TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, FLAG OF

national flag consisting of a red field (background) incorporating a diagonal black stripe with white fimbriations (narrow borders). The flag has a width-to-length ratio of 3 to 5. As a British colony, Trinidad and Tobago displayed both the Union Jack and the British Blue Ensign with a special badge. Specifically, Trinidad was granted a shield portraying a British ship arriving in harbour above a ribbon with the Latin motto Miscerique probat populos et fdera jungi, translated as He approves of the mingling of peoples and their being joined together by treaties. Neither of these symbols was appropriate for the new nation, whose independence was achieved at midnight (12:00 AM) on August 31, 1962. A committee had been established on the last day of May in 1962 to choose a new national flag for Trinidad and Tobago. Their selection, adopted on June 28 and approved by the College of Arms two weeks later, was officially hoisted for the first time on Independence Day and is still in use. It is a unique design with a diagonal stripe and contrasting colours. Earth, water, and fire as well as the past, present, and future of the country were associated with the black, white, and red of the design. In addition, black was seen as a symbol of dedication to unity, strength, and purpose. The white recalled the sea uniting the two principal islands of the nation, the equality of the people, and the purity of their aspirations. Red suggested the energy and warmth of the sun, the vitality of the people and nation, and the friendliness and courage of the inhabitants. No direct explanation was given for the diagonal stripe, but it was characteristic of the imaginative new designs that the Caribbean was to produce in national flags over the next two decades. Whitney Smith History When Christopher Columbus reached Trinidad in 1498 on his third voyage, the island was inhabited by peoples who had come originally from the Orinoco River delta region. Tribal groups speaking Arawakan languages were in the majority, but there were probably Carib speakers as well. In the 16th century many of these Trinidadian Indians were captured by Spanish slave traders and sent to work in other Spanish possessions, but there was no effective Spanish presence on the island until 1592. In that year, Antonio de Berrio took official possession of the island and founded St. Joseph, the capital until 1784. Even after 1592 the development of the island proceeded slowly. Few Spaniards emigrated to Trinidad, only a handful of African slaves were imported, and there was little production or export. In the 17th and early 18th centuries, tobacco and, later, cacao were cultivated using Indian labour, but after a disastrous cacao failure in the 1720s the industry declined. The island remained undeveloped until the late 18th century. From 1776 the Spanish government encouraged Roman Catholics from the other Caribbean islands to settle in Trinidad with their slaves. This immigration became significant after the Cedula (decree) of 1783, which offered generous land and tax incentives to settlers, and transformed Trinidad's population, economy, and society. Most of the settlers were French, and French influence became dominant. Many slaves were brought in from the other colonies and from Africa. Plantations were established, production of cotton and sugar began, and trade increased markedly. By 1797, when Britain seized the island from Spain, Trinidad had begun its development as a plantation economy and a slave society. Trinidad was formally ceded to Britain in 1802. Under British rule, Trinidad's development as a sugar colony continued, although in 180607 the slave trade was completely prohibited. Slavery was abolished in two stages between 1834 and 1838, and the sugarcane planters were unable to secure the steady, tractable, and cheap labour they wanted. In 1845 the immigration of indentured workers from India began; it continued until 1917. As early as 1870, about a quarter of the total population consisted of Indians. The original Trinidadian Indian inhabitants had by then virtually disappeared. Other immigrants came to Trinidad after 1838 from the smaller British Caribbean colonies, Africa (as free settlers rescued from foreign slave ships), Madeira, China, Syria, Lebanon, Venezuela, and the United Kingdom. Trinidad's population became the most heterogeneous in the Caribbean. Tobago, also sighted by Columbus in 1498, was virtually untouched by European settlement until the 18th century. Its development as a sugar colony began when it was ceded to Britain in 1763 and continued throughout the period from 1763 to 1814, when Tobago changed hands between Britain and France several times. Tobago's sugar production peaked in the 1790s but began an irreversible decline after 1807. Tobago was ceded to Britain for the last time in 1814, but by then its importance as a sugar-exporting colony had already begun to wane. Unlike Trinidad, Tobago had its own bicameral legislature until 1874. In 1889, with the island's economy in shambles as a result of the collapse of its sugar industry, Tobago was amalgamated with Trinidad, while retaining a subordinate legislature and separate taxes. In 1899 it became a ward (administrative district) of Trinidad and Tobago. In 1925 a constitutional reform added seven elected members to Trinidad and Tobago's Legislative Council. Further agitationespecially an islandwide series of strikes and riots in 1937 under Uriah Butlerled to the grant of universal suffrage in 1945 and other constitutional reforms that provided for a measure of self-government. For about 10 years after universal suffrage, politics in the colony were characterized by individualism and confusion, but in 1956 the People's National Movement (PNM) won a victory at the polls and formed the first party-based cabinet government. Trinidad and Tobago attained independence in 1962 and became a republic within the Commonwealth in 1976. The PNM won six consecutive elections and held power from 1956 to 1986. This continuity and stability in government were accompanied by economic problems and social unrest, culminating in widespread disturbances in 197071. But the oil boom in 197381 brought sudden prosperity to most sections of the population, and Trinidad and Tobago entered a period of rapid development and industrialization. A substantial state sector and fairly comprehensive social welfare programs were created from the petroleum profits, while the private sector expanded rapidly. The collapse of oil prices, along with the PNM's failure to win support from most Indo-Trinidadians and deep-seated corruption, led to a marked decline in the party's popularity. In December 1986 the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), a coalition party, won 33 of 36 seats on a program calling for divestment of most state-owned companies, reorganization of the civil service, and structural readjustment of the economy in the light of shrinking oil revenues. Although the NAR government succeeded somewhat in stimulating economic growth while keeping inflation low, its policies were widely resented and the party was damaged by splits and defections. In July 1990 a small, radical Muslim group attempted a coup in which several ministers, including the prime minister, were held hostage for six days. The NAR was defeated in elections in December 1991, and the PNM returned to power. Bridget M. Brereton