Raising Sheep in Paradise - Trinidad and Tobago by Susan Schoenian Salisbury, Maryland Trinidad and Tobago are sister islands in the Caribbean, the southern most in the West Indies, situated just 7 miles off the coast of Venezuela and 11 degrees north of the equator. Remnants of the colonial period still remain, especially in Tobago, which was once dominated by a handful of large sugar plantations. Trinidad is the larger, more populous island, approximately the size of Delaware. There are significant differences between the two islands, in almost every respect. Trinidad is industrialized, appearing more prosperous than other Caribbean islands I have visited, due in large part to petroleum oil and natural gas.
Food processing is another important economic activity.
The main agricultural products are sugar, cocoa, citrus, rice and poultry. The population of Trinidad is quite diverse in terms of ethnicity and religion. Approximately 40 percent of the population is East Indian, immigrants brought in to work the sugar fields. This statistic can be confirmed by the large number of Hindu temples that can be seen throughout the country. Another 40 percent is Black African, descendants of the 18th and 19th slave trade.