trinidad & Tobago has just recognized the PNM's new victory in the national elections, it was in Tobago that internal dissension within the party led to a first-ever draw (6-6) in the regional elections that decide the deputies to the Tobago House of Assembly. The number of THA MPs was increased to 15 to prevent a repeat of the tie, and in December 2021 the opposition party won the new elections by a landslide (14-1). For the first time, Tobago's elected representatives are opponents of the central government.

The country is finally reopening its doors after almost 2 years of absolute confinement due to the coronavirus. During this strict confinement, no one was allowed out except for essential shopping. Beaches were also off-limits. Many small businesses have disappeared, but are quickly being replaced by others, as the country's economy is strong and resources plentiful. Despite this, the population has kept up a different rhythm since the epidemic, and the streets of major cities are emptying even earlier than before the pandemic. Everyone has adopted new habits.