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SEPTEMBER  2 0 0 8Issue 20
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| SAGA OF THE TWIN ISLAND NATION by Anjali Wilde Most of North America is aware of the spectacular annual Carnival served up by Trinidad and Tobago each year, and if anyone was watching the recent 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics they quickly learned that Trinidad and Tobago has a great track team that held its own against the powerhouse USA and Jamaica teams. But what else is the twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago all about? To say that Trinidad and Tobago is fascinating would be an avalanche of understatement – to say that Trinidad and Tobago is captivating and unique is just the tip of the iceberg, so let’s find out more about this extraordinary twin island nation. Trinidad and Tobago is located in 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 was once part of Venezuela until Mother Nature sheared it away from the South America mainland and it became its own unique island nation. Trinidad and Tobago also shares maritime boundaries with Barbados to the northeast and Guyana to the southeast. Trinidad and Tobago are southeasterly islands of the Antilles or West Indies, situated between 10° 2' and 11° 12' N latitude and 60° 30' and 61° 56' W longitude. At the closest point, Trinidad is just 11 kilometres (7 miles) off the Venezuelan coast. Covering an area of 5,128 square kilometres (1,979 sq mi), 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 4,768 square kilometres (1,841 sq mi) in area (comprising 93.0% of the country's total area) with an average length of 80 kilometres (50 mi) and an average width of 59 kilometres (37 mi). Tobago has an area of about 300 square kilometres (115 sq mi), or 5.8% of the country's area, is 41 kilometres (25.5 mi) long and 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) at its greatest width. The terrain of the islands is a mixture of mountains and plains. The highest point in the country is found on the Northern Range at El Cerro del Aripo which is situated at 940 metres (3,085 ft) above sea level. The climate is tropical. There are two seasons annually: the dry season for the first six months of the year, and the wet season in the second half of the year. Winds are predominantly from the northeast and are dominated by the northeast trade winds. Unlike most of the other Caribbean islands, both Trinidad and Tobago have frequently escaped the wrath of major devastating hurricanes including Hurricane Ivan, the most powerful storm to pass close to the islands in recent history in September 2004. 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. Considering it is both a leading industrial nation and up and coming tourism nation, it is a real plus that the nation lies outside the hurricane belt. Officially Trinidadians or Tobagonians, the people from Trinidad and Tobago are often informally referred to as Trinbagonians or Trinis (for Trinidadians). Unlike most of the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago is a primarily industrialised country whose economy is based on petroleum and petrochemicals. THE COSMOPOLITAN MELTING POT OF THE CARIBBEAN, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO'S POPULATION IS FROM MANY ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS. Known as the cosmopolitan melting pot of the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago comprises a population of 1.3 million persons from many ethnic backgrounds. Originally settled by Amerindians of South American origin at least 7,000 years ago,[ this varied history 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. Citizens are officially referred to as Trinidadians or Tobagonians or Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. English is the predominant language in this ethnically integrated society, however, French, Spanish, Hindi and Chinese are also spoken. The islands quality of human capital is also evident by the large number qualified professionals. This twin island state is a blend of many ethnic communities, religions, folklore and traditions, originating from Africa, India, Europe, and the Far East. Diversity naturally follows within this collage of cultures. The majority people practice the Roman Catholic religion however; Hinduism, Christianity and Islam are also practiced. An assortment of cultures ranging from their food, music, dance and traditions also enrich the national life of this cosmopolitan melting pot of people. These celebrations certainly prove the creativity of the people is an inexhaustible resource. 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, Chinese Trinidadian/Chinese and Arab-Trinidadian/Syrian-Lebanese descent make up most of the rest of the population. Today, the Trinidadian Portuguese population includes both whites and mixed people who account for 2,700 people. The small Amerindian population is largely mixed-race. The Carib population, which is descendant of the indigenous inhabitants, is primarily organized around the Santa Rosa Carib Community. Trinidad and Tobago’s birth-rate has sharply dropped to levels typical of industrialised countries. Largely because of this phenomenon, as of 2007, Trinidad and Tobago has a low population growth rate (0.37%). Language English is the country's only official language, but 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 is a dialect or a Creole which reflects the African and European heritage of the nation. The major spoken language in Tobago is English. Due to Trinidad's location on the coast of South America, in 2004, the government initiated the Spanish as a First Foreign Language (SAFFL) initiative, 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. The government also announced that Spanish is to become the second official language of the country by 2020 alongside English. Venezuelans often come to Trinidad and Tobago to learn English, and many English schools have expanded to feature both English and Spanish. Cantonese is also spoken by Chinese immigrants. 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 (5%), Seventh-day Adventists (4%), Presbyterians, Jehovah's Witnesses 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). The Settling of Trinidad and Tobago Tobago’s cigar-like shape gave it its Spanish name (cabaco, tavaco, tobacco) and historian E.L. Joseph claimed that Trinidad’s Amerindian name was Iere derived from the Amerindian name for hummingbird ierèttê or yerettê. Others have reported that Kairi or Iere simply meant island. TRINIDAD WAS FIRST SETTLED AT LEAST 7,000 YEARS AGO, MAKING IT THE EARLIEST-SETTLED PART OF THE CARIBBEAN. 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. 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. Antonio de Sedeño first settled Trinidad in the 1530s as a means of controlling the Orinoco and subduing the Warao. Walter Raleigh arrived in Trinidad on March 22 1595, casting anchor at Curiapan/Punta de Gallos and described the Pitch Lake (Piche or Tierra de Brea) and the Annaperima hill. In the 1700s, Trinidad belonged as an island province to the viceroyalty of New Spain along with modern Mexico and Central America. | ||
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| The Dutch and the Courlanders had established themselves in Tobago in the 16th and 17th centuries and produced tobacco and cotton. However Trinidad in this period was still mostly forest, populated by a few Spaniards with their handful of slaves and a few thousand Amerindians. Spanish colonisation in Trinidad remained tenuous. In 1762, after three hundred years of Spanish rule San José de Oruña and Puerto de España (Port of Spain) were hamlets rather than towns. Because Trinidad was considered underpopulated, Roume de St. Laurent, a Frenchman living in Grenada, was able to obtain a Cédula de Población from the Spanish King Charles III on the 4th November, 1783. This Cédula de Población was more generous than the first of 1776 and granted free lands to Roman Catholic foreign settlers and their slaves in Trinidad willing to swear allegiance to the Spanish king. The land grant was thirty two acres for each man, woman and child and half of that for each slave brought. As a result, Scots, Irish, German, Italian and English families arrived. The Protestants among them profited from Governor Don José Maria Chacon's generous interpretation of the law. The French Revolution (1789) also had an impact on Trinidad's culture since it resulted in the emigration of Martiniquan planters and their slaves to Trinidad who established an agriculture-based economy (sugar and cocoa) for the island. The population of Puerto de España (Port of Spain) increased from under 3,000 to 10,422 in five years and the inhabitants in 1797 consisted of mixed-races, Spaniards, Africans, French republican soldiers, retired pirates and French nobility. In 1797, General Sir Ralph Abercromby and his squadron sailed through the Bocas and anchored off the coast of Chaguaramas. The Spanish Governor Chacon decided to capitulate without fighting. Trinidad became a British crown colony, with a French-speaking population and Spanish laws. The conquest and formal ceding of Trinidad in 1802 led to an influx of settlers from England or the British colonies of the Eastern Caribbean. 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. By the 1950s cocoa had become a staple in Trinidad's export market and was responsible for a growing middle-class. THE COUNTRY’S MELTING POT POPULATION CONTINUED TO INCREASE AS TOBAGO CHANGED HANDS The country’s melting pot population continued to increase as 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 1889. 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. Many Syrian and Lebanese also came to Trinidad and played an important role in commerce, particularly in the textile and retail industries. Traders from England, Scotland, Germany, France and America, also came as salesmen, entrepreneurs and bankers. Even then, Trinidad was considered a wealthy and cosmopolitan country. Tobago’s history is very different compared to that of Trinidad. The island changed hands several more times and was ruled at one time or another, by the Spanish, Dutch, French or British. Politics The presence of American military bases in Chaguaramas and Cumuto in Trinidad during World War II profoundly changed the character of society. In the post-war period, the wave of decolonisation 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. Trinidad and Tobago is a republic 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 George Richards. The Head of Government is the Prime Minister. Trinidad and Tobago is a leading member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), of which only the Caribbean Single Market (CSM) is in force. 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 Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the final Appellate Court for the member states of the CARICOM. Economy Between the years 1972 and 1983, the Republic profited greatly from the rising price of oil, as the oil-rich country increased its living standards greatly. Since 2003, the country has entered a second oil boom, a driving force which the government hopes to use to turn the country's main export back to sugar and agriculture. Great concern was raised in August 2007 when it was predicted that this boom would last only until 2018. TRINIDAD & TOBAGO IS ONE OF THE MOST PROSPEROUS AND STABLE DEMOCRATIC NATIONS IN THE CARIBBEAN. 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 favourite destination for many European tourists. Trinidad and Tobago is one of the most prosperous and stable democratic nations in the Caribbean. Agricultural products include citrus, cocoa, and other products. Sugar cane was once a prominent crop of Trinidad but commercial production has ceased since 2007. Trinidad and Tobago has earned a reputation as an excellent investment site for international businesses and has one of the highest growth rates and per capita incomes in Latin America. Recent growth has been fueled by investments in liquefied natural gas (LNG), petrochemicals, and steel. Additional petrochemical, aluminum, and plastics projects are in various stages of planning. The country is also a regional financial center, and tourism is a growing sector, although it is not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. The economy benefits from a growing trade surplus. The expansion of Atlantic LNG over the past six years created the largest-single sustained phase of economic growth in Trinidad and Tobago. It has become the leading exporter of LNG to the United States, and now supplies some 70% of U.S. LNG imports. Trinidad and Tobago has transitioned from an oil-based economy to a natural gas based economy. In 2007, natural gas production averaged 4 billion standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d), compared with 3.2 bcf/d in 2005. In December 2005, the Atlantic LNG fourth production module or "train" for liquefied natural gas (LNG) began production. Train 4 has increased Atlantic LNG's overall output capacity by almost 50% and is the largest LNG train in the world at 5.2 million tons/year of LNG. Trinidad and Tobago does not import or export any electricity. Conferences are being held by the government to find alternative energy sources, with a heavy focus on renewable energy. The government's economic strategy is based on fiscal and monetary discipline, private sector investment, and export-led growth. Culture As most of the world is aware, Trinidad and Tobago is famous for its pre-Lenten Carnival and 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 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. Edmundo Ros, the 'King of Latin American Music', was born in Port of Spain. 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. Sports Track and Field, at which Trinidad and Tobago has excelled at on the world sports scene over the past 20 years and Cricket are two of the main sports interest in this country of fanatic sports fans. Cricket is one of the most popular sports of Trinidad and Tobago, with intense inter-island rivalry with its Caribbean neighbours. 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. Trinidad and Tobago along with other islands from the Caribbean co-hosted the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Brian Lara, world record holder for the most runs scored both in a Test and in a First Class innings, is from Trinidad and Tobago and is often known as the Prince of Port of Spain and as one of the best cricketers in Trinidad and Tobago, and the world. Trini’s are crazy about Soccer as well. The national soccer team qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup for the first time by beating Bahrain in Manama on 16 November 2005, making them the smallest country ever (in terms of population) to qualify. Prior to the 2006 World Cup qualification, T&T came agonisingly close to qualifying in a controversial 1974 campaign and again for the 1990 competition needing only a draw at home against the United States but lost 1-0. Trinidad and Tobago hosted the 2001 FIFA U-17 World Championship. Yachting and Sailing have grown in popularity in Trinidad and Tobago, which is south of the hurricane belt making 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 in recent years. This international community is also part of the tourism industry along with eco tours and carnival sports can also pertain to culture. Tourism As a tourist destination Trinidad and Tobago has much to offer – from the traditional sun, sea and sand holidays in Tobago, including excellent diving, to adventure and ecotourism on both islands, or business tourism and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE travel) in Trinidad. Moreover, like many Caribbean islands, the country remains inexpensive. Trinidad and Tobago has a strong advantage over many of its neighbours in that it has largely escaped the devastating hurricanes which have hit the region in recent years. The Tourism Sector has contributed significantly to the economy of Trinidad and Tobago. According to a study by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in 2005, the travel and tourism industry accounted for about 4.8% of total gross domestic product (GDP). In Tobago, the broader travel and tourism economy GDP (direct and indirect) was estimated to represent 46% of the island’s GDP in 2005. The government intends to fully develop the potential of the tourism industry in an effort to successfully diversify the energy-based economy. By 2015 the WTTC forecasts the industry’s share of GDP to rise to 5.6%. Trinidad and Tobago enjoyed extraordinary growth during the mid-1990s to 2005 when arrivals grew by 40%. With so much to do and so much to see in this most diverse and intriguing of islands the tourism population is destined to grow enormously over the next decade. AUTHOR: Anjali Wilde poet, artist, writer was born in Africa, schooled in Europe and America, spent her young adult years in the Caribbean and refers to herself as a global gypsy. Anjali divides her time between her homes in the Caribbean and Mexico where she produces her art work and writes for publications worldwide. | ||
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