TRINIDAD', Sp. pron. t Wne-nliD'. A British West Indian island, belonging to the Windward group, situated close to the mouth of the Orinoco (Map: West Indies, R 9). Area, 1754 square miles. The surface is generally flat. The northern part, however, is traversed by sev eral parallel mountain chains running from east to west and from 600 to over 3000 feet high. The island is well watered. In the southwest ern part is the famous pitch lake of La Brea, which yields asphalt for export. The flora is remarkable for its variety and beauty. Trini dad may be considered agriculturally one of the most successful of the British possessions in the West Indies. Originally sugar was the leading product of the soil. With the decline of the sugar industry the planters of Trinidad turned their attention to the cultivation of cacao, which is at present the staple of the island. Sugar is still cultivated to a large extent, the ex ports of that article for 1901 being valued at £452,210. Besides cacao and sugar, Trinidad produces coffee, cocoanuts, and various kinds of fruit. Commercially it occupies the foremost position among the. British West Indian Islands. In 1901 the total value of the trade exceeded the sum of £5,091,000. about equally divided between exports and imports. The island has about SO miles of railway. Trinidad, together with To bago (q.v.), is administered by a Governor as
siAted by an executive council of 7 members and a legislative council of 20 members, all nominat ed by the Governor. Education is largely sub sidized by the Government. The finances of the island are in good condition, the budget bal ancing at about £650,000. The revenue is de rived chiefly from customs receipts. The public debt of the colony amounted in 1902 to £992,286. The population was 255,148 in 1901. It consists chiefly of the descendants of the slaves imported from Africa by the sugar planters. There is also a considerable number of coolies, while the whites form an insignificant part of the popula tion. Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad, bad a population in 1901 of 54,100. Trinidad was discovered by Columbus in 1498 and was originally colonized by the Spaniards, who, how ever, soon abandoned it. In the eighteenth century Spain renewed her interest in Trinidad, but was soon expelled by Great Britain, to whom it was formally ceded in 1802, in accordance with the Treaty of Amiens. Consult: Fraser. History of Trinidad (London, 1894) ; Eversley, Time Trin idad Reviewer (ib., 1900) ; Fiske, History of the West Indies (New York. 1899) ; Root, The Brit ish West Indies and time Sugar Industry (London, 1899).