History of Trinidad and Tobago
The history of Trinidad and Tobago begins with the settlements of the islands by Indigenous First Peoples. Trinidad was visited by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage in 1498,, and claimed in the name of Spain. Trinidad was administered by Spanish hands until 1797, but it was largely settled by French colonists. Tobago changed hands between the British, French, Dutch, and Courlanders, but eventually ended up in British hands following the second Treaty of Paris. In 1889, the two islands were incorporated into a single political entity. Trinidad and Tobago obtained its independence from the British Empire in 1962 and became a republic in 1976.
Pre-Columbian period
Human settlement in Trinidad dates back at least 7,000 years. The earliest settlers, termed Archaic or Ortoiroid, are believed to have settled Trinidad and Tobago from modern-day Venezuela from northeastern South America around 4000 BCE. Twenty-nine Archaic sites have been identified, mostly in south Trinidad and Tobago; this includes the 7,000-year-old Banwari Trace site which is the oldest discovered human settlement in the eastern Caribbean. Archaic populations were pre-ceramic, and dominated the area until about 200 BCE.Around 250 BCE the first ceramic-using people in the Caribbean, the Saladoid people, entered Trinidad and Tobago. The earliest evidence of these people come from around 2100 BC along the banks of the Orinoco River in Venezuela. From Trinidad and Tobago, they are believed to have moved north into the remaining islands of the Caribbean. Thirty-seven Saladoid sites have been identified in Trinidad and Tobago, and are located all over the island.
After 250 CE a third group, called the Barrancoid people settled in southern Trinidad and Tobago after migrating up the Orinoco River toward the sea. The oldest Barrancoid settlement appears to have been at Erin, on the south coast.
Following the collapse of Barrancoid communities along the Orinoco around 650 CE, a new group, called the Arauquinoid expanded up the river to the coast. The cultural artefacts of this group were only partly adopted in Trinidad and Tobago and adjacent areas of northeast Venezuela, and as a result, this culture is called Guayabitoid in these areas.
Around 1300 CE a new group appears to have settled in Trinidad and Tobago and introduced new cultural attributes which largely replaced the Guayabitoid culture. Termed the Mayoid cultural tradition, this represents the native tribes which were present in Trinidad and Tobago at the time of European arrival. Their distinct pottery and artifacts survive until 1800, but after this time they were largely assimilated into mainstream Trinidad and Tobago society. These included the Nepoya and Shebaya and the Yao . They have generally been called Arawaks and Caribs. These were largely wiped out by the Spanish colonisers under the encomienda system. Under this system which was basically a form of slavery, Spanish encomederos forced the Amerindians to work for them in exchange for Spanish "protection" and conversion to Christianity. The survivors were first organised into Missions by the Capuchin friars, and then gradually assimilated. The Yao disappear from historical records after 1598.
Spanish administration
Arrival of Columbus
The first-ever contact with Europeans occurred when Christopher Columbus, who was on his third voyage of exploration, arrived at noon on 31 July 1498. He landed at a harbor he called Point Galera, while naming the island Trinidad, before proceeding into the Gulf of Paria via the Serpent's Mouth and the Caribbean Sea via Dragon's Mouth. Tobago was seen by Columbus on 14 August 1498. He did not land, but named the island Belaforme, "because from a distance it seemed beautiful".Colonial settlement of Trinidad
Trinidad is reported to have been densely populated at the beginning of the colonial period. Although in 1510, Trinidad was said to have the only "peaceful Indians" along the whole South American coast, demand for slaves to supply the pearl-fisheries in nearby Isla Margarita led to them being declared "Caribs" in 1511. As a consequence of this, Trinidad and Tobago became the focus of Spanish slaving raids, primarily to supply Margarita's pearl fisheries.In 1530, Antonio Sedeño was appointed governor. Granted a contract to settle Trinidad, with an eye toward discovering long-rumored El Dorado and controlling the trade in slaves, in 1532 he attempted to establish a settlement, but was driven off the island following the Battle of Cumucurapo,. He withdrew to Margarita, but he returned a year later and built a stockade at Cumucurapo.On 13 September 1533, the second battle of Cumucurapo began, and Sedeño prevailed and rebuilt the fortifications. Sedeño was forced to withdraw a few months later in 1534, as his men left him to follow Francisco Pizarro in Peru.
In 1569, Juan Troche Ponce de León built the "town of the Circumcision", probably around modern Laventille. In 1570, this settlement was abandoned. In 1592, Antonio de Berrio established the first lasting settlement, the town of San José de Oruña. Sir Walter Raleigh, who was searching for El Dorado, arrived in Trinidad on 22 March 1595 and soon attacked San José and captured and interrogated de Berrío, obtaining much information from him and from the cacique Topiawari.
Lack of Spanish ships arriving on a regular basis forced the settlers to trade with the English, French and Dutch, in violation of the Spanish Exclusive. The Spanish also lacked the means to defend the colony, which consisted of only 24 Spanish settlers in 1625. Thus, the Dutch attacked St. Joseph with impunity in 1637. By 1671, the island included 80 settlers and 80 "domesticated" Amerindians.
By 1772, the Spanish capital of St. Joseph had a population of 326 Spaniards and 417 Amerindians. Yet the houses consisted of mud huts with thatch roofs. In general, lacking gold, the island was poor and undeveloped, inducing many to leave.
The Captaincy General of Venezuela was created on 8 September 1777, through the Royal Decree of Graces of Charles III of Bourbon, to provide more autonomy for the provinces of Venezuela, previously under the jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty of New Granada and the Audiencia of Santo Domingo. The crown established a unified government in political, military, fiscal and judicial affairs. Its creation was part of the Bourbon Reforms and laid the groundwork for the future nation of Venezuela, in particular by orienting the province of Maracaibo towards the province of Caracas.
Colonial settlement of Tobago
In Tobago, the first Dutch colony of Nieuw-Walcheren was short-lived. 68 colonists established Fort Vlissingen near modern Plymouth in 1628. They were reinforced by a few hundred more settlers from Zeeland in 1629 and 1632. Attempted colonies by Courland in 1637, 1639, and 1642 and England in 1639, 1642, and 1647 all failed.In May and September 1654, Courish and Dutch colonies were reestablished successfully. The Courish colony of Neu-Kurland was centered at Fort Jacob on Great Courland Bay. The Dutch colony on the other side of the island had three forts: Lampsinsberg, Beveren, and Bellavista. In 1658, 500 Frenchmen joined the Dutch colony but formed their own settlement called Three Rivers. On 11 December 1659, the Courlanders peaceably surrendered their colony to the Dutch. At the time, the island held about 1,500 Europeans and around 7,000 African slaves working on 120 plantations, supporting six or seven sugar mills and two rum distilleries.
British Jamaican pirates captured the island in January 1666; the official English garrison surrendered to a French attack in August the same year. The Dutch admiral Abraham Crijnssen reclaimed a deserted colony in April 1667 and reestablished a fort. An attempt to restore the Courish Fort Jacob was suppressed in December 1668. In December, 1672, the British attacked and destroyed the Dutch colony as part of the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Dutch control was regained under the status quo ante provisions of the Second Treaty of Westminster in 1674; in September 1676, Fort Sterreschans was constructed near the ruins of Fort Vlissingen. This star fort was reinforced in February 1677, but French attacks in February, March, and December of that year finally succeeded in killing the Dutch governor and capturing the island.
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle in 1748 designated Tobago neutral territory. Amerindians from Venezuela who sought to avoid being forced to settle in Capuchin mission villages, and Island Caribs from St. Vincent who sought to escape conflict with the Black Caribs, were among the groups who settled there in this period.
Spanish missions in Trinidad
were established as part of the Spanish colonization here as in its other new New World conquests. In 1687, the Catalan Capuchin friars were given responsibility for the conversion of the indigenous population of Trinidad and the Guianas. Tensions between priests and Amerindians led to the Arena Massacre of 1699, wherein the Amerindians murdered the priests. After being hunted by the Spanish, the survivors are reported to have committed suicide by jumping off cliffs into the sea. In 1713, the missions were handed over to the secular clergy. Due to shortages of missionaries, although the missions were established they often went without Christian instruction for long periods of time.Between 1687 and 1700, several missions were founded in Trinidad, but only four survived as Amerindian villages throughout the 18th century – La Anuncíata de Nazaret de Savana Grande, Purísima Concepción de María Santísima de Guayri, Santa Ana de Savaneta, Nuestra Señora de Montserrate. The mission of Santa Rosa de Arima was established in 1789 when Amerindians from the former encomiendas of Tacarigua and Arauca.