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President’s House, or The Ups and Downs of Trinidad & Tobago’s Official Mansions
With the restoration of some historical buildings in Port-of-Spain underway, it might be useful to give an account of their origins and something of the history behind them. The one that comes...
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Sweet Sorrow: The Timeline of Sugar in Trinidad and Tobago
16th–18th Century1540sSugar cane comes to TrinidadSugar cane is introduced in Trinidad circa 1542 by Spanish residents, but only for their own sugar and rum production. For the next 230 years, sugar...
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The Chinese of Trinidad
Written by: Bridget BreretonFrom: Book of Trinidad by Gérard A. Besson and Bridget Brereton,378fImmigrants from India were not the only people to enter the society in the decades after Emancipation,...
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Tobago's Courlander History
Tobago, a prize of war for the great powers of Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, was originally peopled by the fierce Caribs.Possessed by Spain from the 15th century, Tobago was contested over...
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Correspondence from the Revolutionary Atlantic 1797–1798
A selection of letters from the Trinidad Historical Society Collection, written by British naval commanders during the period of the French and British wars fought in the Caribbean Sea during the...
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Don José María Chacón, Knight of the Order of Calatrava, Last Spanish...
He buckled on his helmet coming down the flight of wooden stairs, and entered the atrium just as Alejandro, his squire, was bringing in his black Arab charger ‘Champion’. Skittish, he danced lightly...
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Roume de St. Laurent ... A Memoir
"A creole cocktail of political thriller, historical romance and dashing picaresque replete with pirates and lost gold, corrupt financiers, ravishing coquettes, rabid revolutionaries and future...
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The Cocoa Industry in Trinidad
Cocoa estate. Watercolour © Peter Shim.Reproduced with the kind permission of the artist.Historical and Statistical View of the Island of Trinidad This excerpt by Daniel Hart was written in 1890...
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Welcome to the Virtual Museum of the Pitch Lake at La Brea
An exhibition mounted at the Visitor Centre at the Pitch Lake in La Brea in memory all who toiled in the oil & asphalt industries of Trinidad. The Visitor Centre at the La Brea Pitch Lake, where...
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Welcome to the Virtual Museum of the City of Port of Spain
This exhibition, mounted at Fort San Andres in Port of Spain, is dedicated to the memory of John Newel Lewis, architect and artist who devoted himself to the recording and illustrating of the 19th...
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Welcome to the Virtual Museum of the Sugar Industry of Trinidad and Tobago
The Memorial of the Name. An exhibition mounted at Sevilla House, Brechin Castle, in memory all who toiled in the sugar estates of Trinidad. During these times of the Coronavirus pandemic, when schools...
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Welcome to the Virtual Museum to Commemorate the Abolition of Slavery and...
1807-2020 Two Hundred and Thirteen Years on the Road to Freedom:The Abolition of the Slave Trade in Trinidad & TobagoTwo exhibitions at the National Museum and Art Gallery, Port of Spain, in...
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Tombstones of Tobago
The Tombstones of Tobago collected by Tom Cambridge former warden of Tobago. .Alexander GrahamSacred to the Memory of ALEXANDER GRAHAM Merchant in Scarborough A native of the City of Glasgow in...
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Video: Gérard Besson reads from "Folklore & Legends of Trinidad and Tobago"
In this video, Gérard A. Besson reads a prose poetry piece that he wrote in 1973, based on the impressions that he had gathered when walking along the Paria Main Road in the Northern Range of Trinidad....
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Toussaint L'Ouverture
William Wordsworth wrote of Toussaint L'Ouverture:"There is not a breathing of the common wind that will forget thee; thou hast great allies; thy friends are exultation, agonies and love, and man's...
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The Fires of Liberty in the New World
Two very important anniversaries in the Americas are: the 4th July is the Independence Day of the United States, and the 5th July that of Venezuela. Both those dates commemorate the end of revolutions,...
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Our Built Heritage
Built Heritage — an important institution in developing countries that conveys meaningThe built heritage of Trinidad has been under threat for the last 60 years, as private houses, public buildings...
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The Trinidad Census of 1946
This Trinidad and Tobago Government Census was taken in 1946, and published in 1948. It was executed by Noel Bowen and Blazini Montserin. This is the section with the tables on "Population" and "Race...
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Paria Remembers HM the Queen's Visit to Trinidad in 1966
From 7–10 February 1966, H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, visited Trinidad and Tobago on her Caribbean Commonwealth tour. They were hosted here by Governor-General Sir...
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Trinidad and Tobago Folklore
Click on the image to see Jerry's Loop TT Folklore videos Gerard Besson, founder of Paria Publishing, is a well-known raconteur of Trinidad's folklore. We thought we'd share again Jerry's wonderful...
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History of the Oil Industry in Trinidad and Tobago
This is an article I wrote for First Magazine's edition about the oil industry in Trinidad and Tobago in 2008. In light of the present (2023) discussion about the Dragon Field, I thought it might be...
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"Philippine - Children of the Sun"– Source Documents
This blog post accompanies my publication Philippine - Book First: Children of the Sun. Here, the reader will find a host of original documents that formed the basis for the various stories in the...
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Trinidad and Tobago's Independence - 'Our Flag', created for that day in 1962
'Our Flag' is a publication published on Independence Day in 1962. "This timely booklet serves as a guide to the use and display of our National Flag in accordance with the Code of Flag Etiquette...
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Republic Day: The Making of a President
We dug deep into Paria's Archives and found and interesting publication from January 1977, recapping the beginning of the republican status of Trinidad and Tobago just three months before. It has many...
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Gérard A. Besson's Speech to UWI Graduands 2015
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the awarding of an honorary doctorate of letters to Gérard A. Besson. In 2015, the University of the West Indies bestowed this honour on him, which meant a great...
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