The History of Trinidad under the Spanish Government

"Nothing would be so unbearable to us as to see this historical essay pass by un-noticed by our compatriots, since it is for them that we have undertaken it."

Pierre Gustave Louis Borde was born in Trinidad in the year 1820 and dedicated his last years to writing a history of Trinidad from the discovery by Columbus in 1498 to the British conquest in 1797. With these two books, published here for the first time in one cover, he made a major contribution to the evolution of historical writing about the West Indies. Elsa Goveia, in her seminal study of the historiography of the West Indies, praises Borde as a competent historian who ranks high among 19th century writers on Caribbean history. A well educated and literary man, Borde devoted many years of his life to research for the writing of these invaluable books on Trinidad, the island he loved so well and of which he was a loyal and staunch citizen.

"For the scholarly qualities of his History of Trinidad under the Spanish Government, P.G.L. Borde deserves to be far better known to, and appreciated by, his fellow Trinidadians of the late 20th century."

(Bridget Brereton)

Paria Publishing Co. Ltd. published Borde in 1982 as the first historical publication after the company's founding in 1981. We are happy to re-issue the book in a revised version with the French and Spanish appendices translated into English.