St. Joseph (Trinidad)
| St. Joseph | ||
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Coordinates: 10 ° 39 ′ N , 61 ° 25 ′ W St. Joseph on the map of Trinidad and Tobago
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| Basic data | ||
| Country | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Regional Corporation | Tunapuna-Piarco | |
| City foundation | 1592 | |
| Residents | 14,376 (2011) | |
| Detailed data | ||
| City structure | 7 communities | |
| Waters | St. Joseph River Acono River |
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St. Joseph , under Spanish colonial rule San José de Oruña , is a city in Trinidad and Tobago . It is located in the densely populated East-West Corridor on the border between the regions of San Juan-Laventille and Tunapuna-Piarco . It is administratively counted under the latter. Politically, St. Joseph forms its own constituency.
As the first European settlement on Trinidad and long-standing capital of the Spanish colony of that time, St. Joseph is of historical importance. Today it is only an insignificant small town.
location
St. Joseph is located in the north of the island of Trinidad, in the middle of the so-called East-West Corridor, the metropolitan region of the state capital Port of Spain south of the Northern Range from west to east . Since Port of Spain is bounded in the north by the Northern Range and in the south by the Caroni Swamp , the city expanded to the east over time. The resulting east-west corridor is so densely populated that in the past independent cities merge into one another and now have the character of districts of the capital agglomeration. However, they are still formally independent. St. Joseph is bordered by Champs Fleurs to the west, Bangladesh to the south and St. Augustine to the east . In the north, the Maracas district juts deep into the Northern Range; north of Maracas is the second highest mountain in Trinidad, El Tucuche . St. Joseph is divided into the communities St. Joseph, Maracas / St. Joseph, Maracas, Valley View, La Baja, Acomo Village and La Mango Village.
| Community | Residents |
|---|---|
| Maracas | 951 |
| Maracas / St. Joseph | 3495 |
| St. Joseph | 4542 |
| Valley View | 1056 |
| La Baja | 1218 |
| Acono Village | 2050 |
| La Mango Village | 1064 |
history
St. Joseph is the first city that the Spanish "explorers" founded in Trinidad; before there was only a small fort on the coast in the area of what is now Port of Spain. St. Joseph was laid out in 1592 by Domingo de Vera under the name of San José de Oruña. De Veras' client was Antonio de Berrio y Oruña, the Spanish governor of the then fallow colony of Trinidad. De Berrio's interests were monetary: since 1580 he had been looking for Eldorado on behalf of the Spanish crown . After three unsuccessful expeditions, he was convinced that the country must be in Guiana . Since the supply of his crew was not possible in this inaccessible environment, he had himself appointed governor of Trinidad by the Spanish king and sent his deputy de Vera with 60 soldiers to explore a suitable location for a settlement as a base for further expeditions. At that time, Trinidad was still inhabited by Arawak Indians. On today's St. Joseph River, the Spaniards met non-hostile Arawak, whose leader Goangoanare allowed them to settle on a suitable piece of land. De Vera had residential houses and temporary office buildings built. De Berrio arrived that same year. As the only settlement on Trinidad to date, St. Joseph automatically became the capital of the colony.
In 1593 St. Joseph was burned down by Walter Raleigh and rebuilt in 1597 by the new governor Fernando de Berrio (Antonio's son). In 1649 the Dutch burned the city down; the Spaniards rebuilt it again. In 1757 the then governor Pedro de la Moneda moved the governor's seat to Port of Spain because the building in St. Joseph that was intended for him was in a state of disrepair due to lack of financial means for maintenance. As the seat of the Cabildo , St. Joseph remained the official capital for a few years until Governor José María Chacón finally declared Port of Spain the capital. In 1766 the city suffered severe damage in an earthquake. On February 18, 1797, Chacón signed the deed of surrender in the Valsayn Estate in St. Joseph, which Trinidad passed into English hands after 305 years of Spanish rule. At this point, St. Joseph was of some economic importance to the colony; the inventory of the English in the same year showed 13 sugar mills, seven coffee mills, four cotton mills and two rum distilleries with just 728 inhabitants for the area of St. Joseph.
In 1837 the city hit the headlines again when black soldiers from the 1st West India Regiment stationed in St. Joseph instigated a mutiny that was quickly put down by soldiers from St. James loyal to the government. Three of the leaders were executed on the grounds of the St. Joseph Barracks and one was deported. In 1870 the first Trinidadian telegraph message was received at the St. Joseph Police Station. Between 1876 and the 1960s, St. Joseph was connected to the then existing Trinidadian railway network. In the 1890s, the Cadbury Company operated a cocoa plantation in St. Joseph.
Economy and Transport
The city is located on the Eastern Main Road, the country's second most important east-west route.
The Water and Sewerage Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, the state water company in Trinidad, is based in St. Joseph.
Facilities
In the Maracas / St. Joseph is the main campus of the University of the Southern Caribbean . With St. Joseph's Convent, founded in 1870, the city has one of the most renowned secondary schools in the country. In terms of green spaces, St. Joseph has the First National Park (Trinidad's oldest park) and the St. Joseph Recreational Ground. Religious buildings include the Mohammed Ali Jinnah Mosque, the Roman Catholic Churches of St. Joseph (the oldest church in Trinidad) and St. Michael and the Seventh-day Adventist College Park La Seiva Church . There is a police station and a private hospital.
Personalities
- Cyril Duprey (1897–1988), entrepreneur and founder of the Colonial Life Insurance Company (CLICO)
- Evans Wise (born 1973), footballer
gallery
Mohammed Ali Jinnah Memorial Mosque
Individual evidence
- ↑ Census 2011
- ↑ Urs Bitterli : The discovery of America, p. 302. CH Beck 1999
- ↑ Michael Anthony : Towns and Villages of Trinidad and Tobago, p. 308. Printmaster 2001.
- ↑ Michael Anthony: Towns and Villages of Trinidad and Tobago, p. 309
- ↑ Donstan Bonn: The ancient town of St Joseph . In: Trinidad Express . December 15, 2012.
- ↑ Michael Anthony: Towns and Villages of Trinidad and Tobago, p. 310
- ↑ Gérard A. Besson & Bridget Brereton: The Book of Trinidad, p. 209. Paria Publishing 2010.
- ↑ PTSC.co.tt: About Us ( Memento from April 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Ortinola.com: History. Retrieved November 21, 2019 .