History of Tobago

Tobago is a beautiful island located in the Caribbean, and it's the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. This island of Tobago is located in the southern Caribbean Sea, northeast of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada, but it doesn't lie in the area known as the "hurrican belt," the path taken by most hurricanes.

Tobago has a year-round population of 54,084, although thousands of vacationers and cruise ship passengers visit Tobago annually. The capital city of Tobago is Scarborough, and a large airport, Crown Point International Airport, is located on the island. A cruise ship port is also located in Scarborough. Flights originating in Caribbean, European, South American, and North American cities arrive in Tobago daily.

Tobago was originally inhabited by Island Caribs when British explorers arrived in 1580. It's no coincidence that Tobago's name resembles the English word, "tobacco." The first group of people to settle the island were Courlanders, and between the 1650s and 1810s, Tobago changed hands over 30 times, between the countries of Spain, England, France and the Dutch Republic. In 1814, Tobago became part of the great British Empire, and in 1889 Tobago and Trinidad were combined into a single British colony. In 1962, the islands became an independent Commonwealth, and later became known as the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.