Port of Spain

Port of Spain

Port of Spain is the capital and main port of Trinidad and Tobago, in the south-east of the West Indies. It is situated on Trinidad's west coast, below the northern peninsula of the Gulf of Paria. Port of Spain was established by the Spanish as Puerto España. The first settlement was located near the Amerindian fishing village of Cumucurapo, in the area now known as Mucurapo, west of the city center. The city was renamed Puerto de los Hispanioles after the arrival of Spanish conquistadors. The part of downtown Port of Spain nearest to the sea was once a tidal mudflat covered with mangroves. When Comte D'Estrées visited the city in 1680, he wrote: "There is no Port of Spain here." But in 1690 the Spanish governor, Don Sebastien de Roteta, reported that 6 houses were already finished and more were being built. The old capital, San José de Oruña, some 11 kilometers inland, was in ruins by 1757, and Governor Don Pedro de la Moneda moved his seat to Port of Spain, which became the de facto capital of Trinidad. The year 1797 Trinidad was invaded by British forces. Port of Spain remained the capital, but the new British colonial government renamed most streets after British royalty or military figures. Port of Spain's colorful population mirrors two centuries of immigration, and this is shown in the architecture of its buildings. The city consists of French colonial 'gingerbread' style houses, buildings with wrought iron railings and wooden fringes reminiscent of New Orleans, alongside modern towers and shopping malls, and a mix of Gothic-style cathedrals, mosques and Hindu temples, a testament to the diversity of cultures.