Toco

History

Not much activity took place in Toco after the Spanish colonized Trinidad in 1531 until 1631, when Sir Henry Colt and English forces entered the territory without the knowledge of the Spanish. In 1637, the British were expelled by the Dutch, who had formed an alliance with the Amerindians in the area and were, not too long after, expelled by the Spanish. One hundred years later, Capuchin priests from Spain came to convert the Amerindians to Roman Catholicism. The mission village in Toco was named Mission Village and existed even after the British came. There was another mission near Cumana and was adjoined to the mission in Toco by way of the Anglais Road. The French also had a big part to play in the history of Toco. They flocked to the region a few years after 1783, when the Cedula of Population came into effect encouraging French islanders immigration into Trinidad. In an attempt to seal off the northeast and the eastern areas, the six parcels of land (the Toco area) were sold. Some of these settlers included the D'Godets, the Moniques, the Ponnes, the Trailles, the Narcises and the Rotans. Unlike many other areas in Trinidad and Tobago, the land in Toco was not suitable for extensive sugarcane cultivation. Thus, by 1797, there was only one sugar mill in the entire district. However, the land was quite suitable for cotton production. In 1797, there were as many as 59 cotton mills and the population during that period consisted of 159 African slaves, 62 "free" blacks, 28 French settlers and 155 Amerindians who supposedly lived on the missions. Amerindians (Caribs) also lived in other areas of Toco and Cumana during that period. There were no roads connecting Toco with the rest of the island. So, in 1818, Toco benefited from the round island steamer service…

Most-observed species

• Black Vulture

  Coragyps atratus (Bechstein, 1793) · Aves
  672
• Palm Tanager

  Thraupis palmarum (Wied-Neuwied, 1821) · Aves
  606
• Orange-winged Parrot

  Amazona amazonica (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  598
• Bananaquit

  Coereba flaveola (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  568
• Crested Oropendola

  Psarocolius decumanus (Pallas, 1769) · Aves
  548
• Silver-beaked Tanager

  Ramphocelus carbo (Pallas, 1764) · Aves
  495
• Great Kiskadee

  Pitangus sulphuratus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  491
• Magnificent Frigatebird

  Fregata magnificens Mathews, 1914 · Aves
  462

Most recent

• M 4.4 — 2025-06-24
  61 km NNE of Petit Valley, Trinidad and Tobago
• M 4 — 2024-09-07
  43 km N of Petit Valley, Trinidad and Tobago
• M 5.1 — 2022-01-29
  41 km WSW of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago
• M 4.8 — 2020-10-04
  31 km N of Petit Valley, Trinidad and Tobago
• M 4.1 — 2020-05-12
  52 km N of Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago
• M 4.4 — 2020-05-04
  28 km SE of Rio Claro, Trinidad and Tobago