Tobago's History

Tobago was occupied by Caribs. Columbus called the island Bella Forma when he sighted it. Today, its present name is a corruption of tobacco, a crop which the native Caribs grew.
The island remained initially isolated from and unknown to Europeans for many decades until 1632 when Dutch merchants established a colony here.
Tobago was identified early in the 16th century as a valuable strategic harbor and a source of unusually fertile soil. Just 20miles (32km) off the northeast coast of Trinidad, this tiny island, 116 sq. miles in area was very highly regarded as prize possession by all of its colonial occupiers.
In 1791, over 90 percent of Tobago's 15,000 residents were African slaves, most of whom worked on the many sugar plantations island wide.
For the next 200 years, Tobago changed hands 33 times among the Spanish, the Dutch, the English and the French, all of them rival colonists. In 1763, Tobago was ceded to Britain, captured by the French in 1781 and then recaptured by the British in 1793. The island was finally ceded to Britain in 1814 by the Treaty of Paris.
In 1797, British forces overwhelmed the Spaniards and claimed Trinidad and in 1802 Trinidad was declared a British colony.

Christopher Columbus

Slaves Estate labour in Tobago, West indies

Crying for freedom

Native Indian Pottery

On April 6, 1889, Tobago was annexed administratively to Trinidad - on the insistence of the British Government and in an effort to secure more financial stability for Tobago, the island became a ward of the colony of Trinidad.
Primarily due to the decline of sugar production in Tobago, the finances of the two islands were then merged and manage under an all-white legislative council of members sent from Britain.
The two islands first became politically linked in 1890 under British rule.
Independence from Britain for Trinidad and Tobago finally came in 1962.
The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago was formed in 1976.

In 1651 Duke Jacob (James) Kettler , Duchy of Courland (Latvia), obtained a grant of the island from Charles I and established a settlement in the north of Tobago. During this time the islands main export goods were sugar, tobacco, cotton and tropical birds. During the Swedish-Polish war (1655-1660) Duke Jacob was captured and the colony was lost to the Dutch. The Treaty of Peace at Oliv (near Danzig), ended this war and Tobago was regained for just a short period around the end of Jacob’s rule. The Duchy, however, never again regained its pre1655 prosperity.
On Jacob’s death in 1682, his son, Friedrich Casimir, the next Duke was not interested in the island’s now dwindling export potential. He subsequently sold Tobago to British colonists.

In 1662 Cornelius Lampsius procured Letters Patent from Louis XIV of making him the Baron of Tobago under the Crown of France.
After being occupied for short periods by the Dutch and the French, Tobago was ceded by France to Britain in 1763 under the Treaty of Paris.

In 1802, after several further invasions by the French and subsequent recapture by the British, Tobago was finally ceded to Britain, becoming a Crown Colony in 1877 and in 1888 being amalgamated politically with Trinidad. Because of its strategic importance Tobago changed sovereignty as many as 33 times. A large number of forts now remain as testimony to this.


Guarding Courland Bay - 1651	A Beautiful Caribbean Sunset	Courland Merchant Vessels

Ancient Courland flag

Jacob Kettler 1642-82

Courland Coin

Evidence of Tobago's Colonial Past

Evidence abounds in the the various place names: Les Coteaux, Glamorgan and L'Anse Fourmi and numerous historical artifacts e.g. ruins of forts, sugar mills and water wheels that dot the island.
With a population of 46,000 nestled in 15 valleys and around the coastline, this island is the perfect demonstration of how man can live in harmony with nature.
Tobago's central hilly range, the main highland ridge, forms much of the island’s topography and is the home of the magnificent rainforest – the oldest protected nature reserve in the Western Hemisphere.
The tourism industry has focused in the flatter areas on the south-west of the island.
This SW area, with its numerous fringe offshore reefs, has distinctive beaches with soft powdery white sand.

Today, the people and customs of Trinidad and Tobago are the products of a very fertile and layered mix of race, religion, class, and culture. Descendants of Amerindians, East Indians, Africans, British, Spanish, French, Syrians, Portuguese, and Chinese among others, all live in harmony. Each group may have its own religious and cultural preferences but they are appreciated by all, regardless of ethnicity or religion.