
Trinidad and Tobago is an island nation in the southeast Caribbean. It comprises several smaller islands besides the two main islands, Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago, which together with Guyana make up the two southernmost links in the Caribbean chain, are located near South America, northeast of Venezuela. The area of Trinidad, the bigger of the two major islands, is approximately 1,850 square miles (4,800 square km). At its closest point, it is 7 miles (11 km) from the Venezuelan shore and divided by the Gulf of Paria and two constricting canals, where there are several little islands and rocks. Tobago, a much smaller island with a surface area of roughly 115 miles (300 km), is located 20 miles (30 km) northeast of Trinidad.
In 1962, Trinidad and Tobago won independence from the United Kingdom and joined the Commonwealth and the UN the following year. In 1976, a republic was established. On Trinidad's northwest coast, Port of Spain serves as the nation's capital for Trinidad and Tobago.
Trinidad and Tobago has a tropical climate with a high relative humidity level. The minimum temperature in January and February, typically the coldest, is roughly 68 °F (20 °C). The three months with the highest average maximum temperatures—April, May, and October—are 89 °F (32 °C).
The first settlers of Trinidad were presumably Arawakan speakers who came from the delta of the Orinoco River in northeastern South America. There were also Cariban speakers there by the time the Spanish arrived in the 16th century, primarily on the north shore.