SCORCH takes a tour through the history of this beautifully diverse place we call ‘home’. Between now and Republic day we will be revealing more and more of this 5 part series. Enjoy!
Compiled by Rubadiri Victor
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13,000-6,000BC : Trinidad is part of the South American continent- the last piece of the Andes and either breaks off or is separated by flood or tectonic plate movements to become an island. This is why Trinidad has a lush Amazonian forest.
5,000 BC: Trinidad has human settlement. The Banwari man- the oldest fossil in this part of the world points to a human civilisation predating 2000 years before the pyramids of Egypt
1400 AD: Before the arrival of Europeans, Trinidad is called Kairi and is populated by many Amerindian tribes referred to by various names: Yaio, Nepuyo, Chaima, Warao, Kalipuna, Carinepogoto, Garini, Aruaca, etc. Tribes travel from the mainland and the islands to crown priests and caciques at several sacred sites at Naparima Hill, Aripo, and El Tucuche.
1498: Columbus stumbles upon Trinidad on his third trip and names the island after the Christian Holy Trinity. He claims it for Castile. He spots a nearby islands, Tobago, which he calls ‘Bella Forma’. They encounter Amerindians
1580: English sailors claim Tobago for England. Tobago will be fought over and change hands dozens of times between European powers
1592: Antonio de Berrìo Y Oruña is appointed Governor of Trinidad and founds the town of St. Joseph.
Sir Walter Raleigh’s first visit to Trinidad; he encounters the asphalt Lake, and caulks his ships there, assaults San José de Oruña (St. Joseph), takes de Berrìo prisoner, and burns down the town.
Amerindian peoples numbered at least 40,000 at the this time
1610: Dutch traders sell Trinidad its first African slaves.
1662: The French surrender their claim to Tobago in favor of the Dutch West Indian Company.
1685: The French pass the Code Noir, a set of harsh Laws against African dance and drumming assemblies.
1699: Amerindians revolt against Spanish Governor José León de Echales and the Capuchin missionaries at the Arena Massacre led by Chief Hyarima – the first major rebellion in the name of freedom; Governor Echales is killed,
1770: Tobago slave rebellion led by Sandy fails. First of a series of four rebellions, (1770, 1771, 1773 & 1774) by the enslaved population in Tobago.
1776: The world’s oldest protected rain forest on Tobago was set aside
1783: The Cedula of Population makes T&T French and multi-ethnic- opens Trinidad to immigration from the French Caribbean islands. It grants 32 acres to each Roman Catholic who settles in Trinidad and half as much for each slave that they brought. What was once a small colony of 1000 in
1773: boomed to 18,627 inhabitants by 1797
1790: Scarborough burnt to the ground after mutiny of French soldiers.
