The soil of the island is very rich, and well adapted to the growth of tropical products, especially of sugar and cocoa, which are its staples. Planting of new lands is rapidly progressing, the greater part of the unsold Crown lands (various blocks of which have been formed into forest or water reserves) containing a valuable supply of timber. Owing to the variety of its resources, Trinidad has suffered less from economic depression than the other islands in the British West Indies. It exports cocoa, sugar, rum, molasses, coffee, coconuts, Angostura bitters, timber, india rubber and asphalt. Large quantities of tonga-beans, the produce of the mainland, are cured in bond at Port of Spain. The manufac ture of bitters (Angostura and others) is an important industry, as is also the raising of stock. In addition Trinidad has a large carrying trade with the neighbouring republics, and rivals St. Thomas (q.v.) as a centre of distribution for British and Amer ican merchandise through the West Indies and Venezuela. Trinidad is immune from hurricanes and its seasons are regular, wet from May to January, with a short dry season in October known as the Indian summer and lasting usually about four weeks, and dry from end of January to middle of May. The average annual rainfall is 63.22in. and the mean temperature is 80°F. Of the inhabitants of the island, one-third are East Indians. Of the rest, the upper classes are creoles of British, French and Spanish blood, while the lower classes are of negro or mixed negro origin, with a few Chinese. English is spoken in the towns and in some of the country districts, but in the north and generally in the cocoa growing areas, a French patois prevails, and in several districts Spanish is still in use. Elementary education is given chiefly in the State-aided schools of the different denominations, but there are a number of entirely secular schools managed by the Govern ment. Presbyterian schools are conducted by a Canadian mission. Agriculture is a compulsory subject in all the primary schools. Higher education is provided by the Queen's Royal college, a secular institution, to which the Presbyterian Naparima college and the Roman Catholic St. Mary's college are affiliated. Attached to these colleges are four scholarships of the annual value of .f150 for four years, tenable at any British university. The Roman Catholics (with an archbishop at Port of Spain) and the Anglicans, with the bishop of Trinidad at their head, are the most numerous religious communities. English money is legal tender, also the United States gold currency. Accounts are kept in dollars by the general public, but in sterling by the Government. The public revenue of the colony in 1926 was L1,737,288, expenditure I1,580, 213, public debt L3,342,000, total imports £4,827,923 (L1,321,109 from the British empire, L1,181,378 from the United States), exports about L6,000,000; to the British empire, L2,644,367, to United States L1,800,soo. There is a large transit trade, Trinidad being a convenient entre*. A complete system of main and local roads is constructed or under construction; there are about 9om. of railways, and most of the larger towns can be reached
from Port of Spain by rail. Steamers ply daily between Port of Spain and the islands at the northern entrance to the Gulf of Paria, and between San Fernando (the southern terminus of the rail way) and the south-western ports of the island. There is a weekly coastal service which calls at Tobago. A number of British and European steamship lines visit Port of Spain.
The colony (Trinidad and Tobago) is administered by a gov ernor, assisted by an executive council and a legislative council of 20 members, of whom ten are officials sitting by virtue of office and ten are unofficials nominated by the Crown. Port of Spain, the capital, is situated on the west coast on the shores of the Gulf of Paria. It is considered one of the finest towns in the West Indies, with shaded streets, abundant water supply, and an excellent service of tramways. It has two cathedrals, a fine block of public buildings containing the principal Government departments, the courts of justice and the legislative council chamber, other large Government buildings, a public library, and many good shops. In its botanical garden the residence of the governor is situated. The harbour is an open roadstead, safe and sheltered, but so shallow that large ships have to lie at anchor half a mile from the jetties. It is, nevertheless, the place of ship ment for the produce of the entire island, and also for that of the Orinoco region. The population is about 61,53o. It has a mayor and corporation. Other towns are San Fernando, also on the Gulf of Paria, about 3om. S. of the capital; and Arima, an inland town 16m. by rail E. of Port of Spain.
Trinidad was discovered by Columbus in 1496. It remained in Spanish possession (although its then capital, San Jose de Oruna, was burned by Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595) until taken by the British in 1797. It was finally ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Amiens in 18o2.
In 1921 the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture was established in Trinidad, at St. Augustine, about 7m. from Port of Spain. Its purposes are to provide training in the science and practice of tropical agriculture for students intending to become tropical planters, agricultural administrators or specialists in agri cultural science and technology. It is equipped with free laborato ries and experimental fields. The site was provided by the colony, and .150,000 was subscribed locally towards the cost of the build ing. Maintenance is provided for by imperial grants and con tributions from West Indian and West African Governments. British sugar machinery firms contributed £20,000 towards the cost of the instructional sugar factory.