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Jul 31, 1498
Trinidad is Re-Discovered
Trinidad is re-discovered by Christopher Columbus on his 2rd voyage to the Caribbean.
The island officially becomes a Spanish colony.
Image is of Port-of-Spain during the colonial period. -
Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
Under Development
During this period, the Spain did not pay much attention to the colony of Trinidad.
Spain had focused most of her attention on her mainland colonise as these were more profitable and she hoped to find gold here as well.
The only efforts came in the late 1700's when she turned her focus away from the mainland colonies and encouraged settlers to come to Trinidad.
These settlers were mostly French Creoles who saw the unused in Trinidad for its possibilites. -
Britian enters Trinidad
In 1797, 17 British fleets entered the water of Trinidad.
At this time, the island was a Spanish colony.
Without much of a fight, the colony of Trinidad became a British colony when Governor Chacon surrendered the colony to Sir Ralph Abercromby. -
Period: to
Development
From the inception of British rule in Trinidad, sugar cultivation began to dominate the landscape.
This was the first change in the land use pattern of Trinidad.
Throughout the century, with the fluctuations in the international economy, the demand of sugar fell.
This fall resulted in a diversification of the economy as cocoa and other crops began to be planted in abundance.
This is the second major change in the land use.
However, at the end of the time frame, sugar was still in trouble. -
Emancipation
The slaves are free.
In Trinidad, they left the estates to live a life of freedom.
Trinidad had a large land area to support this.
Now, instead of large sugar plantations dominating the landscpae, the land use changed as peasant farming began. -
Closure of Caroni (1975) Limited
The company is closed down.
