History

Before the Spanish, Trinidad and Tobago was inhabited by the indigenous tribes Arawak, Carib, and Galibi, and the oldest evidence of “human settlement” in the Caribbean is the Banwari Trace, Trinidad (World Geography and Cultural Database). These hunters/gatherers were a part of the Ortoiroid, and they arrived in Trinidad and Tobago around 720 decades after leaving the Orinoco Delta in South America. However, this was deserted in around 3400 BCE. 4,897 years later, in 1498, Columbus sighted Trinidad and Tobago, but did not claim one of the islands until 54 years later, when he put a Spanish governor in charge of Trinidad. After that, the Spanish ruled over the bigger island for over 250 years. As for Tobago, it got traded around between European countries for a while before being situated under British control in 1814. First ruled as a separate colony, Tobago became controlled by Grenada in the 19th century, and after it became a crown colony in 1877, Tobago joined Trinidad and together they became Trinidad and Tobago. In 1958 Trinidad and Tobago formed the Federation of the West Indies together with Jamaica, Barbados, and the Windward and Leeward islands; Port of Spain was the capital. The federation collapsed in 1961, and Trinidad and Tobago gained full independence in 1962. Since independence, Trinidad and Tobago have gone through two major political threats, one being a black-empowered movement who took multiple cabinet members as hostage, and the other, when the first female governor discovered a plan to assassinate her.

The population of Trinidad and Tobago is split mostly between the descendants of slaves brought from Europe during colonization and indigenous people who have been living in Trinidad and Tobago for over 5,000 years. 32.1% of the population identifies as Protestant, which is the main religion in T&T, and the official language is English. As of now, the Trinidad and Tobago work force amounts to 702,900 people, and the overall life expectancy is 76.2 years. However, the infant mortality rate is 15.4/1,000.