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The Iere (Land of Hummingbirds) of the Arawak was rechristened Trinidad (Trinity) by Christopher Columbus, who sighted three peaks in the southeast of the island on his third voyage to the New World in 1498, Although the island was claimed for Spain, it's Amerindian inhabitants kept settlers at bay until 1592, when the Spanish established a toehold, grew a little tobacco, and kept watch over their treasure fleets sailing home to Europe from South America. Trinidad was still a backwater by the late 18th century, when the Spanish king offered land grants to Catholic settlers. An influx of French planters keen to escape the revolutionary guillotine on their own islands introduced sugar and cocoa plantations. But Spain never reaped the rewards as Britain snatched the island in 1797, later taking possession of neighboring Tobago in 1814. Trinidad's plantations foundered after emancipation in 1838, but once again the island found the solution by encouraging migration from abroad. This time the call was answered by East Indian indentured laborers, who were shipped to the Caribbean, worked a five-year term in the cane fields, and then chose between a return passage and a 5-acre (2-ha) plot of land. Many stayed, and their descendants now number 40 percent of the island's unusually diverse population of about 1.25 million. Another 40 percent of Trinidadians can trace their roots back to Africa, while the remaining 20 percent are of European, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and South American extraction. World War II brought Americans to Trinidad in force. About 80,000 U.S. military personnel were stationed at 225 bases around the island. At about this time the first stirrings of steel-pan music were heard in the "panyards" of Port of Spain as musical Trinidadians recycled old oil drums by beating out the steel surfaces until they could play a range of notes. The versatility of the steel drums (known as pans) added an extra dimension and sophistication to the traditional percussion bands, and the rippling rhythms of steel pan are the heartbeat of Trinidad's famous Carnival, alongside the raucous lyrics of calypso, soca (a fusion of soul music and calypso), and chutney (a fusion of calypso and traditional Indian music). Trinidad and Tobago gained independence from Britain in 1962 and became a republic within the Commonwealth in 1976. Trinidad's oil wealth insulated the island from the tourism development that swept through v other Caribbean islands in the 1960s and '70s, but the 1980s oil slump changed attitudes. v Trinidad's tourist industry is still in its infancy (beach hotels are a novelty), but ecotourism is the island's trump card. If you have noteworthy cultural information on any Caribbean island, we would like to hear from you. Maybe you are an expert in geography, or knowledgeable on architecture, or specialize in Caribbean anthropology, or train tropical parrots, etc., send us an email. Share your knowledge and talents by sending your edited copy and permission so that we can include this on the Caribbean Cultural Center website. Please, no copyrighted material. |
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