<Li> Holiday celebrated on 24 September . </Li> <P> Trinidad and Tobago (/ ˈtrɪnɪˌdæd ən təˈbeɪɡoʊ / (listen); / - toʊˈ - /), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is a twin island country that is the southernmost nation in the Caribbean . It is situated 130 kilometres (81 miles) south of Grenada off the northern edge of the South American mainland, 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) off the coast of northeastern Venezuela . It shares maritime boundaries with Barbados to the northeast, Grenada to the northwest, Guyana to the southeast, and Venezuela to the south and west . </P> <P> The island of Trinidad was a Spanish colony from the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498 until Spanish governor Don José María Chacón surrendered the island to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby in 1797 . During the same period, the island of Tobago changed hands among Spanish, British, French, Dutch and Courlander colonizers more times than any other island in the Caribbean . Trinidad and Tobago were ceded to Britain in 1802 under the Treaty of Amiens as separate states and unified in 1889 . Trinidad and Tobago obtained independence in 1962 and became a republic in 1976 . </P> <P> As of 2015, Trinidad and Tobago had the third highest GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity (PPP) in the Americas after the United States and Canada . It is recognised by the World Bank as a high - income economy . Unlike most of the English - speaking Caribbean, the country's economy is primarily industrial with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals . The country's wealth is attributed to its large reserves and exploitation of oil and natural gas . </P>

When did trinidad and tobago became an independent country