50 Fun Facts About Trinidad and Tobago

What is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago?

The Spanish moved the capital there from San José in 1757 after pirate raids. Chaguanas is now the most populous municipality.

Trinidad lies about 11 km off the coast of which South American country?

The islands sit on the South American continental shelf, so their wildlife, from howler monkeys to anacondas, is more Venezuelan than Caribbean.

In which year did Trinidad and Tobago gain independence from Britain?

Independence Day is 31 August. The country became a republic in 1976, replacing the governor-general with a president.

Which instrument, invented in Trinidad in the 1930s and 40s, is its national instrument?

It evolved from Carnival's tamboo-bamboo bands using oil drums. The UN declared 11 August World Steelpan Day in 2023.

Which dance, in which performers bend backwards under a bar, originated at wakes in Trinidad?

Julia Edwards, the 'First Lady of Limbo', popularised it in the 1950s through films. Calypso, soca and chutney music were born on the islands too.

Which explorer sighted Trinidad in 1498 and named it for the Holy Trinity?

It was his third voyage. He also glimpsed Tobago on the horizon and called it Bellaforma without landing.

Tobago's name is thought to derive from which plant or its shape?

Either the island's cigar-like outline or the natives' use of the leaf. Indian recruiters called Trinidad 'Chinidad', land of sugar, to lure workers.

In 1797 which British general took Trinidad from Spanish governor José María Chacón without a fight?

Chacón was hopelessly outnumbered. Picton became the first British governor and was recalled for using torture.

Before Britain took it for good in 1814, Tobago changed hands roughly how many times?

Dutch, English, French and even Courlanders from what is now Latvia all tried to hold it, and pirates made things worse.

Trinidad and Tobago were governed as separate colonies until they were united in which year?

Tobago's sugar economy had collapsed and Britain simply attached the unprofitable island to Trinidad.

The first ship of Indian indentured labourers, the Fatel Razack, arrived in Trinidad in which year?

More than 147,000 Indians followed until 1917, and about 90% stayed. Indian Arrival Day on 30 May is a national holiday.

In the 2011 census, which was Trinidad and Tobago's largest ethnic group, at about 35%?

Afro-Trinidadians were a close second at 34% and form about 85% of Tobago's population; 23% identified as mixed.

Who led the country to independence and served as its first prime minister until his death in 1981?

Dubbed the 'Father of the Nation', he was also an Oxford-trained historian whose book 'Capitalism and Slavery' is still debated.

Which group stormed Parliament in 1990 and held the government hostage for six days?

Yasin Abu Bakr's 114 men were promised amnesty, arrested on surrender, and freed after long legal wrangling.

Who became the country's first female prime minister in 2010?

She returned to office after the April 2025 election. The others are two Miss Universe winners and a Tony-winning singer.

Unlike most Caribbean nations, Trinidad and Tobago's economy is based mainly on what?

Petroleum was found in 1857 but only mattered after sugar and cocoa collapsed. Tourism dominates only on Tobago.

Pitch Lake at La Brea in south-west Trinidad is the world's largest natural deposit of what?

About 10 million tons of bitumen fill a 100-acre lake some 76 metres deep. Raleigh caulked his ships with it in 1595.

What is the highest peak in Trinidad and Tobago?

It rises 940 metres in the Northern Range, just four metres higher than El Tucuche.

The scarlet ibis and which Tobago bird are the country's two national birds?

Both appear on the coat of arms. The cocrico is a chachalaca; the tufted coquette is the world's third-smallest hummingbird.

How many hummingbird species are found in Trinidad and Tobago, the 'Land of the Hummingbird'?

The islands have 472 bird species in all, making them a magnet for birdwatchers; the Caroni Swamp's scarlet ibis roost is the star attraction.

Trinidad and Tobago's flag has a black diagonal band edged in white on a red field. Who designed it?

Red is fire and courage, black earth and dedication, white water and purity. It was adopted on independence day 1962.

Doubles, the country's most popular street food, consists of curried chickpeas served in what?

Thought to have been invented in 1936, it is eaten for breakfast or as a late-night snack with chutneys and pepper sauce.

Angostura bitters, made in Trinidad, are famous for what feature of their bottle?

The label overshoots the bottle, reputedly because two brothers ordered mismatched sizes. The recipe contains no angostura bark.

Which Trinidadian batsman holds the record Test innings of 400 not out?

Scored against England at Antigua in 2004. He also holds the first-class record of 501 not out and is nicknamed 'the Prince of Port of Spain'.

Hasely Crawford won the country's first Olympic gold at Montreal 1976 in which event?

Keshorn Walcott added javelin gold in 2012, and the 2008 4x100m relay team was upgraded to gold after Jamaica's disqualification.

In which year did Trinidad and Tobago reach the FIFA World Cup for the only time?

They were the second-least-populous nation ever to qualify. Captained by Dwight Yorke, they drew 0-0 with Sweden before losing to England and Paraguay.

Tobago-born Dwight Yorke won the 1999 Treble with which English club?

His partnership with Andy Cole was lethal. His 123 Premier League goals were a record for a non-European until Sergio Agüero passed it in 2017.

Which Trinidad-born author of 'A House for Mr Biswas' won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2001?

Derek Walcott, born in St Lucia, is the country's other claimed Nobel laureate; he founded the Trinidad Theatre Workshop.

Rapper Nicki Minaj was born in which district of the capital?

Born Onika Maraj in 1982 to a father of mixed African and Indian descent, she moved to Queens, New York, as a child.

In 1977 Janelle Commissiong of Trinidad and Tobago became the first what?

Wendy Fitzwilliam won again in 1998, making it the smallest country with two Miss Universe titles; Giselle LaRonde took Miss World in 1986.

Carnival designer Peter Minshall won an Emmy for his work on the opening ceremony of which event?

He worked on all four. His giant dancing 'mas' figures made him the most celebrated designer in Carnival history.

The oldest pre-Columbian archaeological site in the Caribbean, from about 5000 BC, is at which spot in Trinidad?

It yielded 'Banwari Man', the region's oldest human skeleton. The first settlers came up from South America.

Which English adventurer attacked San José in 1595 and interrogated the Spanish governor while hunting El Dorado?

He got what information he could from Antonio de Berrío and sailed on up the Orinoco. Spanish rule resumed as soon as he left.

Trinidad's 1783 Cédula de Población offered free land to loyal settlers of which faith?

French planters fleeing revolution in Martinique, Grenada and Saint-Domingue poured in, taking the population from 1,400 to over 15,000 in six years.

Which West African-born soldier led an 1837 mutiny at St Joseph to march his men home to Africa?

Captured by Portuguese slavers, freed by the Royal Navy and conscripted, he was ambushed near Arima and executed.

During World War II, which country operated large military bases at Chaguaramas and Cumuto in Trinidad?

The Americans built roads and paid well; calypsonians sang about the changes. They finally left in 1961.

In which year did Hurricane Flora devastate Tobago, killing 30?

The islands lie south of the main hurricane belt, which makes Flora's direct hit all the more unusual.

Trinidad and Tobago was a founding member in 1973 of which regional bloc?

The Caribbean Community succeeded CARIFTA after the West Indies Federation collapsed when Jamaica pulled out in 1961.

Which faith is followed by roughly a quarter of the population, the second-largest after Christianity?

Diwali is a national holiday, as is Eid al-Fitr for the 6% who are Muslim. Hosay, a Shia observance, is celebrated with tadjah processions.

The Queen's Park Oval in the capital holds what distinction in Caribbean cricket?

It had hosted 60 Tests by 2018. The Trinbago Knight Riders play there in the Caribbean Premier League.

In which year did Trinidad and Tobago become a republic, replacing the Queen with a president?

Ellis Clarke was the first president. The country still kept the Privy Council in London as its final court of appeal.

Trinidad and Tobago's Ato Boldon won the 1997 world title in which sprint?

His eight Olympic and world medals are the most by any athlete from the country. Jehue Gordon added a world 400m hurdles title in 2013.

Trinidad and Tobago is the birthplace of which genre blending Indian folk melodies with Caribbean rhythms?

Chutney soca fused it with soca in the 1980s. Parang, the Spanish-language Christmas music, is another local tradition.

Approximately how large is Tobago compared with the whole country's land area?

Tobago is 41 km long and 12 km wide; Trinidad makes up 93% of the 5,128 square kilometres.

Which manchineel-covered warning is common on Trinidad's beaches because the tree does what?

Even standing under it in rain can burn. The islands also have 70 bat species, four venomous snakes and nesting leatherback turtles.

In 2023 Trinidad and Tobago became the first Caribbean country to host which event?

Delayed from 2021 by the pandemic, they ran from 4 to 11 August. The islands co-hosted the Cricket World Cup in 2007.

The 1970 Black Power protests were followed by an attempted army mutiny that was put down by which force?

Raffique Shah and Rex Lassalle led the mutiny. Prime Minister Williams declared a state of emergency and jailed Black Power leaders.

The country's population is closest to which figure?

Most people live on Trinidad. Iceland is the only less-populous country ever to reach a World Cup.

Why did the Spanish move Trinidad's capital from San José de Oruña to Port of Spain in 1757?

Even then Spain barely colonised the island, which remained mostly forest with a few Spaniards and some thousands of Indigenous people.

Which Trinidad and Tobago company is the largest beer maker in CARICOM?

The country also hosts a Nestlé plant, and its food, beverage and tobacco sector produced nearly TT$8 billion in 2022.