Country of my birth and unique all on it’s own, Trinidad & Tobago became independent in 1962. Trinidad coming from the word ‘Trinity’ (3 ships that rediscovered the islands with Christopher Colombus) and Tobago from ‘Tobacco’ as Tobacco and Cotton were once a form of agriculture there. Two islands, one nation, that were ruled by the French, the Spanish, the Dutch, the Courlanders and the British (last and longest). Between the countries that ruled them and the people that settled there it’s history is rich and its beauty un-mistakable.
Our first settlers/natives were the tribes of the Caribs and Arawaks, and after the Europeans settled, they brought slaves from Africa, and then the East-Indian Indentured Labourers. Because of the countries’ rich resources like the sugar-cane plantations, cocoa, tobacco, cotton and discovery of oil, Trinidad & Tobago attracted many others like the Chinese, Portuguese and Syrians. To this day, Trinidad & Tobago is known as one of the more affluent Caribbean islands and is known for its rain-forest landscape, and musical and exotic people who have won Nobel Peace Prizes, Miss Universe competitions and gold medals in the Olympics. A variety of religions, languages and diverse culture still lives on today.
Trinidad and Tobago is located in the Caribbean Sea at the bottom of the archipelago of islands right northeast off the coast of Venezuela (South America). It is heavily forested with hundreds of species of tropical birds and beautiful white and black sand beaches in it’s smaller twin-island Tobago.
In the 20th century Trinidad & Tobago was the only country to produce an acoustic instrument known as the ‘Steel-pan’ (Steel-drum) which was made out of old oil drums. It is commonly used all over the Caribbean and it is recognized not only in steel orchestras but world wide and even taught in schools.
But perhaps what Trinidad & Tobago is known best for is for it’s CARNIVAL. Which has been dubbed as ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’. It is an annual event held on Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and is well-known for it’s colorful costumes and exuberant celebrations!
We are 98% literate and take our sports of cricket and football (futbol) very seriously. The Red, Black and White of the national flag is to symbolize the warmth of the people, the earth and water respectively. The motto: ‘Together we aspire, together we achieve’ reminds us that we can’t succeed on our own but like our varied history we stand stronger together as one! :))
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