Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago - Is officially known as The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago is North American two-island nation located in the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, separated from Venezuela by the Gulf of Paria and the Columbus Channel. It also shares maritime boundaries with Barbados and Guyana. First colonized by the Spanish, the islands came under British control in the early 19th century. The islands' sugar industry was hurt by the emancipation of the slaves in 1834. Manpower was replaced with the importation of contract laborers from India between 1845 and 1917, which boosted sugar production as well as the cocoa industry. The discovery of oil on Trinidad in 1910 added another important export. Trinidad and Tobago gained their Independence in 1962.
Tobago is often referred to as "the jewel of the Caribbean" and contains a few resort areas, Trinidad and Tobago as a whole does not rely heavily on tourism as a source of revenue. The country is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean thanks largely to petroleum and natural gas production and processing. Trinidad and Tobago is the leading Caribbean producer of oil and gas, and its economy is heavily dependent upon these resources but it also supplies manufactured goods, notably food and beverages, as well as cement to the Caribbean region. Oil and gas account for about 40% of Gross Domestic Product.
Both Trinidad and Tobago were originally settled by Amerindians of South American origin. Trinidad was first settled by pre-agricultural Archaic people at least 7,000 years ago, making it the earliest-settled part of the Caribbean.