Afro-Trinidadian and Tobagonian - History

History

In 1498 Christopher Columbus landed on the island of Trinidad where he encountered the indigenous Taino people (Arawakan) and the Kalinagos (Cariban). A while after Columbus's landing Trinidad became a territory of the Spanish Empire. The Spanish enslaved the Amerindians and over time mixed with them creating the Mestizo identity with their offspring. The Mulattos came about after Spain started transporting enslaved Africans to Trinidad in 1517 via the Atlantic slave trade. By the time the African, Mulattos and Mestizos started intermixing, the Amerindians became almost nonexistent.

In 1783 the King of Spain passed the Cedula of Population law which promised free land to Europeans willing to relocate to Trinidad to work. With this law French settlers and their creole slaves migrated to Trinidad to work the sugar cane plantations. They too added to the ancestry of Trinidadians, creating the creole identity; Spanish, French, and Patois were the languages spoken.

In 1802 Great Britain took over the island and slavery was eventually abolished in 1834. The abolition of slavery led to an influx of indentured servants from places such as China. The conditions were horrible. While some left, many stayed and married into the Trinidadian populace. In 1911, many more Chinese came after the Chinese Revolution.

In the 1840s, European indentured servants began arriving including: the French, Spanish, West Africans, Creoles, Chinese, Germans, Swiss, Portuguese, British, Italians, Mexicans, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Arabs, Lebanese, African Americans, Other Caribbean islands, Venezuela, and Irish (many of which also settled in Montserrat, also known for their high number of redheads). A high number of these settlers married into the families of the freed slaves over time.

On May 30, 1845, the British transported indentured servants from East India to Trinidad. The conditions were not that much different from the African slave trade this day is known as Indian Arrival Day. The first group of East Indian people also began to mix into the Trinidadian populous. After the use of indentured servants was abolished 1917, a second group of East Indian people steadily migrated to Trinidad from India referred to as "coolies" (which is a racial slur directed toward the newly arriving East Indian people most of which kept their East Indian customs).

Because of this rich and unique cultural heritage Afro-Trinidadian and Tobagonians are known as one of the most ethnically, racially, and culturally diverse people in the world.