164 



TRINIDAD. 



A 



J 



// 



The Europeans and their descendants do not offer any peculiar 

 traits beyond those which prevail among the nations of their 

 respective ancestries. In the mass, however, Creoles may be 

 characterised as improvident, fickle, and by no means exempt 

 from the censure I have attached to the emancipated class — that 

 of disliking agriculture, and other occupations which require 

 exertion and steadiness of purpose. 



It is impossible correctly to trace the progress of population 

 in Trinidad, from the capitulation to the present day; and I 

 have no documents wherefrom to ascertain even the increase of 

 that population by natural causes . Captain Mallet's official 

 return states the population to have been inCl792y 17,718 ; viz., 

 2,151 whites, 4,476 free coloured, 10^009 slaves, and 1,082 

 Indians. Previous to the cedula of(T783j)it was 2,763 : whites, 

 126: free people of colour, 295; slaves, 310; Indians, 2,032. Ii 

 T79(5jt had increased to a total jpf 10,422. I find in Alcedo's 

 dictionary that, in the year (180 5 yit amounted to 25,245 souls 

 divided as follows : whites, 2,261 ; people of colour, 3,275 

 slaves, 19,709. It appears also that in the year(1825/t 

 increased to 43,262 inhabitants. 



The census of (T8j51valthough incorrect in several minoi 

 respects, may be regarded, however, as containing a fair reti 

 of the population of the island, which then amounted to 69,6( 

 souls. Ratio of births, 3*50 per cent., or one birth for evei 

 2,850 inhabitants. Population, according to census of 

 84,438 ; (1871^)09,638 ^1881^153,1 28. 



The following Tables show the number of births in the islam 

 for two periods, from 1848 to 1853, and from 1870 to 1879, for 

 each quarter in every year, and the ratio of males to females. 



Table of Births, 1848—1853. 



