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About Trinidad and Tobago | Trinidad and Tobago Weather Attractions-Trinidad and Tobago | Trinidad and Tobago Accommodation Shopping-Trinidad and Tobago | Transportations in Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago Airports | Trinidad and Tobago Carnival Trinidad and Tobago Casinos | Nightlife in Trinidad and Tobago Restaurants in Trinidad | Restaurants in Tobago | Scuba Diving -Trinidad & Tobago Book Trinidad and Tobago Tours & shore Excursion from our Partner viator.comThe Caribbean Island Of Trinidad and Tobago
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying northeast of the
South American country of Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles. It shares maritime boundaries with
other nations including: Barbados to the northeast, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and
west.[4][5] The country covers an area of 5,128 square kilometers (1,980 sq mi) and consists of two main islands,
Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous smaller landforms. 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. The nation lies outside the
hurricane belt. History
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. Ceramic-using agriculturalists settled Trinidad around 250 BC and then moved further up the Lesser Antillean chain. At the time of European contact Trinidad was occupied by various Arawakan-speaking groups including the Nepoya and Suppoya, and Cariban-speaking groups such as the Yao, while Tobago was occupied by the Island Caribs and Galibi. Christopher Columbus encountered the island of Trinidad on July 31, 1498. 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 (Whitehead, 1997). Cacique Wannawanare (Guanaguanare) granted the St Joseph area to Domingo de Vera e Ibargüen in 1592 and then withdrew to another part of the island (Boomert, 2000). San José de Oruña (St Joseph) was established by Antonio de Berrío on this land. Walter Raleigh arrived in Trinidad on March 22 1595 and soon attacked San José and captured and interrogated de Berrío obtaining much information from him and from the cacique Topiawari (Whitehead, 1997). In the 1700s, Trinidad belonged as an island province to the vice royalty of New Spain along with modern Mexico and Central America (Besson, 2000). However Trinidad in this period was still mostly forest, populated by a few Spaniards with their handful of slaves and a few thousand Amerindians (Besson, 2000). Spanish colonisation in Trinidad remained tenuous. 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.[6] 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 (Besson, 2000). The total population of Trinidad in 1797 was 17,718; 2,151 of which were "white", 4,476 were "free blacks and people of colour", 10,009 were slaves and 1,082 Amerindians. Independence 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. 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. In 1990, 114 members of the Jamaat al Muslimeen, led by Yasin Abu Bakr, formerly known as Lennox Phillip, stormed the Red House (the seat of Parliament), and Trinidad and Tobago Television, the only television station in the country at the time, and held the country's government hostage for six days before surrendering. 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. 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. Geography
Trinidad and Tobago are southeasterly islands of the Antilles, 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 (6.8 mi) off the Venezuelan coast. Covering an area of 5,128 km2 (1,980 sq mi), the country consists of the two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous smaller landforms – including Chacachacare, Monos, Huevos, Gaspar Grande (or Gasparee), Little Tobago, and St. Giles Island. Trinidad is 4,768 km2 (1,841 sq mi) in area (comprising 93.0% of the country's total area) with an average length of 80 km (50 mi) and an average width of 59 kilometres (37 mi). Tobago has an area of about 300 km2 (120 sq mi), or 5.8% of the country's area, is 41 km (25 mi) long and 12 km (7.5 mi) at its greatest width. Trinidad and Tobago lie on the continental shelf of South America, and is thus geologically considered to lie entirely in South America. However the Caribbean islands are generally considered to part of North America, and as the language and cultural links of Trinidad and Tobago are not to South America but to the rest of the English speaking Caribbean nations, the nation is often treated as part of North America. 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 940 m (3,100 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. As the majority of the population live in Trinidad, this is the location of most major towns and cities. There are three major municipalities in Trinidad: Port of Spain, the capital, San Fernando, and Chaguanas. The main town in Tobago is Scarborough. The Northern Range consists mainly of Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous metamorphic rocks. The Northern Lowlands (East-West Corridor and Caroni Plains) consist of younger shallow marine clastic sediments. South of this, the Central Range fold and thrust belt consisits of Cretaceous and Eocene sedimentary rocks, with Miocene formations along the southern and eastern flanks. The Naparima Plains and the Nariva Swamp form the southern shoulder of this uplift. The Southern Lowlands consist of Miocene and Pliocene sands, clays, and gravels. These overlie oil and natural gas deposits, especially north of the Los Bajos Fault. The Southern Range forms the third anticlinal uplift. It consists of several chains of hills, most famous being the Trinity Hills. The rocks consist of sandstones, shales and siltstones and clays formed in the Miocene and uplifted in the Pleistocene. Oil sands and mud volcanoes are especially common in this area. Although it is located just off-shore from South America, Trinidad and Tobago is generally included as part of the West Indies by virtue of its geographical and historical heritage in the Caribbean. Economy
Trinidad's economy is strongly influenced by the petroleum industry. Tourism and manufacturing are also important to the local economy.Tourism is a growing sector, although not proportionately as important as in many other Caribbean islands. 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. Trinidad and Tobago is the leading Caribbean producer of oil and gas, and its economy is heavily dependent upon these resources but it also supplies manufactured goods, notably food and beverages, as well as cement to the Caribbean region. Oil and gas account for about 40% of GDP and 80% of exports, but only 5% of employment. The country is also a regional financial center, and the economy has 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 Telephone service is relatively modern and reliable. Cellular service is widespread and has been the major area of growth for several years. Digicel and Laqtel were granted cellular licenses in 2005, breaking TSTT's monopoly. Language: English is the country's only official language,
but the main spoken language is a dialect or a creole which reflects the Spanish, Indian, African and European
heritage of the nation and is spoken by all Trinidadians regardless of ethnicity. CultureIt is also the birthplace of calypso music and the steelpan, which is widely claimed in Trinidad and Tobago to be the only acoustic musical instrument invented during the 20th century.[18] 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, Rapso music, which was made famous by Cheryl Byron and Pichakaree (musical forms which blend the music of the Caribbean and India) 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. Flag of Trinidad and Tobago
Coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad is sometimes referred to as the "Land of the Hummingbird" because more than sixteen different species of hummingbird have been recorded on the island. "Land of the Hummingbird" is also believed to have been the Native American name for Trinidad. The two larger birds are the Scarlet Ibis (left) and the Cocrico (right), the national birds of Trinidad and Tobago. Below the Scarlet Ibis are three hills, representing the Trinity Hills in southern Trinidad, which, it is believed, convinced Columbus to name the island after the Holy Trinity. The island rising out of the waters beneath the Cocrico represents Tobago. Below these birds is the nation's motto, "Together We Aspire, Together We Achieve." {Credit} http://en.wikipedia.org/ Things To Do in Trinidad and Tobago
2. Celebrate
Carnival, Trinidad's most wild and colourful event. The world-renowned festivities climax
at the beginning of Lent, although the run-up to Carnival starts immediately after Christmas when the Calypso tents
open and the Calypsonians perform their latest compositions and arrangements. Getting Married In trinidad and-Tobago
Trinidad & Tobago Marriage Requirements The information below outlines the marriage requirements for getting married in Trinidad & Tobago Documents Required * Proof of residence - passport and airline tickets NB. A notarized English translation is required if documents are not in English. The license costs TT$337.50 (US$51) which is payable in cash or in postage stamps obtainable from the General
Post Office. The registrar's office should be contacted for specific rules regarding planning your destination or beach wedding in Trinidad & Tobago. They will also provide information regarding marriage licenses and marriage certificates. Trinidad Registrar General's Office Tel: 868 623 7163 Tel: 868 639 2410 {redit} http://www.islandbrides.com Rent Car | Book Caribbean Cruise | Contact Us | List Business
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