ach group makes up about 40 percent of the population. The remainder are of European, South American, Middle Eastern, Chinese, or mixed ancestry. Trinidad and Tobago’s culture reflects this diverse population. Calypso music originated here, as did steel bands, which use oil drums cut to various sizes as drum heads. Every year before Lent the islands throw a huge Carnival party featuring calypso and steel bands.
Deposits of petroleum and natural gas give Trinidad and Tobago one of the highest per capita income levels in Latin America. However, the petroleum industry employs relatively few people, and unemployment has plagued the island nation. Sugarcane was long the main industry, and Africans were brought in as slaves to work on the sugar plantations. After the abolition of slavery, indentured servants came from India and other countries to work on the plantations.

The first European to reach Trinidad and Tobago was Christopher Columbus. He named Trinidad (meaning “Trinity” in Spanish) after three peaks he saw from his ship. The name he gave Tobago, Bella Forma (“Beautiful Shape”), did not stick. The island’s present name comes from the word tobacco, which Carib Indians grew on Tobago. Columbus claimed Trinidad for Spain, and it remained a Spanish colony until 1802, when Britain took it. Tobago’s history remained separate until Britain joined it with Trinidad in 1889. Before then, Tobago changed hands many times. Trinidad and Tobago gained independence from Britain on August 31, 1962, and became a republic on August 1, 1976.

LAND & RESOURCES

Trinidad lies about 11 km (7 mi) north of the coast of Venezuela on the South American continent, opposite the mouth of the Orinoco River. The Gulf of Paria separates Trinidad from the mainland of South America. By far the larger island, Trinidad covers an area of 4,828 sq km (1,864 sq mi). Tobago, 32 km (20 mi) northeast of Trinidad, has an area of 300 sq km (120 sq mi). The country’s total area is 5,128 sq km (1,980 sq mi).

Area 5,128 sq km
1,980 sq mi Coastline 362 km
225 mi Highest point El Cerro del Aripo
940 m/3,084 ft

Although relatively small, Trinidad has a varied geography. Three ranges of hills run roughly east to west across the island. They reach their highest point of 940 m (3,084 ft) above sea level at El Cerro del Aripo in the north. The Northern Range, where El Cerro rises, is a continuation of mountains that form the Paria peninsula of Venezuela. Thousands of years ago Trinidad and Tobago formed part of the South American mainland.

Trinidad has only one natural harbor, at Chaguaramas on the western coast, but the entire Gulf of Paria provides safe anchorage. The northern coast of the island is rocky and indented with sandy bays, the southern coast is steep, and the eastern coast is exposed to heavy surf. In southwestern Trinidad is an asphalt lake, filled with crude oil that has seeped up from the ground. The 42-hectare (104-acre) Pitch Lake is the world’s largest natural reservoir of asphalt.

The island of Tobago is of volcanic origin. Tobago is the summit of a single mountain mass that rises from the sea floor and reaches an elevation of 550 m (1,804 ft) above sea level. The southwestern part of the island, however, is flat or rolling and formed of coral. The coastline is broken by inlets and sheltered beaches.

CLIMATE

Trinidad and Tobago has a tropical climate with little seasonal variation. Temperatures are a little higher than in the Caribbean islands farther north, but northeasterly trade winds provide a moderating influence. Temperatures seldom rise above 32°C (90°F) and range from 21° to 26°C (the 70°s F) in January and from 26° to 32°C (the 80°s F) in July.

Although no month is dry, Trinidad and Tobago has less rainfall from January to May than from June to November. The amount of rain that falls is strongly influenced by topography. For example, the windward eastern slopes of the Northern Range on Trinidad receive more than 3,600 mm (140 in) a year, and the leeward west coast receives less than 1,500 mm (60 in). Trinidad and Tobago lies south of the principal Caribbean hurricane path, and hurricanes are infrequent. There have, however, been damaging tropical storms.

PEOPLE

The history of Trinidad and Tobago is reflected in the makeup of its population, among the most ethnically diverse in the Caribbean. Blacks of African ancestry and Asians of Indian ancestry each make up about 40 percent of the population. The remainder is mainly of mixed ancestry, although there are also small groups of people of Chinese, European, South American, and Middle Eastern descent. The ethnic diversity of Trinidad and Tobago owes its origins to slavery and its abolition. African slaves were imported in the 18th century to work the plantations. However, following emancipation in 1834 there was a shortage of labor, and the British government encouraged immigration from India, China, and Madeira.

On Trinidad Island, a republic off the coast of Venezuela, Muslims comprise 6% of the population. Between 1845 and 1917, the British transported more than 150,000 Muslim and Hindu Indians to the island as indentured laborers. Here, the Ginah Mosque is attended by people from the town of Saint Joseph.

Trinidad and Tobago's national instrument, the steel drum, or pan, developed in the late 1930s as part of a carnival ensemble of bamboo stamping tubes called bamboo tamboo. The first pans had only a few notes and played repetitive rhythmic patterns, but enterprising tuners quickly developed the instrument's melodic capabilities such that it could play any tune. The modern steel band comprises many sections, including bass, cellos, seconds, and tenor or lead pans, and may have as many as 120 players. The rehearsals and repertoire of most steel bands in Trinidad are largely driven by the carnival season competition called Panorama. Heard in this excerpt is Ray Holman, one of the most esteemed performers, composers, and arrangers of steel band music in Trinidad and Tobago.

The population (2006 estimate) of Trinidad and Tobago is 1,065,842. The capital and chief city, Port-of-Spain, has 53,000 people (2000 estimate). Other major cities are San Fernando (55,784), an industrial center and transportation hub, and Arima (24,874), both on Trinidad. The population of Trinidad is unevenly distributed. The region of greatest density is the western half of the island, roughly the area between Port-of-Spain in the north and San Fernando in the south. The administrative center and port of Scarborough is the largest town on the less industrialized island of Tobago.

ECONOMY

Trinidad and Tobago’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2004 was $12.5 billion, providing the country with a per capita income of $7,380. This relatively high per capita income reflects the fact that the country is a petroleum producer. The petroleum industry provides about one quarter of the GDP, one third of government revenue, and nearly two-thirds of foreign exchange earnings. The industry, however, employs relatively few workers. To combat unemployment, the government has encouraged the development of a variety of industrial enterprises. Most of the country’s industry is concentrated on the island of Trinidad. The island of Tobago, apart from the development of tourist facilities, remains dominantly agricultural.

Although Trinidad and Tobago’s petroleum-based economy provides its citizens with a per capita income well above the Latin American average, living standards fell significantly after the petroleum boom years of 1973 to 1982. Widespread unemployment, large foreign debt payments, and fluctuations in world oil prices all served to destabilize the economy of Trinidad and Tobago in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1994 the republic had its first year of sustained economic growth since the early 1980s. An economic recovery followed. Unemployment fell from a high of 22 percent in the late 1980s and early 1990s to about 10 percent at the end of 2003.

Crude and refined petroleum constitute 67 percent of Trinidad and Tobago’s yearly exports. Other exports are natural gas, chemicals, iron and steel, sugar, cacao beans, and rum. In 2003 exports were valued at $5.2 billion and imports at $3.9 billion.

The unit of currency is the Trinidad and Tobago (T.T.) dollar, consisting of 100 cents (6.30 T.T. dollars equal U.S.$1; 2004 average). The T.T. dollar was pegged to the U.S. dollar at T.T.$4.25 equaled U.S.$1 until 1993, when it was floated.