Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt.

Geography

Tobago has a land area of 300 km² (116 mi²), and is approximately 42 kilometres (26 Miles) long and 10 kilometres (6 miles) wide. It is located at latitude 11° 9' N, longitude 60° 40' W, slightly north of Trinidad. The population is 54,084 (2000). The capital is Scarborough, with a population of about 17,000. While Trinidad is multiethnic, the population of Tobago is primarily of African descent, although with a growing proportion of Trinidadians of East Indian descent and Europeans (predominantly Germans and Scandinavians). Between 1990 and 2000, the population of Tobago grew by 11.28 percent, making it one of the fastest growing areas of the country.

Tobago is primarily hilly and of volcanic origin. The southwest of the island is flat and consists largely of coralline limestone. The hilly spine of the island, the Main Ridge. The highest point in Tobago is the 550 metre (1804 ft) Pigeon Peak near Speyside.

Tobago is divided into seven parishes - Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Patrick and Saint Paul.

History

The first European visitors appear to have been English adventurers in 1580 and in 1608; James I claimed Tobago for England. The first European settlers were Dutchmen who formed a short-lived settlement at New Walcheren or modern Plymouth. The island changed hands at least 22 times altogether between the French, Dutch, British and Courlanders (the Duchy of Courland, at that time a fief of Poland, located in present-day Latvia), however Courland's inhabitants and the settlers were primarily peoples of German and Latvian origin, it was also controlled at times by various pirate groups. It was finally ceded to the British in 1814 at the Treaty of Paris. From 1833 to 1889, it was part of the British Windward Islands colony.

Originally a sugar colony, Tobago's economy collapsed after the abolition of slavery. In 1889, Tobago was made a Ward of Trinidad, and remained one until 31 August 1962, when Trinidad and Tobago became an independent Commonwealth country and together became a republic in 1976.

The island of Tobago is also thought to be the island that the story Robinson Crusoe was written about.Fact: date=February 2007 However, the book is probably based on the experiences of Alexander Selkirk, who was marooned in the Pacific's Juan Fernandez Islands.

This island was also the filming location for the Walt Disney movie The Swiss Family Robinson.