History of Tobago

An introduction to Tobago's chequered and fascinating history

Summary

Possession of Tobago has been fought over by numerous nations since it was first sighted by Columbus in 1498.

The original Carib population were forced to defend their island against other Amerindian tribes. Then, during the late 1500's and early 1600's, they had to defend it against European colonists. Over the years, the Dutch, English and French transformed Tobago into a battle zone and the island changed hands 31 times before it was finally ceded to the British in 1814 under the Treaty of Paris.

From about 1672, during a period of stability under temporary British rule, plantation culture began. Sugar, cotton and indigo factories sprang up and Africans were imported to work as slaves. The economy flourished and by 1777 Tobago was exporting great quantities of rum, cotton, indigo and sugar. However, the French invaded again, in 1781, and destroyed the plantations. They forced the British governor to surrender and the island’s buoyant economy fell into decline.

In 1814, when the island was again under British control, another phase of successful sugar production began. However, a severe hurricane in 1847, combined with the collapse of plantation underwriters, marked the end of the sugar trade. Without the highly profitable sugar production, Britain had no further use for Tobago and in 1889 the island was made a ward of Trinidad. Without sugar, the islanders had to grow other crops, planting acres of limes, coconuts and cocoa and exporting their produce to Trinidad. In 1963, Hurricane Flora ravaged Tobago, destroying the villages and crops. A restructuring programme followed and attempts were made to diversify the economy. The development of a tourist industry began...

Detailed History

Readers interested in more information about Tobago's history will be interested in our more detailed article, available through the tabs at the top and bottom of these pages.

May we express our thanks and appreciation to Mr Edward Hernandez, curator of the Tobago Museum, for providing us with the article that forms the basis of the article.

• Introduction
• BC - 1699
• 1700 - 1799
• 1800 - 1849
• 1850 - 1899
• 1900 - 1999