千里达与托巴哥(Trinidad and Tobago)

正式名称千里达与托巴哥共和国（Republic of Trinidad and Tobago）

涵盖了千里达与托巴哥两群岛点国家，位於委内瑞拉沿岸外的加勒比海中。面积5,128平方公里。人口约1,298,000（2001）。首都︰西班牙港。居民多为东印度群岛人和非洲人的後裔。语言︰英语（官方语）。宗教︰天主教、新教、印度教和伊斯兰教。货币︰千里达与托巴哥元（TT$）。该国岛屿多是平坦或坡度平缓的平原，有一些带状的高地和雨林。卡罗尼森林沼泽是千里达一处重要的鸟类保护地，是红鹳、白鹭、红的栖息地。该国的石油和天然气储量丰富，亦是世界最大沥青产国。其他工业还有︰农业、渔业和旅游业。主要农产品有甘蔗、柑桔类、可可行咖啡。政府形式是共和国，两院制。国家元首为总统，政府首脑是总理。

1498年哥伦布到达千里达时，那里居住着阿拉瓦克人；托巴哥则居住着加勒比人。16世纪时西班牙人到该群岛定居。17～18世纪输入了非洲奴隶作为种植园劳工，取代了为西班牙人工作劳累而死的原始印第安人。1797年千里达向英国投降。1721年英国人试图在托巴哥定居，但法国人在1781年占据了该岛，把它改造成一个生产食糖的殖民地。1802年英国人取得了托巴哥。1834～1838年间该群岛上结束了奴隶制，从印度带来的移民从事种植业。1889年千里达与托巴哥在行政上联合，1925年获得有限的自治，1962年该群岛成为国协内的一个独立国家，1976年成立共和国。1990年穆斯林基本教义派试图推翻政府後造成政治动乱。

English version：

Trinidad and Tobago

Nation, comprising the islands of Trinidad and Tobago, in the Caribbean Sea off Venezuela. Area: 1,980 sq mi (5,128 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 1,276,000. Capital: Port-of-Spain. The people are mainly of East Indian and African ancestry. Language: English (official). Religions: Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, Hinduism, Islam. Currency: Trinidad and Tobago dollar. The islands are mostly flat or rolling, with narrow belts of mountainous highlands and luxuriant rain forests. The Caroni Swamp, an important bird sanctuary on Trinidad, supports flamingo, egret, and scarlet ibis. The country has large reserves of petroleum and natural gas, as well as the world's largest supply of natural asphalt. Other industries include agriculture, fishing, and tourism. Chief crops include sugarcane, citrus fruits, cocoa, and coffee. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. When Christopher Columbus visited Trinidad in 1498, it was inhabited by the Arawak Indians; Caribs inhabited Tobago. The islands were settled by the Spanish in the 16th century. In the 17th-18th century African slaves were imported for plantation labor to replace the original Indian population, which had been worked to death by the Spanish. Trinidad was surrendered to the British in 1797. The British attempted to settle Tobago in 1721, but the French captured the island in 1781 and transformed it into a sugar-producing colony. The British acquired it in 1802. After slavery ended in the islands 1834-38, immigrants from India were brought in to work the plantations. Trinidad and Tobago were administratively combined in 1889. Granted limited self-government in 1925, the islands became an independent state within the Commonwealth in 1962, and a republic in 1976. Political unrest was followed in 1990 by an attempted Muslim-fundamentalist coup against the government.