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 Trinidad and Tobago| Facts & Figures |
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| President: Maxwell Richards (2003) Prime Minister: Patrick Manning
(2001) Total area: 1,981 sq mi (5,131 sq km) Population (2009 est.): 1,229,953
(growth rate: –0.1%); birth rate: 14.3/1000; infant mortality rate:
29.9/1000; life expectancy: 70.8; density per sq mi: 533
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Port-of-Spain, 263,800 (metro. area), 45,300
(city proper) Monetary unit: Trinidad and Tobago
dollar More Facts & Figures |
GeographyTrinidad and Tobago lie in the Caribbean Sea off the northeast coast of
Venezuela. Trinidad, the larger at 1,864 sq mi (4,828 sq km), is mainly
flat and rolling, with mountains in the north that reach a height of 3,085
ft (940 m) at Mount Aripo. Tobago, at just 116 sq mi (300 sq km), is
heavily forested with hardwood trees.
GovernmentParliamentary democracy.
HistoryWhen Trinidad was explored by Columbus in 1498, it was inhabited by the
Arawaks; Carib Indians inhabited Tobago. Trinidad remained in Spanish
possession, despite raids by other European nations, until it was ceded to
Britain in 1802. Tobago passed between Britain and France several times,
but it was ultimately given to Britain in 1814. Slavery was abolished in
1834. Between 1845 and 1917, thousands of indentured workers were brought
from India to work on sugarcane plantations. In 1889 Trinidad and Tobago
were made a single colony.
Partial self-government was instituted in 1925, and from 1958 to 1962
the nation was part of the West Indies Federation. On Aug. 31, 1962, it
gained independence and on Aug. 1, 1976, Trinidad and Tobago became a
republic, remaining within the Commonwealth. While the country is a stable
democracy and enjoys the highest living standards in the Caribbean thanks
to oil revenue, tension between East Indians and blacks has underlined
much of political life. In 1970 the tension was the underlying cause of
riots, protests, and an army mutiny for the end of foreign influence over
the economy. These events prompted a state of emergency which lasted for
two years.
Eric Williams, “Father of the Nation” and leader of the People's
National Movement (PNM), which is largely supported by blacks, governed
from 1956 until his death in 1981. In Dec. 1986 the multiracial National
Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), based in Tobago, won a parliamentary
majority, promising to sell most state-owned companies, reorganize the
civil service, and reduce dependence on oil.
In 1990, to protest the NAR government, some 100 radical black Muslims
blew up the police station in an attempted coup, in which the prime
minister and other officials were held hostage for six days. The NAR was
defeated in 1991, and the PNM returned to power. In 1995, the East
Indian–based party, the United National Congress (UNC), led by Basdeo
Panday, formed a coalition government with the NAR. In 2000, Panday
narrowly won another term.
In Dec. 2001 elections, the governing UNC Party and the PNM Party
gained 18 seats each. The two parties agreed to allow President Robinson
to select the prime minister to end the impasse. But when Robinson chose
Patrick Manning of the PNM because of his “moral and spiritual values,”
the opposition angrily called for new elections. In the Oct. 2002
elections, Manning's party declared victory. Maxwell Richards, a
university dean, was selected president by parliament in 2003.
In April 2006, former prime minister Panday was sentenced to two years
in prison for committing fraud in public office. Richards, running
unopposed, was reelected in February 2008.
See also
Encyclopedia:
Trinidad and Tobago
.
U.S. State Dept. Country
Notes: Trinidad and Tobago
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