Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago (/ˈtrɪnɪdæd ...təˈbeɪɡoʊ/  (listen), /-toʊ-/ ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated 130 kilometres (81 miles) south of Grenada and 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) off the coast of northeastern Venezuela.^[10] It shares maritime boundaries with Barbados to the northeast, Grenada to the northwest and Venezuela to the south and west.^[11][12] Trinidad and Tobago is generally considered to be part of the West Indies. According to some geographic definitions, Trinidad and Tobago are also part of the Windward Islands and Lesser Antilles, while other definitions regard Trinidad and Tobago as a separate island group.

The island of Trinidad was inhabited for centuries by Indigenous peoples before becoming a colony in the Spanish Empire, following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498. Spanish governor José María Chacón surrendered the island to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby in 1797.^[13] During the same period, the island of Tobago changed hands among Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlander colonists more times than any other island in the Caribbean.^{[citation needed]} Trinidad and Tobago were ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens as separate states and unified in 1889.^[14] Trinidad and Tobago obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976.^[15][10]

Trinidad and Tobago has the third highest GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP) in the Americas after the United States and Canada.^[16] It is recognised by the World Bank as a high-income economy.^[17] Unlike most Caribbean nations and territories, which rely heavily on tourism, the economy is primarily industrial with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals;^[18] much of the nation's wealth is derived from its large reserves of oil and natural gas.^[19]

Trinidad and Tobago is well known for its African and Indian cultures, reflected in its large and famous Carnival, Diwali, and Hosay celebrations, as well being the birthplace of steelpan, the limbo, and music styles such as calypso, soca, rapso, parang, chutney, and chutney soca.^{[20][21][22][23][24][25][26]}

Historian E. L. Joseph claimed that Trinidad's Indigenous name was Cairi or "Land of the Humming Bird", derived from the Arawak name for hummingbird, ierèttê or yerettê. However, other authors dispute this etymology with some claiming that cairi does not mean hummingbird (tukusi or tucuchi being suggested as the correct word) and some claiming that kairi, or iere, simply means island.^[27] Christopher Columbus renamed it "La Isla de la Trinidad" ("The Island of the Trinity"), fulfilling a vow made before setting out on his third voyage of exploration.^[28] Tobago's cigar-like shape, or the use of tobacco by the native people, may have given it its Spanish name (cabaco, tavaco, tobacco) and possibly some of its other Indigenous names, such as Aloubaéra (black conch) and Urupaina (big snail),^[27] although the English pronunciation is /təˈbeɪɡoʊ/.

The islands that make up modern-day Trinidad and Tobago lie at the southern end of the Lesser Antilles group. By 150 million years ago, in the further advance of the Atlantic Ocean's open-up, they began to emerge from volcanic subduction in edge of the Caribbean Plate.^{[citation needed][dubious – discuss]}