Long before Trinidad flew the Union Jack or gained independence in 1962, it formed part of a broader colonial theatre known as the Spanish Antilles—a loosely defined region of Spain’s Caribbean holdings that included Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and Trinidad. Often overlooked in favour of the larger islands, Trinidad’s pre-British past tells a compelling story of migration, exploitation, religious ambition, and the clash of imperial ideologies.
This complex tapestry is the focus of my debut novel, Conquerabia: The Struggle For Identity, which brings to life the people and forces that shaped Trinidad’s early history, particularly during the pivotal period before its 1797 surrender to Britain. The novel is available now on Amazon.
A Patchwork of Peoples and Power
When Christopher Columbus arrived in Trinidad in 1498, he found an island already home to the indigenous Arawak and Kalinago peoples. These communities had long established their own patterns of trade, agriculture, and migration. But their world would be irrevocably altered by the Spanish conquest, which, while less aggressive in Trinidad than on the mainland, nevertheless brought disease, disruption, and dislocation.
Spain’s initial interest in Trinidad was limited; it lacked the mineral wealth of Mexico or Peru. However, it became a strategic asset in protecting the empire’s southern flank, and by the 1590s, missionary efforts—especially by the Capuchin friars—were underway to convert the indigenous population to Christianity. Towns such as San José de Oruña (modern-day St. Joseph) became administrative centres, and encomienda systems (forced labour grants) were introduced, which soon evolved into outright slavery.
The Rise of the Slave Economy
By the 17th and 18th centuries, Spain's declining colonial power had allowed foreign powers—especially the French and English—to exert influence on the fringes of Trinidad. In response, Spain initiated the Cédula of Population (1783), a policy that invited Catholic settlers—primarily from French Caribbean colonies—to migrate to Trinidad, bringing their enslaved Africans with them. This rapidly changed the island’s demographic structure and agricultural economy.
As sugar, cotton, and cacao took root, so too did plantation slavery, with Africans brought across the Atlantic under horrific conditions to work under brutal regimes. While the Spanish crown officially restricted the slave trade, loopholes and smuggling enabled it to thrive. These enslaved people—central to Conquerabia—form the heart of the novel’s emotional arc. Their struggle, culture, and enduring humanity in the face of suffering are vividly brought to life through the book’s richly drawn characters.
Governance and Political Climate
Governance under Spain was often sporadic and inconsistent in Trinidad. Spanish governors were frequently under-resourced and operated in a volatile Caribbean marked by piracy, shifting alliances, and waning imperial interest. The island was a backwater to the Spanish crown, and internal governance often reflected the ambitions of local elites rather than royal priorities.
However, by the late 1700s, geopolitical pressures—including Spain’s alliance with France and the looming threat of British expansionism—pushed the empire to defend its holdings more assertively. It was too little, too late.
The British Takeover: A New Identity Imposed
In 1797, under Sir Ralph Abercromby, British forces sailed into the Gulf of Paria and took Trinidad with hardly a shot fired. The Spanish Governor, José María Chacón, surrendered without resistance, and Trinidad’s fate was sealed.
This moment, dramatised in Conquerabia, marks the beginning of a new struggle: the erasure and redefinition of identity under British rule. For the island’s French-speaking elites, enslaved Africans, and mixed-heritage populations, the British arrival brought a wave of cultural, legal, and linguistic change. The British sought to remake the island in their image, but what emerged was far more complex—a Creole society caught between colonial powers, cultural heritage, and resistance.
Why This History Matters Today
Trinidad’s pre-British past is more than a footnote; it’s the foundation of its multilayered identity. The echoes of Spanish governance, African resistance, and indigenous displacement still resonate in its language, customs, and collective memory.
Conquerabia: The Struggle For Identity explores this very tension—between heritage and hegemony, between being shaped and reshaped. The novel not only charts the historical but also probes the emotional and spiritual consequences of conquest. It's for readers who want to understand the soul of a nation through the lives of those who lived it.
Discover the Untold Story
You can purchase Conquerabia: The Struggle For Identity now on Amazon and join the journey into a world where empire meets resistance, and identity is forged in the fires of history.
Diane
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