Early Tourism in Trinidad

The first British Tourists - Sir Walter Raleigh and friends...

The first British tourists gave tourism in Trinidad a bad name. Robert Dudley and, 3 months later, Sir Walter Raleigh visited Trinidad - considered part of the Spanish Main - in the closing years of the late 1500s. They came seeking El Dorado, the fabled city of gold.

Young Walter Raleigh's initial visit to Trinidad was punctuated by two explosive events. The first of which was his entry into Port-of-Spain with cannons blazing, reducing the Harbor Grande to rubble.

 Sacking St. Joseph, the Capital 

The second dramatic event was the sacking and burning of St. Joseph, in Maracas Valley, the then capital of Trinidad. Incidentally...

Sir Walter Raleigh was neither the first nor the last to raid, plunder and burn this inland city. Numerous buccaneers and pirates were drawn to this tourist paradise, which was little more than a political backwater and a collection of crude huts at the time.

 Historic Business Trip 

Let's take stock for a moment. To get to St. Joseph one had to moor their sporty galleon in the Gulf of Paria, haul all their gear onto the launch and then row inland for over 6 miles in the burning sun - some of it though swamp. That's before the fun - looting and pillaging - began. Definitely more of a business trip than a Caribbean vacation, wouldn't you say.

 Famous Discovery 

A third event that punctuated Sir Walter Raleigh's visit to Trinidad was his visit to the La Brea Pitch Lake at Terra de Brea, Spanish for "land of pitch", today's La Brea. A visit that was later, falsely touted as Walter's discovery on Trinidad postage stamps.

Young Walter smelt the pitch (tar) while sailing north in the Gulf of Paria. He put into land where local tourist guides - native Caribs - took him to the Pitch Lake. He immediately set about caulking his ships, declaring that it was, "most excellent good", far better than the Norway pitch currently being used in Britain.

 Trinidad's First Travel Brochure 

Finally, to cap off his visit to Trinidad Sir Walter Raleigh wrote about his adventures, an early guide to tourism in Trinidad and Guyana, if you will. Unfortunately, back in jolly old England, many of the things he wrote about were considered outright lies...

 Just the Facts Please 

For instance, no one back home believed that, in Trinidad, oysters grew on trees as they still do today, on the exposed roots of mangrove-tree in the Caroni and Nariva Swamps.

Nor did they believe that local Amerindian chieftains had pledged their allegiance to England and the Queen, which they apparently had.

 More Believable Fiction 

On the other hand, Sir Walter Raleigh's most ostentatious tales were swallowed hook, line and sinker: "The Ewaipanoma Tribe", he wrote, "had eyes on their shoulders, mouths in the middle of their chests and long hair that ran between their shoulders and down their backs."

People's belief was so absolute that images of this strange tribe made their way onto maps, charts and other travel guides of the period. However, the added publicity did little for tourism in Trinidad, perhaps it had something to do with the travel time or lack of accommodations in Port-of-Spain after Sir Walter's visit, who knows.

 Yellow Gold? Black Gold? 

Unfortunately, Sir Walter Raleigh didn't find El Dorado or eternal wealth. His journey ended in disease, death and disappointment. He lost a large portion of his crew and returned to England. Had Sir Walter focused on the Pitch Lake - black gold - instead of El Dorado, his voyage may have proved more profitable.

 Final Curtain 

On a second visit to Trinidad, in a last ditch effort to find El Dorado and regain his lost fortune, Sir Walter became ill. Consequently, he was forced to remain in Trinidad while his son died fighting the Spanish in Guyana, the supposed location of El Dorado. Upon his return home, after several decades of writing, failed adventures and political intrigue, Sir Walter literally lost his head by order of the monarchy.

 Trinidad Tourism 

Since Sir Walter Raleigh's day, tourism in Trinidad has been revolutionized. Today, when Trinidadians say, "We mash-up town", they mean they had a great time at a fete - a party - in Port of Spain. These days, tourism in Trinidad is driven by the spectacle of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, the gastronomical delights of Trinidad food, the diversity of Trinidad culture, and by amazing adventure and eco tours of Trinidad, which are designed to show off the incredible bio-diversity that Sir Walter Raleigh must have noticed on his numerous trips to the island.