Afro-Trinidadians and Tobagonians
Afro-Trinidadians and Tobagonians (or just Afro-Trinbagonians) are people from Trinidad and Tobago who are of Sub-Saharan African descent, mostly from West Africa. Social interpretations of race in Trinidad and Tobago are often used to dictate who is of West African descent. Mulatto-Creole, Dougla, Blasian, Zambo, Maroon, Pardo, Quadroon, Octoroon or Hexadecaroon (Quintroon) were all racial terms used to measure the amount of West African ancestry someone possessed in Trinidad and Tobago and throughout North American, Latin American and Caribbean history.
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 452,536 (2011 census) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Languages | |
| Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English Creole, Tobagonian English Creole, Anitillean French Creole | |
| Religion | |
| Majority: Christianity (Roman Catholicism, Pentecostalism, Evangelicalism, Anglicanism, Seventh-day Adventism, Presbyterianism, Jehovah's Witnesses) Minority: Spiritual Baptist, Islam, Trinidad Orisha (Yoruba), Rastafari, Afro-American religions, Traditional African religions, Baháʼí | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Afro-Caribbean, African diaspora in the Americas, African Americans, Igbos, Akans, Kongos, Mandinkas, Ibibios, Yoruba |
Afro-Trinidadians and Tobagonians accounted for 34.22 percent of the population of Trinidad and Tobago according to the 2011 Census. However, the classification is primarily a superficial description based on phenotypical (physical) description as opposed to genotypical (genetic) classification. An additional 22.8 percent of Trinidadians described themselves as being multiracial, of whom 7.7 percent were Dougla (mixed African and Indian ethnicity).
The islands of Trinidad and Tobago (united in 1888) have a different racial history. The island of Trinidad is mainly multiracial while the population of Tobago is primarily what is considered Afro-Tobagonian, which is synonymous with Afro-Trinidadian, with the exception that the people of Tobago are almost exclusively of direct African ancestry. In an effort to bridge the cultural and ethnic split between the two islands many people choose to be called Trinbagonians as a gesture of unification.