HISTORY OF TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

PRE-COLONIAL

 Approximately 7000 years ago, the Archaic/Ortoroid settlers arrived from South America to make Trinidad their new home. These people were largely pre ceramic civilizations. 250 BC marked the arrival of the Saladoid people. About 500 years later, the Barancoid civilization came into power, followed by the Arauquinoid people in 650 AD. The cultural artifacts of these civilizations were never fully adopted into Trinidad and Tobago, and as a result, the name Guayabitoid was given to them. The next group, commonly known as the Caribs and the Arawaks, came into being at around 1300 AD. They were dubbed Mayoids by scientists. Soon, however, their lives were to not just be changed, but ended by a new group of destructive settlers from Europe.

 On July 31st, 1498, Christopher Columbus was on his 3rd voyage to the “New World” when he happened upon a small island just off the north coast of Venezuela. He was sailing south of the island when he spotted the Trinity Hills (aka the Three Sisters) and was influenced to name the island after the Holy Trinity…thus, Trinidad was born. In 1531 and 1569, unsuccessful attempts were made to settle the island, and in 1592, Domingo de Vera finally settled in San Jose (now St. Joseph). In 1595, Sir Walter Raleigh stumbled upon Trinidad for the fabled golden city of El Dorado. He decided to burn down St. Joseph, setting an example for years to come in this turmoil-ridden island. Varying between gold-hungry hunters of El Dorado and sea-faring pirates, Trinidad was no stranger to violence and war. Over the next century, largely due to the battles waged in Trinidad, poverty became the norm to the point that in 1740, settlers wrote to the King of Spain complaining about an inability to go to mass more than once a year. Following a brief visit by France and the French-Caribbean territories, Britain came to Trinidad to lay claim in 1797. Through slavery, Trinidad became a plantation settlement with the main crop being sugar cane. In 1834, the slaves were emancipated, which lead to the arrival of Indian and Chinese indentured labourers in 1852. Macqueripe gained its first bit of historical significance in 1871 as it was the site for the first Trinidadian telegraph cable.

TOBAGO

 Tobago was met by Columbus in 1498 while he was sailing around Trinidad. He originally named the island Bella Forma. In 1608, James I appropriated the island for the British which was the start of a game of catch played between the Dutch, the French and the British…a 200 year game of catch! Ownership of Tobago changed hands almost 30 times, all the while being a harbour for pirates. The French finally gave up Tobago to the British in 1763, when it became yet another sugar colony. In 1778, America tried to take Tobago but was quickly defeated by the British armies.

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

Due to the recession of the sugar industry in the late 1800’s, Trinidad and Tobago were joined to one colony. It was soon recognized how much oil there was in Trinidad and as such, Trinidad and Tobago shifted from a sugar economy to an oil economy in the 20th century. In 1941, Macqueripe was re-entered into the history books as it became the site for one of the military bases set up by the US in exchange for military ships which were needed by Britain. In 1962, Dr. Eric Eustace Williams led the twin island colony to independence and in 1976, it became the presidential Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.