Trinidad and Tobago History

History
Columbus discovered Trinidad and Tobago on his third voyage in 1498. Trinidad was inhabited by the Arawak Indians, who were killed by early European settlers. It was colonized by the Spanish in 1592. It continued under Spanish rule until 1797, when it was captured by the British. Trinidad was formally ceded to the United Kingdom in 1802.

Tobago was ruled intermittently by the Dutch, French and English in its early colonial history before it was ceded to the United Kingdom in 1814. Trinidad and Tobago were merged in 1888 to form a single colony. Full independence was gained in 1962. 

Timeline
Trinidad 1509 - Under jurisdiction of Spain 1777 - French settlers arrived 1797 - Under jurisdiction of Great Britain 1889 - Trinidad and Tobago joint colony 1962 - Became independent Tobago Tobago changed hands 33 times—more than any other Caribbean island, including: 1532-1534 - Spain 1569-1570 - Spain 1592 - Spanish permanent settlement 1595 - English raid 1628-1637 - Netherlands settlement 1637, 1639, and 1642 - Failed Courland colonies 1639, 1642, and 1647 - Failed English colonies 1654 - Successful Courland and Netherlands colonies 1658 - French colony 1659 - Courlanders surrendered to the Dutch 1666 - English-Jamaican pirates captured Tobago, but surrendered to France later that year 1667 - The Netherlands reclaimed their forts 1672 - Dutch wiped out by the English who captured Tobago 1674 - The Netherlands regained control by treaty 1677 - France captured Tobago 1679 - Restored to the Netherlands 1705 - Tobago became a no-mans-land 1715 - Claimed by Great Britain in 1715 1733 - Sweden sent settlers, but they were repelled by natives 1748 - France and Great Britain declared Tobago neutral 1762 - Great Britain captured Tobago 1763 - France left control of the tiny European population to Great Britain 1781 - France re-invaded 1797 - Tobago surrendered to Great Britain 1814 - Tobago was ceded from France to Great Britain 1889 - Joined with Trinidad as one colony 1962 - Trinidad and Tobago were granted independence

Local Histories

 * Williams, Eric. History of the People of Trinidad and Tobago.  Port-of-Spain: PNM Publishing Co., 1962.