Abstract
When Columbus visited Trinidad in 1498 the island was inhabited by Arawak Indians. Tobago was occupied by the Caribs. Trinidad remained a neglected Spanish possession for almost 300 years until it was surrendered to a British naval expedition in 1797. The British first attempted to settle Tobago in 1721 but the French captured the island in 1781 and transformed it into a sugar-producing colony. In 1802 the British acquired Tobago and in 1899 it was administratively combined with Trinidad. When slavery was abolished in the late 1830s, the British subsidized immigration from India to replace plantation labourers. Sugar and cocoa declined towards the end of the 19th century. Oil and asphalt became the dominant sources of income. On 31 Aug. 1962 Trinidad and Tobago became an independent member state of the Commonwealth. A Republican Constitution was adopted on 1 Aug. 1976.
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Further Reading
Chambers, F., Trinidad and Tobago. [Bibliography] ABC-Clio, Oxford and Santa Barbara (CA), 1986
Cooper, St G. C. and Bacon, P. R. (eds.) The Natural Resources of Trinidad and Tobago. London, 1981
Central library: The Central Library of Trinidad and Tobago, Queen’s Park East, Port-of-Spain.
National statistical office: Central Statistical Office, 2 Edward St., Port-of-Spain.
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© 2000 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Turner, B. (2000). Trinidad and Tobago. In: Turner, B. (eds) The Statesman’s Yearbook. The Statesman’s Yearbook. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230271296_251
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230271296_251
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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