TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

officially Republic of Trinidad and Tobago island republic of the West Indies, lying just off the coast of Venezuela in the Caribbean Sea. Trinidad is the southernmost of the Windward Islands and has an area of 1,864 square miles (4,828 square km). Tobago occupies only 116 square miles (300 square km). The capital is Port of Spain on Trinidad. Trinidad is separated from Venezuela by the Gulf of Paria and two narrow channels. Tobago lies 7 miles (11 km) north of the larger island. Area 1,980 square miles (5,128 square km). Pop. (1993 est.) 1,249,000. officially Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, island state of the West Indies. Forming the two southernmost links in the Caribbean chain, the islands lie close to the South American continent, northeast of Venezuela and northwest of Guyana. They have a total area of 1,978 square miles (5,123 square kilometres). Trinidad, the larger island, comprises 1,841 square miles. It is seven miles (11 kilometres) at the nearest point from the Venezuelan coast, from which it is separated by the Gulf of Paria and two narrow channels, where there are several small islands and rocks. Tobago, the smaller island, with an area of about 115 square miles, lies in the Atlantic 19 miles to the northeast of Trinidad. Extending diagonally from southwest to northeast, Tobago is about 32 miles long and more than 11 miles across at its widest point. Little Tobago, also called Bird of Paradise Island, lies about a mile off Tobago's northeastern coast; it is noted as the only wild habitat outside of New Guinea of the greater bird-of-paradise. The capital, Port of Spain, is located on the northwestern coast of Trinidad. Trinidad and Tobago achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. It obtained membership in the Commonwealth in that same year. Additional reading Geography is discussed in Helmut Blume, The Caribbean Islands (1974; originally published in German, 1968); and Jeremy Taylor, Masquerade: The Visitor's Introduction to Trinidad and Tobago (1986).History is explored in Eric E. Williams, History of the People of Trinidad and Tobago (1962); Arie Boomert, The Arawak Indians of Trinidad and Coastal Guiana, ca. 15001650, Journal of Caribbean History, 19(2):123188 (1984); Linda A. Newson, Aboriginal and Spanish Colonial Trinidad: A Study in Culture Contact (1976); Bridget Brereton, Race Relations in Colonial Trinidad, 18701900 (1979), which explores the multiethnic population characteristics of Trinidad, and A History of Modern Trinidad, 17831962 (1981); and Donald Wood, Trinidad in Transition (1968, reissued 1986).