History Of Trinidad

2142 Words9 Pages
Trinidad's recorded history begins with the island's discovery by Christopher Columbus on July 31, 1498; however, its unwritten history goes back much further- as far back as 5,000 years or more BC, judging from archaeological artifacts. The inhabitants of the island in pre-Columbian times were Amerindian tribes from the South American mainland. The main group, the Arawaks (or Aruacas) was a peaceful tribe from the upper regions of the Orinoco, in Guyana. These had settled mostly in the south of the island, where they employed themselves hunting, fishing and growing a few crops such as cassava, maize and sweet potato. They wove cotton to make hammocks, used tobacco for religious rituals, and expressed their artistic urges through woodcarvings and pottery. The northern part of the island - which the Amerindians called "Iere", or "Land of the Humming Bird" - was inhabited by a fiercer tribe called the Caribs. A warlike people, the Caribs had come originally from the Amazon region, settling the islands of Tobago, St. Vincent, Dominica, Martinique and Guadeloupe. Reputed to be cannibals, the Caribs fought fiercely against the European attempts to colonize the island; but it was, ultimately, a losing battle. War, enslavement and diseases brought to the island by the outsiders took their toll, eventually wiping out the Amerindian population almost completely. Estimated to have been about 35,000 when Columbus discovered the island, the indigenous population now numbered about 300, concentrated mainly in east Trinidad, near the town of Arima. It was on his third voyage, after a demoralizing week becalmed in the doldrums, that Columbus discovered the island which he named La Trinidad, in honour of the Blessed Trinity. He claimed the island for Spain; but it was at least 30 years before Spain showed any official interest in her new possession. In 1530, the Spanish

More about History Of Trinidad

Open Document