Editing History of Trinidad and Tobago (section)

=== Oil boom and bust ===
[[File:Eric Williams (cropped).jpg|thumb|[[Eric Williams]], the first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago]]
The high oil prices of the 1970s and early 1980s led to an ''[[oil boom]]'' which resulted in a large increase in salaries, standards of living, and [[political corruption|corruption]].

In 1979, construction on the [[Eric Williams Plaza]] began. It would eventually be completed in 1986. It remained the tallest building in Trinidad and Tobago until the construction of the Nicholas Tower in 2003.

[[File:Newly arrived coolies in Trinidad.jpg|thumb|Newly arrived indentured [[India]]ns in Trinidad and Tobago]] Williams died in office in 1981.  The PNM remained in power following the death of Dr. Williams, but its 30-year rule ended in 1986 when the [[National Alliance for Reconstruction]] (NAR), a multi-ethnic coalition aimed at uniting Trinidadians of [[Afro-Trinidadian people|Afro-Trinidadian]] and [[Indo-Trinidadian]] descent, won a landslide victory by capturing 33 of 36 seats. Tobago's [[A. N. R. Robinson]], the political leader of the NAR, was named prime minister. The NAR also won 11 of the 12 seats in the Tobago House of Assembly. The NAR began to break down when the Indian component withdrew in 1988. [[Basdeo Panday]], leader of the old [[United Labour Front]] (ULF), formed the new opposition with the [[United National Congress]] (UNC). The NAR's margin was immediately reduced to 27 seats, with six for the UNC and three for the PNM.