Trinidad and Tobago Quick Facts	Trinidad Mission Trip Main Page
Maps Caribbean | Trinidad and Tobago | Island of Trinidad Country Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Capital Port-of-Spain Total Area 1,979.93 sq mi 5,128.00 sq km (slightly smaller than Delaware) Population 1,175,523 (July 2000 est.) Languages English (official), Hindi, French, Spanish, Chinese Literacy 97.9% total, 98.8% male, 97% female (1995 est.) Religions Roman Catholic 29.4%, Hindu 23.8%, Anglican 10.9%, Muslim 5.8%, Presbyterian 3.4%, other 26.7% Life Expectancy 65.45 male, 70.59 female (2000 est.) Government Type parliamentary democracy Currency 1 Trinidad and Tobago dollar (TT$) = 100 cents View the TT dollars Exchange Rate A floating rate system is in force. Currently $1US=$6.24TT; $1CDN = $4.48TT GDP (per capita) $8,500 (1999 est.) Time Zone Summer: EST (Eastern Standard Time), equivalent to GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)-5 hours; Winter: EST+1, GMT-4. Daylight savings time is not observed in Trinidad and Tobago. Ethnic Profile 39.6% African descent    40.3% East Indian descent 18.4% Mixed descent    0.6% European descent 0.4% Chinese descent    0.2% other 0.4% Not stated      Labor Force (by occupation) construction and utilities 12.4%, manufacturing, mining, and quarrying 14%, agriculture 9.5%, services 64.1% (1997 est.) Industry petroleum, chemicals, tourism, food processing, cement, beverage, cotton textiles Agriculture cocoa, sugarcane, rice, citrus, coffee, vegetables; poultry Arable Land 15% Exports petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, steel products, fertilizer, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus, flowers Imports machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals Natural Resources petroleum, natural gas, asphalt Current Environmental Issues water pollution from agricultural chemicals, industrial wastes, and raw sewage; oil pollution of beaches; deforestation; soil erosion Airports Trinidad: Piarco International Airport, 17 miles (27 km) from Port of Spain (airport code "POS") Tobago: Crown Point International Airport, 7 miles (10 km) from Scarborough (airport code "TAB")	National Flag

Geography

Trinidad and Tobago are the southernmost islands of the Caribbean archipelago, and are geologically an extension of the South American continent. Trinidad is separated from Venezuela by the seven (7) mile (11km) straits of the Gulf of Paria. Trinidad and Tobago comprises 1,980 square miles, about one and a half times the size of the state of Rhode Island. The territory enjoys a tropical climate with average maximum temperatures of 32°C, (89°F). Tobago's temperatures are cooler, owing to the more constant north east trade winds. There is a dry season from January to May and a wet season from June to December. Annual rainfall is about 200 cm (40 inches) over most of the country. Trinidad and Tobago is just south of the hurricane belt.

Government

Trinidad and Tobago achieved independence from Britain in 1962 followed by republican status in 1976. The twin-island nation is currently a member of the Commonwealth.  Fully democratic elections are held every five (5) years, since 1956. Universal adult suffrage, with a minimum voting age of 18.

Education

Trinidad and Tobago has a well educated labour force of about 500,000 with an adult literacy rate in the 80-85% range. Primary level education is compulsory. Approximately seventy percent (70%) of the 12-15 age group attend secondary school, the rest pursue other forms of training. The regional Caribbean Examinations Council, taken at form 5 (grade 12), is accepted as an entry qualification for higher education in Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. After form 5 (grade 12), some students continue in secondary school for an additional two years to take the British 'Advanced Level' examinations of community standard, set up by the universities of Cambridge and London. Two private schools based on the American and Canadian education systems opened for enrolment in 1994.

History

Trinidad

Christopher Columbus landed on the island in 1498 and took possession of it on behalf of the Crown of Spain naming it Trinidad. The island was inhabited by Amerindian tribes, the Caribs and the Arawaks.

The island was not colonized by the Spaniards until 1532. To secure a labour supply for the estates, the Spaniards enslaved the Amerindians and established mission villages throughout the country to christianize them.

In the late 1790s there was a considerable influx of Colonists mainly French, driven from Haiti, Grenada and other French speaking colonies by the events of the French Revolution. Later, others were attracted by a proclamation issued by the Spanish Government called the 'Cedula of Population' which offered large tracts of land in Trinidad on very favourable terms to Catholic settlers.

Trinidad was captured by a British naval expedition headed by Sir Ralph Abercromby in 1797 and was formally ceded to the British Crown in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens.

Tobago

Tobago was initially isolated and unknown to Europeans for many decades after the discovery of Trinidad. The island was visited by the English captain Robert Dudley in 1596 but remained uninhabited until 1632 when a party of about 200 Zealanders were sent there by a company of Dutch merchants.

For the next 200 years, the island changed hands among the Dutch, the English and the French, all of them rival colonists.

In 1763, Tobago was ceded to Britain, captured by the French in 1781 and recaptured by the British in 1793. After changing hands several times, the island was ceded to Britain in 1814 by the Treaty of Paris.

Trinidad and Tobago

On April 6, 1889, Trinidad and Tobago became united as one territory. Tobago, at the insistence of the British Government, became a ward of the colony of Trinidad and the finances of the two islands were merged.

Following the abolition of slavery in 1838, the population of both islands, more so Trinidad, increased steadily. In 1845, East Indians from India were introduced as indentured labourers. Portuguese from Madeira came as early as 1834 and Africans from Sierra Leone, Europeans and Chinese migrated to the island following the introduction of the East Indians.

The Africans and the East Indians, like almost all the other inhabitants of Trinidad, Tobago and the West Indies, owe their presence here to the cultivation of sugar-cane, and to the events that followed its introduction into the region. From settlement and conquest, the people of this twin-island nation have moved from Crown Colony, self-government, and independence to the status of a self-governing Republic within the Commonwealth.

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