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Trinidadian and Tobagonian Americans (also known as Trinbagonian Americans) are people with Trinidadian and Tobagonian ancestry or immigrants who were born in
Trinidad and Tobago 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 south of ...
. Trinidad and Tobago is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a result, people of Trinidadian and Tobagonian descent do not equate their nationality with ethnicity. The largest proportion of Trinidadians lives in the
New York metropolitan area The New York metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the Tri-State area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass, at , and one of the list of most populous metropolitan areas, most populous urban agg ...
, with other large communities located in
South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...
,
Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...
,
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
, and
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
. There are more than 223,639 Trinbagonian Americans living in the United States.


Historical immigration


First wave of Trinidadians and Tobagonians in America

Trinidadian and Tobagonian immigration to the United States, which dates back to the 17th century, was spasmodic and is best studied in relation to the major waves of
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
immigration. The first documented account of black immigration to the United States from the Caribbean dates back to 1619, when a small group of voluntary indentured workers arrived in
Jamestown, Virginia The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James (Powhatan) River about southwest of the center of modern Williamsburg. It was ...
, on a Dutch frigate. The immigrants worked as free people until 1629 when a Portuguese vessel arrived with the first shipload of blacks captured off the west coast of Africa. In the 1640s Virginia and other states began instituting laws that took away the freedom of blacks and redefined them as chattel or
personal property property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—any property that can be moved fr ...
. Trinidad, like many other islands in the British West Indies, served as a clearinghouse for slaves en route to North America. The region also acted as a "seasoning camp" where newly arrived blacks were "broken-in" psychologically and physically to a life of slavery, as well as a place where they acquired biological resistance to deadly European diseases.


Second wave

From 1966 to 1970, 23,367 Trinidadian and Tobagonian immigrants, primarily from the educated elite and rural poor classes, legally migrated to the United States. From 1971 to 1975, the figure climbed to 33,278. It dropped to 28,498 from 1976 to 1980, and only half that amount between 1981 and 1984, when the Reagan administration began placing greater restrictions on U.S. immigration policy. Less than 2,300 Trinidadian and Tobagonian immigrants arrived in 1984 and that number scarcely increased during President Reagan's second term of office. A few European-Trinidadians migrated during the latter half of the 20th century, primarily because they were losing their grip on political power in the Republic with the rise of nationalism and independence. The majority of those immigrants came to the United States because Britain had restricted immigration from the Commonwealth islands to the British Isles. A larger number migrated in the late 1980s when oil prices fell, sending the Republic into a deep recession. Trinidadians and Tobagonians are now the second largest group of English-speaking West Indian immigrants in the United States.


US communities with high percentages of people of Trinidadian and Tobagonian ancestry

The top US communities with the highest percentage of people claiming Trinidadian-Tobagonian ancestry are: # Lakeview, New York and Naranja, Florida 2.70% #
South Floral Park, New York South Floral Park (formerly known as Jamaica Square) is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 1,741 at the 2020 census. At , the Incorporated Village of South Floral ...
2.50% # Mount Rainier, Maryland 2.30% # Orange, New Jersey and Blue Hills, Connecticut 2.20% #
Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
2.10% #
Chillum, Maryland Chillum is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, bordering Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County. In addition to being its own unincorporated neighborhood, Chillum is also a censu ...
2.00% # Roosevelt, New York 1.90% # Landover Hills, Maryland and Cheverly, Maryland 1.60% # Langley Park, Maryland 1.50% #
Riverdale Park, Maryland Riverdale Park, formerly known and often referred to as Riverdale, is a semi-urban town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, a suburb in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. The population was 6,955 as of the 2010 U.S. Census. T ...
1.40% #
North Amityville, New York North Amityville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York. The population was 18,643 at the 2020 Census. Geography According to the United States ...
, Surfside, Florida and
Gordon Heights, New York Gordon Heights is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Brookhaven, New York, Town of Brookhaven, Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, Long Island, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3, ...
1.30% # Neptune City, New Jersey, Wheatley Heights, New York and
Miramar, Florida Miramar is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 134,721. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which is home to approximately six million people. History Miramar w ...
1.20% # Cottage City, Maryland,
Hempstead, New York The Town of Hempstead (also known historically as South Hempstead) is the largest of the three towns in Nassau County (alongside North Hempstead and Oyster Bay) in the U.S. state of New York. It occupies the southwestern part of the county, o ...
, North Valley Stream, New York,
Uniondale, New York Uniondale is a census-designated place (CDP), as well as a suburb in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, in the Town of Hempstead. The population was 32,473 at the 2020 United States Census. Uniondale is home to Hofstra University's nort ...
, North Lauderdale, Florida,
Harrington Park, New Jersey Harrington Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,664,Beltsville, Maryland 1.10% #
Bloomfield, Connecticut Bloomfield is a suburb of Hartford in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The town's population was 21,535 at the 2020 census. Bloomfield is best known as the headquarters of healthcare services company Cigna. History Originally lan ...
and
Central Islip, New York Central Islip is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 34,450 at the 2010 census. History and overview Prior to the arrival of European settlers, the ...
1.00%


U.S. communities with high percentages of residents born in Trinidad & Tobago

Top 101 U.S. communities with the highest percentage of residents born in Trinidad & Tobago are: # McIntyre, GA 3.8% # Lakeview, NY 3.0% # South Floral Park, NY 2.7% # Palmetto Estates, FL 2.6% # Chula Vista, FL 2.4% #
Orange, NJ The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was originall ...
2.4% # Boulevard Gardens, FL 2.3% # Gun Club Estates, FL 2.2% # Naranja, FL 2.2% # Mount Rainier, MD 2.1% #
Brooklyn, NY Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, beh ...
2.1% # Cheverly, MD 2.1% # Kendall Green, FL 2.0% # Orlo Vista, FL 2.0% # Blue Hills, CT 2.0%


See also

* Trinidad and Tobago–United States relations *
African Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
*
West Indian Americans Caribbean Americans or West Indian Americans are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Caribbean. Caribbean Americans are a multi-ethnic and multi-racial group that trace their ancestry further in time mostly to Africa, as well as Asia, the ...
* Trinidadian Canadians * Trinidadian British * Caribbean immigration to New York City


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trinidadian And Tobagonian Americans Caribbean American