Trinidad Tobago is diversified, based to a large extent on oil, natural gas, industry and agriculture. It is one of the leading gas-based export centres in the world, being the leading exporter of ammonia and methanol and among the top five exporters of liquefied natural gas. This has allowed Trinidad to capitalise on the biggest mineral reserves within its territories. It is an oil-rich country and stable economically. The Venezuela Tertiary Basin is a subsidence basin formed between the Caribbean and South American plates, and is bounded on the north by the coast ranges of Venezuela and the Northern Range of
Principality of Trinidad on the island's discovery in 1502 by Portuguese navigators. To demonstrate sovereignty over the island, the state of Espírito Santo, which took the island, built a landmark on January 24, 1897. Today, Brazil marks its presence with a permanent Brazilian Navy base on the main island. Principality of Trinidad The Principality of Trinidad was a short-lived unrecognized state declared in 1893 when the American James Harden-Hickey claimed the uninhabited Trindade Island in the South Atlantic. He declared himself James I, Prince of Trinidad, and intended for the islands to become a military dictatorship under his leadership. Britain and Brazil later