History & Culture
Christopher Columbus first saw Tobago in 1498 but made no attempt to set foot on the island or to colonize it. It was however not too long before an interest was shown to the island by Europeans due to its strategic harbour and rich soil.
Much later in the 17th century the island saw many battles for its control, the French, English, Dutch and even Courlanders accounted for its change of hands on over 30 occasions.
Under British rule in the late 1600's, slaves were brought to the island to work on the many plantations with crops of sugar, cotton and indigo.
Even though the French tried to take the island for their own in 1781 it was finally relinquished to british rule in 1814. After a period of severe economic decline in 1889, the island was annexed to Trinidad, then in 1962 both islands gained their independence from britain and became the republic of Trinidad and Tobago in 1976.
The Island was hit by two major hurricanes in its history, one in 1847 and the other 1963, these severely damaged Tobago's main economy which at the time was agriculture.
Nowdays tourism is taking its hold, with visitors keen to see the true beauty of this wonderful paradise island and experience first hand its friendly inhabitants.
