Category Capital Cities

          The city of Port of Spain is the Capital of Trinidad and Tobago, a twin island country in the West Indies. The city is located on the west coast of the island of Trinidad, below the northern peninsula on the Gulf of Paria. Spain had made Trinidad a colony from the mid-16th century onwards. The early Spanish settlers who established a port there, and called it ‘Puerto de Espana’, which in English means the ‘Port of Spain’. Port of Spain has an interesting urban layout with parks and squares in geometric patterns.

          The city houses the business district at its centre. This business district is situated near the Gothic-style Holy Trinity Cathedral and the Queen’s Park Savannah, the city’s largest open space and a popular site for recreation. There are many monuments of historical and architectural interest in the city such as the President’s House, Whitehall, which houses the office of the prime minister, the house of the Roman Catholic archbishop of Port of Spain, the Knowsley Building, All Saints’ Church and the Neo-Renaissance Red House, which was rebuilt in 1906 and contains the Parliament and government offices.

          Which is the most powerful country in the world? Most people would, without any hesitation, answer, ‘The United States of America’. Being the capital of the most powerful country, Washington, D.C. is therefore the most powerful city too.    

          Washington, D.C. is formally known as the District of Columbia. Columbia is a reference to Christopher Columbus, an early European explorer of the Americas. The city is named after George Washington, the first president of the United States and military leader of the American Revolution. It was referred to as the Federal City or Washington City in the nineteenth century.

          The district houses the centres of all three branches of the U.S. Federal government. It is also the commercial and economic powerhouse of the world as the headquarters for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization of American States, the Inter-American Development Bank and other national and international institutions including labor unions and professional associations are located there.

          The city is also a major tourist destination. Some of the landmarks and monuments include the National Mall, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, National World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the White House and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

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          Have you heard of a country named Saint Vincent and the Grenadines? This small country lies in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of this country, which is frequently known simply as Saint Vincent, is Kingstown. The town is also the largest port of the country.

          French settlers founded Kingstown as a modern town in the 1720s. However, Saint Vincent and its capital later came under British rule.

          The town’s economy largely depends on exports, which include bananas, arrowroot, coconuts, sweet potatoes, plantains, yams, taro and tannias. The beautiful steep hills that surround the town are a major attraction of the place. The St Vincent and the Grenadines Botanic Gardens is located on the northern side of the town, and it attracts thousands of spectators every year. Fort Charlotte is another monument in the town that attracts tourists’ interest.

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          Nicaragua is a Central American country. In the Central American isthmus, the narrow land that connects South and North American continents, Nicaragua is the largest country. Managua is the capital of Nicaragua. The city lies amid small crater lakes on the southern shore of Lake Managua. One of the warmest capitals of Central America, Managua is situated only 50 metres above sea level.

          The capital is the largest city and the commercial and cultural hub of the country. Managua’s economy is dependent on a variety of small industries such as meat processing, furniture, metal work and textiles. The city has oil refineries too. In the agricultural sector, coffee and cotton are the principal, crops. There is an increasing demand for the sugarcane, rice, sorghum, cattle and horses of the city too.

          Managua is connected to the rest of the world through the Pan-American Highway and the international airport. It has rail-roads and other highway connections too. One of the chief attractions of Managua is the rich agricultural lands that surround the city.

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          Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea. Jamaica’s largest city and national capital is Kingston. The key port of the country, the city is located on the south-eastern coast of Jamaica. There is a beach-like formation known as Palisades in front of the city, which connects the town of Port Royal, a shipping centre, to the mainland of the island.

          There is a glaring inequality between classes in the city. A good part of the city is merely shantytown. There are two parts that make up Kingston. One part, the old and troubled Downtown, inhabited mostly by poor people. The other part, the business area, which is occupied by a modern and affluent population.

          A major landmark of the city is the Bob Marley Museum, dedicated to the memory of the world renowned musician, Bob Marley. Other monuments of tourist interest include the ruins of Port Royal, the Jamaica Defence Force Museum, Hellshire Beach, a popular weekend destination for the people of Kingston, and Lime Cay Beach.

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          Port-au-Prince is the capital of Haiti, also known as the West Indian Republic of Haiti. Haiti is also the chief port and commercial hub of the city.

          The city, it is said, was named by a captain by the name of de Saint-Andre. He was sailing through the area in a ship named Le Prince and called the port ‘Port of the Prince’. The city is located on the beautiful bay at the top of the Gulf of Go-nave. In 2010, there was a devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince. This quake caused so much damage in the city and many major landmarks of the city were destroyed. The du Champ-de-Mars, the site of a number of historically notable structures in the centre of the city, was hit the hardest.

          Some of the most important monuments in the city are the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, and the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Both these buildings were nearly destroyed in the earthquake. The National Archives, National Library and National Museum are also major tourist hotspots.

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