Belmont (Port of Spain)
| Belmont | ||
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Coordinates: 10 ° 40 ′ N , 61 ° 29 ′ W Belmont on the map of Trinidad and Tobago
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| Basic data | ||
| Country | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| region | TT-POS | |
| City foundation | circa 1845 | |
| Residents | 9035 (2011) | |
| Detailed data | ||
| Waters | St. Anns River | |
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Belmont is a community of the Caribbean island state of Trinidad and Tobago and a district of the capital Port of Spain .
status
The smallest administrative unit in Trinidad and Tobago is the community, comparable to the German local situation . A community can only comprise a few streets in urban areas, but also large areas in rural areas. Trinidad and Tobago is administratively divided into 612 communities, Belmont is one of them. The term “district” in Trinidad and Tobago only has an informal meaning.
location
Belmont is in the northeast of Port of Spain. It is adjacent to Queen's Park Savannah to the east . Belmont is bounded to the south by the East Dry River, another district of Port of Spain, and to the east by Morvant . In the north, Lady Young Road, which runs along the foothills of the Northern Range , forms the border with the Cascade district. The St. Anns River, which has its source in Cascade and drains into the Gulf of Paria , flows through Belmont.
history
Belmont is named after a country house belonging to the British Deputy Governor Thomas Hislop , which stood on the site of today's Hilton Hotel above today's Belmont and from which Hislop carried out government business for two years after a devastating fire in Port of Spain in 1808. In the 1840s, freed slaves settled in the area of today's Belmont, which at that time was largely pastureland, and after the abolition of slavery in 1834, they were no longer in the urban area of Port of Spain, which ended at the St. Ann's River. were tolerated. In the late 19th century, the population increased significantly. In the absence of urban planning, which manifested itself in a chessboard-like layout of the city in the neighboring Port of Spain, Belmont grew in an uncontrolled manner, which led to a chaotic-looking tangle of streets that is still formative today. On January 1, 1899, Belmont was incorporated into Port of Spain. Since well-to-do blacks were unable to buy houses in better “white” neighborhoods like St. Clair or Maraval because of their racial values, they built some splendid residences in Belmont. As a primarily “black” residential area into the 20th century, it represented a center of Afrotrinid culture, which, together with other black residential areas, brought about the carnival, the ceremonial martial arts Calinda, Calypso and the steel bands. Belmont is known for an increased crime rate in the 21st century.
Economy and Transport
Belmont is a purely residential area in which no noteworthy companies have set up apart from small businesses. Traffic arteries could not develop in Belmont's maze of alleys. Important access roads are Lady Young Road and Laventille Road, which border Belmont to the north and south.
Facilities
The Port of Spain General Hospital, the largest hospital in Trinidad, is located in the southwest of Belmont. Educational institutions are St. Francois Girls College, Belmont Boys Secondary School, Escallier Anglican Primary School, St. Francis Girls Roman Catholic School, Belmont Secondary School, Providence Girls Secondary School and the Holy Name Convent, a Catholic elementary school and secondary school. The churches of St. Francis Catholic Church and Belmont Church of Christ are located in Belmont.
Belmont is home to several nationally known steel bands such as Belmont 5th Dimension , Crescendoes Musicale or Pan-Demonium . Several carnival clubs and the theater group The Trinidad Theater Workshop, founded by Derek Walcott , have their headquarters in Belmont. In the 1960s, the Belmont-based football club Colts FC played in what was then the top division of Trinidad.
Personalities
- Ellis Clarke , (1917-2010, politician)
- Russell Henderson (1924-2015, musician)
- Edwin Roberts (* 1941, athlete)
- Kent Bernard (born 1942, athlete)
- Francisco Cabral (artist) (* 1949, artist)
- David Rudder (* 1953, musician)
Web links
- District profile on Bestoftrinidad.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael Anthony: Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago. Scarecrow Press 1997, p. 52.
- ^ Gérard A. Besson & Bridget Brereton: The Book of Trinidad. Paria Publishing 2010, p. 468.
- ↑ Trinidad Express of September 10, 2011: POS the new Baghdad ( Memento of May 23, 2012 in the Internet Archive )