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The Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago is the supreme law in Trinidad and Tobago.
Trinidad
editCapitulation
editUnder the Articles of Capitulation which surrendered control of Spanish-administered Trinidad to the British on 18 February 1797, the Spanish system of civil and criminal law was retained,[1]: 1 and the property rights of the population, and guaranteed that the "free coloured people...shall be protected in their liberty, persons and property, like other inhabitants".[2]
The Illustrious Cabildo of Port of Spain was also retained. The council consisted of regidores (councillors) and Alcaldes ordinarios who were elected by the membership of the council to serve as magistrates who presided over civil and criminal matters.[1]: 4–6
Development of the crown colony system
editIn 1801 the first British governor, Sir Thomas Picton, established a Council of Advice which was renamed His Majesty's Council in 1803. In 1831, this purely advisor council was replaced with Council of Government, the first legislative council.[2]
According to political scientist Kirk Meighoo and jurist Peter Jamadar, the crown colony system of government was developed in Trinidad and was later applied to British colonies in Africa, Asia, and the West Indies.[3]
From the establishment of crown colony governance until 1924 the constitution remained "virtually unchanged". Governance was in the hands of the Governor, the Executive Council (whose role was purely advisory) and the Legislative Council, which consisted of official members (who held their position by virtue of their positions in government) and unofficial members who were nominated by the governor.[4]
Tobago
editClaimed by both Britain and France, Tobago was left in the hands of its indigenous population after the 1690s.[5] The Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle in 1748 designated Tobago neutral territory.[6]: 125–128
The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended Tobago's status as a neutral territory and brought it under British control.[7] A plantation economy was quickly established on the island.[8]: 125–128 The former Dutch town of Lampsinsstad was renamed Scarborough in 1765, and was designated the capital of Tobago in 1779.[9] A colonial constitution was granted and an elected House of Assembly was created, with each parish having one elected member. The government was under the control of the Governor-in-Chief of the Windward Islands, who was based in Grenada.[10]: 1–9
In 1781, as part of the Anglo-French War (an outgrowth of the American Revolutionary War), France captured Tobago. The island was ceded to France in 1783 under the terms of the Treaty of Paris, which left the existing constitution and laws in place and allowed the British inhabitants to retain their property and religion.[11]: 1–9 Elections in 1784 left the Assembly in the control of British planters. In 1785 they refused funding for the island's government, arguing that their financial position was too precarious. In response to this, the French government demanded that the Assembly provide an annual payment of 200,000 livres tournois, which they agreed to in 1786.[11]: 1–9
A new Colonial Assembly was established with two elected members from each parish and two from Port Louis, and four unelected members—the governor and the three other senior government officials. Under this new structure, and with far less independence, the Assembly functioned primarily to approve edicts sent by the French government.[11]: 1–9 Tobago was returned to France in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens, but recaptured by the British when war broke out again in 1803.[12]: 1–9 France formally surrendered Tobago to Britain under the terms of the 1814 Treaty of Paris.[13]: 6
As Tobago's economy declined, so did its importance to the British government.[14]: 1–9 To reduce the cost of ruling the island, the British government sough to unite Tobago with neighbouring islands, into a single administrative unit.[15] In 1833, Tobago, Grenada and St. Vincent were put under the authority of the Governor of Barbados, but this had little effect on the power of the Assembly. After Emancipation, the participation of the elected members in the business of the Assembly declined. Given limited participation and high rates of absence from the meetings, the Assembly voted to abolished itself in 1874 and replaced the bicameral legislature with a single chamber called the Elected Legislative Council. This chamber consisted of fourteen members, six of whom were nominated by the Governor and eight which elected by the planters. The planters initially objected to this reduction in their power, but this changed after the Belmanna riots in 1876. Faced with growing militancy by the black population, the planters voted to dissolve their representative government and convert the island to a Crown colony.[14]: 1–9
In 1887, the British Parliament passed the Trinidad and Tobago Act, which authorised the union of Trinidad and Tobago.[16]: 64–67 The goal of the union was to pass the cost of administering Tobago from the British crown to the more prosperous colony of Trinidad.[17]: 153–156 On 17 November 1888, the Act was proclaimed, and the union took effect on 1 January 1889. The islands were united under a single administrative structure, which was based in Port of Spain, and a single governor, who had formerly been the governor of Trinidad. The last vestige of self government, the Financial Board, consisted of three elected members, two members appointed by the governor, and a commissioner also appointed by the governor. The governor was able to dissolve the board without input from the people of Tobago. On the legal front, the Supreme Court in Trinidad gained authority over Tobago and had the power to appoint magistrates.[16]: 64–67 Tobago's status was downgraded to that of a ward in 1899, with the warden of Tobago as the chief government official on the island.[16]: 101–107
Beginnings of elected representation
editFollowing an investigative visit to the Caribbean by between December 13, 1921 and February 14, 1922, E. F. L. Wood (Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies) recommended that elected members should be added to the legislative council.[4]
In 1925, the legislative council was expanded from 21 to 25 members, including seven elected members. Voting was limited to literate men who were 21 or older, and came with property and income requirements. Property and income requirements for candidates were higher than those for voters. The elections took place on 7 February 1925. Only 5.9% of the population were eligible to vote.[18]: 126–127
Representation government
editIndependence constitution
editThe 1962 constitution was adopted at independence.
Wooding Commission
editChaired by Sir Hugh Wooding, the commission on constitutional reform recommended the establishment of a republic with a unicameral house, half elected through single-seat constituencies and half elected through proportional representation.
Republican constitution
editThe 1976 constitution established the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago with a president as head of state.
Later proposals for reform
editReferences
edit- ^ a b Blackman, Ivol (2019). Post Capitulation Trinidad (1797 – 1947). Xlibris. ISBN 978-1-9845-6603-4.
- ^ a b Wooding, H. O. B. (1960). "The Constitutional History of Trinidad and Tobago". Caribbean Quarterly. 6 (2/3): 143–159. ISSN 0008-6495. JSTOR 40652761.
- ^ Meighoo, Kirk; Jamadar, Peter (2008). Democracy and constitution reform in Trinidad and Tobago. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers. ISBN 978-976-637-681-9. OCLC 854586216.
- ^ a b Spackman, Ann (1965). "Constitutional Development In Trinidad & Tobago". Social and Economic Studies. 14 (4): 283–320. ISSN 0037-7651. JSTOR 27853875.
- ^ Boomert, Arie (2002). "Amerindian–European Encounters on and around Tobago (1498–ca. 1810)" (PDF). Antropologica. 97–98: 71–207.
- ^ Boomert, Arie (2016-01-15). The indigenous peoples of Trinidad and Tobago : from the first settlers until today. Leiden. ISBN 9789088903540. OCLC 944910446.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Niddrie, D. L. (1966). "Eighteenth-Century Settlement in the British Caribbean". Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers (40): 67–80. doi:10.2307/621569. ISSN 0020-2754. JSTOR 621569.
- ^ Boomert, Arie (2016-01-15). The indigenous peoples of Trinidad and Tobago : from the first settlers until today. Leiden. ISBN 9789088903540. OCLC 944910446.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Trotman, David V. (2012). "Acts of Possession and Symbolic Decolonisation in Trinidad and Tobago". Caribbean Quarterly. 58: 21–43. doi:10.1080/00086495.2012.11672429.
- ^ Laurence, K. O. (1995). Tobago in wartime, 1793–1815. Barbados: University of the West Indies Press. ISBN 9766400032. OCLC 32699769.
- ^ a b c Laurence, K. O. (1995). Tobago in wartime, 1793–1815. Barbados: University of the West Indies Press. ISBN 9766400032. OCLC 32699769.
- ^ Laurence, K. O. (1995). Tobago in wartime, 1793–1815. Barbados: University of the West Indies Press. ISBN 9766400032. OCLC 32699769.
- ^ Luke, Learie B. (2007). Identity and secession in the Caribbean: Tobago versus Trinidad, 1889–1980. Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press. ISBN 978-9766401993. OCLC 646844096.
- ^ a b Luke, Learie B. (2007). Identity and secession in the Caribbean: Tobago versus Trinidad, 1889–1980. Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press. ISBN 978-9766401993. OCLC 646844096.
- ^ Pemberton, Rita (2016). "A Recurring Decimal: Tobago's Constitutional Experience". In McCollin, Debbie (ed.). In the fires of hope. Volume 2 : essays on the modern history of Trinidad and Tobago. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers. pp. 327–348. ISBN 9789766379278. OCLC 956738933.
- ^ a b c Luke, Learie B. (2007). Identity and secession in the Caribbean: Tobago versus Trinidad, 1889–1980. Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press. ISBN 978-9766401993. OCLC 646844096.
- ^ Brereton, Bridget (1981). A history of modern Trinidad, 1783–1962. Kingston, Jamaica: Heinemann. ISBN 0435981161. OCLC 8669166.
- ^ Luke, Learie B. (2007). Identity and secession in the Caribbean: Tobago versus Trinidad, 1889–1980. Kingston, Jamaica: University of the West Indies Press. ISBN 978-9766401993. OCLC 646844096.
- ^ Samaroo, Brinsley (1976). "The Making of the 1946 Trinidad Constitution". Caribbean Studies. 15 (4): 5–28. ISSN 0008-6533. JSTOR 25612720.