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| Manzanilla Beach | |
|---|---|
| Location | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Nearest town | Sangre Grande |
| Coordinates | 10°30′26″N61°02′34″W / 10.507284°N 61.042915°W |
| Operated by | Sangre Grande |
| Status | Open all year |
| Designation | Public beach |
Manzanilla Beach is a beach in Trinidad and Tobago. Located on the east coast of Trinidad, the larger island, the beach sits directly on the Manzanilla Bay adjoined to the larger north Atlantic Ocean. [1]
The word manzanilla is the diminutive form of the Spanish word for apple, manzana. The beach was so named by early Spanish settlers, who encountered what they thought were apple trees with small fruit. They were in fact the manchineel tree, bearing toxic fruit that closely resembles apples. [2] The name of the area was still maintained even after the arrival of the British in 1797.
Largely uninhabited until 1822, Manzanilla beach saw new settlers when Governor Ralph Woodford brought soldiers of the West India Regiment in the area. The reason for this settlement was twofold: firstly, because the regiment was composed mainly of Black soldiers and wished to avoid the incidence of runaway slaves hiding among the Black soldiers and secondly, the Governor wished to promote the development of a roadway from Arima to the east coast.
These soldiers were each given sixteen acres of land which they developed with their families by growing rice and ground provisions. These agricultural productions were so large that wastage was a common feature of their lands and also because of the infrequency that the round-island steamer collected their produce.
These soldiers were underpaid and slighted by their employer, the government at the time. In fact, in an attempt to ameliorate conditions, the government used the soldier's own retirement pension to provide better facilities for the village.
By 1839, the village consisted only of one medical officer, one police officer, a superintendent and a Mico Charity School for the village children.
In 1841, three years after the abolition of slavery in 1838, the Governor at the time, Sir Henry MacLeod had sent Reverend J.H. Hamilton on a mission to report about the situation in Manzanilla. The Reverend, although more concerned about his proselytizing ambitions, did report that there were about five Mandingo priests and a horrible track between Arima and Manzanilla.
The residents of the area later developed cocoa and coffee and by 1898, the problem of transport of goods was solved with the introduction of the railway to neighboring Sangre Grande.
As a result of an agreement between Sir Winston Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt, Manzanilla village served as a base of operations in the Caribbean for American soldiers in World War II in 1942. The area was established as a training camp for the army, where American soldiers trained in jungle warfare before being deployed in the region. [3] [4] [5]
As one of the most sparsely populated areas on the island, Manzanilla has become a choice tourism destination for visitors seeking a quieter and less commercial beach experience. There are a few resorts, such as the Coconut Cove, that cater to tourists visiting the region for leisure. Despite its appeal as an attraction, Manzanilla is infamous for its consistently rough waters and dangerous undercurrents during high tide. [6]
The beach is also known as a hatching site of the local leatherback sea turtle. Due to the abundance of these nests, Manzanilla beach has caught the attention of eco-tourists as a destination for turtle-watching. [7]
The history of Trinidad and Tobago begins with the settlements of the islands by Indigenous First Peoples. Trinidad was visited by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage in 1498,, and claimed in the name of Spain. Trinidad was administered by Spanish hands until 1797, but it was largely settled by French colonists. Tobago changed hands between the British, French, Dutch, and Courlanders, but eventually ended up in British hands following the second Treaty of Paris (1814). In 1889, the two islands were incorporated into a single political entity. Trinidad and Tobago obtained its independence from the British Empire in 1962 and became a republic in 1976.
Port of Spain, officially the City of Port of Spain, is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municipal population of 37,074 (2011), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient daily population of 250,000. It is located on the Gulf of Paria, on the northwest coast of the island of Trinidad and is part of a larger conurbation stretching from Chaguaramas in the west to Arima in the east with an estimated population of 600,000.
St. George's is the capital of Grenada. The town is surrounded by a hillside of an old volcano crater and is located on a horseshoe-shaped harbour.
Tobago is an island and ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located 35 kilometres (22 mi) northeast of the larger island of Trinidad and about 160 kilometres (99 mi) off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. It lies to the southeast of Grenada.
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies 11 km (6.8 mi) off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmost island in the West Indies. With an area of 4,768 km2 (1,841 sq mi), it is also the fifth largest in the West Indies.
A resort is a self-contained commercial establishment that tries to provide most of a vacationer's wants, such as food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel is frequently a central feature of a resort and the term resort may be used for a hotel that provides an array of entertainment and recreational activities. Some resorts are also condominium complexes that are timeshares or owned fractionally or wholly owned condominium. A resort is not always a commercial establishment operated by a single company, but in the late 20th century, that sort of facility became more common.
Peggy's Cove is a small rural community located on the eastern shore of St. Margarets Bay in the Halifax Regional Municipality, which is the site of Peggys Cove Lighthouse.
Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort is a resort located within the Walt Disney World Resort. It is located in the Epcot Resort Area of Walt Disney World, close to the water park Typhoon Lagoon and is classified as a moderately priced resort. The resort started operating on October 1, 1988 and is owned and operated by Disney Experiences.
Blanchisseuse is a village in Trinidad and Tobago. It is located about midway along the north coast of Trinidad on the northern slope of the Northern Range, about 24 km north of Arima.
Saint George is a county in Trinidad and Tobago. It occupies the northwestern portion of the island of Trinidad and is bounded by the Caribbean Sea to the north, the Gulf of Paria to the west, Caroni County to the south and Saint David County and Saint Andrew County to the east. It occupies an area of 912 km2 (352 sq mi). The county includes the Bocas Islands and the towns of Port of Spain and Arima. It also includes the small town of Blanchisseuse and its attractive beach, backed by a forest-fringed lagoon. County Saint George is divided into six Wards: Diego Martin, Saint Ann's, Blanchisseuse, Tacarigua, Arima and San Raphael.
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated 11 kilometres off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and 130 kilometres south of Grenada. It shares maritime boundaries with Barbados to the east, Grenada to the northwest and Venezuela to the south and west. Trinidad and Tobago is generally considered to be part of the West Indies. The island country's capital is Port of Spain, while its largest and most populous municipality is Chaguanas.
Toco is the most northeasterly village on the island of Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago. The island of Tobago is 35 kilometres (22 mi) to the northeast, making Toco the closest point in Trinidad to the sister island. The name Toco was ascribed to the area by its early Amerindian inhabitants. The meaning of the name is uncertain.
Tourism is one of the Caribbean's major economic sectors, with 25 million visitors contributing $49 billion towards the area's gross domestic product in 2013, which represented 14% of its total GDP. It is often described as, "the most tourism-dependent region in the world".
Prostitution in Trinidad and Tobago is legal but related activities such as brothel keeping, soliciting and pimping are illegal.
Bastimentos Island is an island with eponymous town, and corregimiento located in the Bocas del Toro District and archipelago of Bocas del Toro Province, Panama. The island is about 62 square kilometres (24 sq mi), one of the largest in Panama. Bastimentos had a population of 1,954 as of 2010, giving it a population density of 31.4 inhabitants per square kilometre (81/sq mi). Its population as of 1990 was 988; its population as of 2000 was 1,344.
Nature Seekers is a community-based organization founded in 1990 with the aim of protecting nesting leatherback turtles in Trinidad and Tobago. The ultimate goal of the group was to reduce the problem of poaching which stood at 30 percent on a nightly basis. Through the efforts of tour guide services to visitors on Matura Beach, tagging of turtles, and patrolling the group has been able to reduce the percentage of poaching from 30 percent to zero. Now the group has expanded to include reforestation, waste recycling and natural jewelry with its core still being turtle conservation.
Mayaro Bay stretches for nine miles on the east coast of the island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The beach which lines the bay, Mayaro Beach, is a popular destination for holidays, long weekends, and is one of the traditional places to spend the Easter holidays. Not only do beach-goers swim, but they also kayak, bird watch, camp, and occasionally kite surf, making Mayaro a tourist hot spot. Located at the southern end of Manzanilla Beach, Trinidad and Tobago, one can reach Mayaro Beach by traveling along the Mayaro–Guayaguayare road or the Mayaro–Naparima road.
The Merikins or Merikens were African-American Marines of the War of 1812 – former African slaves who fought for the British against the US in the Corps of Colonial Marines and then, after post-war service in Bermuda, were established as a community in the south of Trinidad in 1815–1816. They were settled in an area populated by French-speaking Catholics and retained cohesion as an English-speaking, Baptist community. It is sometimes said that the term "Merikins" derived from the local patois, but as many Americans have long been in the habit of dropping the initial "A" it seems more likely that the new settlers brought that pronunciation with them from the United States. Some of the Company villages and land grants established back then still exist in Trinidad today.
The history of Tobago covers a period from the earliest human settlements on the island of Tobago in the Archaic period, through its current status as a part of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Originally settled by indigenous people, the island was subject to Spanish slave raids in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century and colonisation attempts by the Dutch, British, French, and Courlanders beginning in 1628, though most colonies failed due to indigenous resistance. After 1763 Tobago was converted to a plantation economy by British settlers and enslaved Africans.