Port of Spain – capital of Trinidad and Tobago since 1757
Port of Spain has been the island's capital since 1757, and that decision shaped everything that followed: government, trade and shipping gathered here on the Gulf of Paria. The city began as the Spanish Puerto de España, established near the Amerindian fishing village of Cumucurapo, "place of the silk cotton trees". A Spanish garrison was posted near the foot of the Laventille Hills in 1560, and the low ground closest to the sea, once tidal mudflats and mangroves, was gradually built over. Today the city is the country's chief port and a retail and administrative centre at the heart of a large conurbation. Share your own memories and old photographs of Port of Spain with fellow members.