Editing History of Trinidad and Tobago (section)

=== Colonial settlement of Tobago ===
{{See also|Dutch Caribbean|Couronian colonization of the Americas}}
In Tobago, the first [[Dutch Empire|Dutch]] colony of Nieuw-Walcheren ("New [[Walcheren]]") was short-lived. 68 colonists established Fort Vlissingen ("Fort Flushing") near modern [[Plymouth, Trinidad and Tobago|Plymouth]] in 1628. They were reinforced by a few hundred more settlers from [[Zeeland]] in 1629 and 1632.<ref name="dutch">Ramerini, Marco. ''Colonial Voyage''. "[http://www.colonialvoyage.com/eng/america/tobago/dutch.html Dutch and Courlanders on Tobago: A History of the First Settlements, 1628{{ndash}}1677] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121110022814/http://www.colonialvoyage.com/eng/america/tobago/dutch.html |date=10 November 2012 }}". Accessed 23 November 2012.</ref> Attempted colonies by [[Duchy of Courland|Courland]] in 1637, 1639, and 1642 and [[Kingdom of England|England]] in 1639, 1642, and 1647 all failed.<ref name="dutch" />

In May and September 1654, Courish and Dutch colonies were reestablished successfully.<ref>Neugebauer Petr. [https://www.neup.eu/courland-colonization Courland colonization.]  25 January 2012</ref> The Courish colony of ''Neu-Kurland'' ("New Courland") was centered at Fort Jacob on [[Great Courland Bay]]. The Dutch colony on the other side of the island had three forts: Lampsinsberg, Beveren, and Bellavista. In 1658, 500 Frenchmen joined the Dutch colony but formed their own settlement called Three Rivers (''Le Quartier des trois Rivières'').<ref name="dutch" /> On 11 December 1659, the Courlanders peaceably surrendered their colony to the Dutch. At the time, the island held about 1,500 Europeans and around 7,000 African slaves working on 120 plantations, supporting six or seven [[sugar mill]]s and two [[rum]] [[distillery|distilleries]].<ref name="dutch" />

British Jamaican pirates captured the island in January 1666; the official English garrison surrendered to a French attack in August the same year. The Dutch admiral [[Abraham Crijnssen]] reclaimed a deserted colony in April 1667 and reestablished a fort. An attempt to restore the Courish Fort Jacob was suppressed in December 1668. In December, 1672, the British attacked and destroyed the Dutch colony as part of the [[Third Anglo-Dutch War]]. Dutch control was regained under the ''status quo ante'' provisions of the [[Treaty of Westminster (1674)|Second Treaty of Westminster]] in 1674; in September 1676, Fort Sterreschans was constructed near the ruins of Fort Vlissingen. This star fort was reinforced in February 1677, but French attacks in February, March, and December of that year finally succeeded in killing the Dutch governor and capturing the island.<ref name="dutch" />

The [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chappelle]] in 1748 designated Tobago neutral territory. Amerindians from Venezuela who sought to avoid being forced to settle in Capuchin mission villages, and Island Caribs from St. Vincent who sought to escape conflict with the [[Black Carib|Black Caribs]], were among the groups who settled there in this period.<ref name="Boomert3">{{Cite book |last=Boomert |first=Arie |title=The indigenous peoples of Trinidad and Tobago : from the first settlers until today |date=2016-01-15 |isbn=9789088903540 |location=Leiden |oclc=944910446}}</ref>{{Rp|125–128}}