Trinidad and Tobago, republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, comprising the southernmost of the Caribbean islands, namely, Trinidad and Tobago and adjacent islets situated off the coast of Venezuela. Trinidad is situated north of and opposite the mouth of the Orinoco River and is separated from the South American coast by the Gulf of Paria. Tobago is 32 km (20 mi) northeast of Trinidad. Area of Trinidad, 4828 sq km (1864 sq mi); area of Tobago, 300 sq km (116 sq mi); total area of the country, 5130 sq km (1981 sq mi).

Land and Resources Trinidad is traversed roughly from east to west by three ranges of hills. The highest point, El Cerro del Aripo, is 940 m (3085 ft) above sea level. The island has only one natural harbor, at Chaguanas on the western coast, but the entire Gulf of Paria provides safe anchorage. The northern coast is rocky, the southern coast is steep, and the eastern coast is exposed to heavy surf. In the southwestern part of Trinidad is the famous 42-hectare (104-acre) Pitch Lake, which yields large quantities of asphalt. The island of Tobago is of volcanic origin and is, in actuality, a single mountain mass that reaches an elevation of about 550 m (about 1800 ft) above sea level at its summit.

Population The population (1989 estimate) of Trinidad and Tobago was 1,285,000. The population density was 266 persons per sq km (689 per sq mi). The capital and chief city is Port-of-Spain (population, 1988 estimate, 58,400). Other major cities are San Fernando (34,200) and Arima (24,600). The people of the islands are chiefly West Indians of African descent (43 percent) and East Indians (40 percent). Other groups include people of Chinese, West European, and Middle Eastern descent. English is the principal language spoken, although Spanish, Hindi, and a French patois are also used. About three-fifths of the people are Christians, with Roman Catholics constituting the largest single group. Anglicans form another substantial community, and Hindus (25 percent) and Muslims (6 percent) make up the major non-Christian bodies.

Education in the country is free, and attendance at school is compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 12. In the late 1980s more than 274,000 pupils annually attended primary and secondary schools, most of which are maintained or aided by the government. Higher education is provided by teacher-training colleges, technical institutes, and the University of the West Indies, which has faculties in the arts, social sciences, natural sciences, education, agriculture, medicine, and engineering on the Trinidad-Tobago Campus (1960) in Saint Augustine, Trinidad.

Economy The economy of Trinidad and Tobago is based on the production and refining of petroleum. In the late 1980s annual crude petroleum production totaled 54.1 million barrels. Natural gas is also produced. Asphalt production is about 26,000 metric tons annually. Coal, iron, gypsum, and graphite are found but in quantities too small to be economically important. Manufactures include processed food, tobacco products, rum, refined petroleum, and fertilizer. Other industries developed in the 1980s produce iron and steel, petrochemicals, and electronic equipment. Agriculture employs about 10 percent of the labor force. The most important commercial crop is sugarcane. Cacao, coconuts, citrus fruits, tonka beans, vegetables, rubber trees, and coffee are also cultivated. The chief products of Tobago are cacao, copra, coconuts, livestock, poultry, and limes. Tourism is important to the economy and is a leading source of foreign exchange. The estimated national budget for the late 1980s showed annual revenues of $1.4 billion, current expenditures of $1.7 billion, and capital outlays of $430 million.

The country exports crude and refined petroleum, which constitute about 70 percent of the yearly exports; other exports are chemicals, iron and steel, sugar, cacao beans, and rum. Crude petroleum is imported for refining. In the late 1980s annual exports were valued at about $1.5 billion annually, and imports about $1.1 billion. The unit of currency is the Trinidad and Tobago dollar (4.24 T.T. dollars equal U.S.$1; 1990), consisting of 100 cents.

Government According to the constitution of 1976, Trinidad and Tobago is a republic. The constitution provides for a president and a bicameral legislature, consisting of a senate and a house of representatives. The president is elected by an electoral college of members of both houses of the legislature. The house of representatives has 36 members, popularly elected to five-year terms. The 31 members of the senate are appointed by the president. Tobago was granted its own house of assembly in 1980.

History Christopher Columbus landed on Trinidad on July 31, 1498, during his third voyage. At that time, the island was populated by a relatively peaceful Arawak subgroup called Igneri, who engaged in primitive agriculture, and the fierce Caribs, who were gatherers on a lower cultural level.

Colonial Rule Spain subsequently colonized the island and in 1532 appointed a governor for it. The indigenous population was soon worked to death or exiled, after which African slaves were brought in. During the 17th century the island suffered from raids by the Dutch and French. During the French revolutionary period, many French families came to Trinidad from Haiti and other islands of the West Indies. In February 1797, during the wars of the French Revolution, Trinidad capitulated to a British force, and in 1802, following the Treaty of Amiens, it was formally ceded to Great Britain. Slavery was abolished in 1833, and between 1845 and 1917 more than 150,000 Muslim and Hindu Indians were brought to the island of Trinidad by the British to replace plantation slaves.

Tobago, inhabited by the Caribs, was also sighted in 1498 by Columbus. It was successively a Spanish, British, Dutch, and French possession until 1814, when France, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, had to cede the island to Britain. Tobago formed a part of the Windward Islands Colony until 1889, when it was joined to Trinidad.

Independence Gained Trinidad and Tobago was a constituent part of the Federation of the West Indies from April 22, 1958 until May 31, 1962. On August 31, 1962, Trinidad and Tobago became an independent state in the Commonwealth of Nations. It joined the Organization of American States in 1967. In 1968, along with other English-speaking Caribbean states, it formed the Caribbean Free Trade Area (CARIFTA), which in 1973 was replaced by the Caribbean Common Market.

The People's National Movement (PNM), in power from the country's independence (1962) until 1986, drew much of its support from the black urban and the business communities; its leader from 1962 to 1981 was Prime Minister Eric Williams. In the early 1970's, the nation faced a social and economic crisis. Rioting erupted in Trinidad in April 1970, resulting in several deaths and many injuries. The situation was further complicated by a short-lived mutiny of elements of the army. A state of emergency was declared. Although the riots had overtones of a black nationalist campaign, observers saw economic factors as the basis of the trouble. In response, Prime Minister Williams announced that a recently appointed Commission on Racial Discrimination would begin hearings when order had been restored. The state of emergency, which had been extended through 1971, was ended in June 1972.

Republic established During 1973 the oil revenues of Trinidad grew rapidly as the country became the third leading exporter of oil in the western hemisphere. But early in 1975 the rate of unemployment was a high 17 percent and that of inflation soared to 23 percent. In March and April of that year labor strikes in the oil and sugar industries and sympathy strikes by transport and electrical workers paralyzed the economy, costing the country an estimated $200 million. Prime Minister Williams was widely accused of not providing adequate leadership to the country. Inflation eased somewhat the following year, although unemployment remained high. Williams remained in office after elections in September 1976 under a new constitution that made the country a republic within the Commonwealth. A rash of firebombing, arson, and political shootings occured in 1980. Upon Williams's death in 1981, Agriculture Minister George Chambers was elected prime minister and leader of the PNM. In the 1986 elections, the National Alliance for Reconstruction won 33 of 36 seats in the House of Representatives, and Authur Napoleon Robinson became prime minister. In July 1990 more than 100 Muslim militants blew up police headquarters, seized the parliament building, and held Robinson and other government officials hostage for several days in an abortive coup attempt. After a PNM victory in the December 1991 elections, Patrick Manning became prime minister.