TIMELINE

1834: The Watchful from the Azores, first of four ships (with 44 passengers) arrives in Trinidad on 20 July (first Portuguese to come as labourers in the Caribbean and Guyana).

The Stralhista from Madeira leaves on 12 November 1834 with 28 passengers (25 males and 3 females from Funchal, Machico, Santa Cruz, Calheta and Porto Santo), bound for Trinidad, arriving on 7 December 1834 (see Port-of-Spain Gazette above).

1834: The English ship Eweretta leaves Madeira with 16 ex-prisoners contracted to work in Trinidad from 23 November 1834.

1835: Official Madeiran migration to the Caribbean and Guyana begins, starting with Guyana (St Vincent follows in 1845 and Antigua in 1846).

Surviving Azoreans petition twice to return home.

The English ship Portland with 32 passengers (29 males and 3 females) aboard leaves for Trinidad on 11 February 1835.

1838: Dr Robert Reid Kalley and Mrs Margaret Kalley of Scotland go to Madeira.

1843: Kalley and Madeiran Presbyterians are imprisoned (Kalley for 6 months).

1845: Presbyterian Church of Madeira is founded in May.

1846: Senator, from Madeira (219 passengers), arrives in Trinidad on 9 May.

Persecutions of Presbyterians reach their height in the months of June to August.

William of Glasgow from Madeira (197 passengers – Presbyterian refugees) arrives on 16 September and the refugees are welcomed by the Greyfriars Church of Scotland.

Lord Seaton, from Madeira (200 passengers), arrives on 9 October.

Peru, from Madeira (160 passengers – refugees), arrives on 8 November.

Dalhousie, from Madeira (216 passengers – refugees), arrives on 13 November.

First Portuguese Shop is set up (owner unknown).

1847: O Ano de Fome (The Year of Hunger), due to the destruction of the potato (semilha) crops by disease, and a drastic drop in wine prices.

Dalhousie, from Madeira (267 passengers), arrives on 9 November.

1849: Hundreds of Presbyterians move to Illinois in the United States.

1852: Vine disease oidium hits Madeira vineyards.

1854: St Ann’s Church of Scotland is built on Charlotte Street (formerly St Ann’s Road).

1864: The Portuguese Consul, His Excellency, via the Chargé Francisco João Pedro de Abreu, makes appeal to the Governor and to the Portuguese Community to assist famine-stricken Cape Verde, in Portuguese and in English, and opens a subscription list.

1872: Vine disease phylloxera hits Madeiran vineyards.

1881: Dr Domingo de Montrbrun becomes Consul for Portugal, and remained so until his passing in 1894.

1885: Veneration of Nossa Senhora do Monte (Our Lady of Monte) at is held at Laventille (beginning of Laventille Devotions).

1886: Visit of the Princess Aldegonda (Aldegundes) of Portugal.

1889: Death of the King of Portugal Dom Luís I. The Portuguese Consulate flew the flag of Portugal at half mast and the Portuguese Community honoured his passing by the closing of all businesses two Thursdays in a row, and a mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, "which as a mourning celebration was one of the most important events of the kind the colony has for a long time witnessed" with Portuguese, rich and poor, contributing towards the event (Port of Spain Gazette 2 November 1889, pp. 4-5).

1894: Dr Domingo Antonio de Montbrun (son of Dr Domingo de Montbrun) becomes Consul for Portugal, upon his father's passing, and remains so until 1914.

1890: Manuel Fernandes of Santa Maria Maior, Madeira, establishes his business on Henry Street in Port-of-Spain (father of José Gregorio Fernandes of São Gonçalo, Madeira, and grandfather of J.B. Fernandes, 1903–1992). (The Fernandes label was acquired by Angostura Holdings in 1973.)

1898: Portuguese Brass Band is started - an announcement was made on 13 September. (It is not known how long this band lasted.) In 1900, in the Port-of-Spain Gazette of 18 August 1900, a Mr J Mandeville was mentioned as Bandmaster of the Phylharmonica Lusitania, also known as the Portuguese Band. He left for another job on 31 May 1901.

1905: Grupo Dramático Portuguêz Primeiro de Dezembro, later Associação Portuguesa Primeiro de Dezembro, or Portuguese Association, is founded on 16 July.

1906-1907: João Manuel Ferreira (brother-in-law of Manuel Fernandes and based at the latter's Central Star Bar, Queen and Henry Streets) is recognised internationally. He was awarded 8 gold medals and 4 silver medals at the New Zealand International Exhibition in Christ Church 1906-1907, the only exhibiter who gained so many gold medals at that Exhibition (POS Gazette, 8 September 1909).

He won the 8 gold medals for:

Ferreira's 15 Year Old Rum
Ferreira's Extra Special Rum
Flavoured Rum
White Rum (Gold Medal Brand)
Compound Bitters
Tonic Bitters
Ferreira's Cordial and
Orange Cordial

He won the 4 silver medals for:

Wormwood Bitters
Crème de Anis
Crème de Cacao and
Crème de Vanille

He was also awarded 1 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze medals at the Crystal Palace Exhibition (London), and 8 medals at different Trinidad Exhibitions.

1908: High Mass is held in Portuguese at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, with a sermon by Fr Mac Allinney on Sunday 5 January 1908. The centre of the church is reserved for Portuguese (mentioned in the Port-of-Spain Gazette and the Catholic News).

1910: Visit of the Dom Carlos I to Trinidad

1910s to 1930s: Almost 600 Madeirans emigrate to Trinidad.

1912: MA Silva’s (of São Roque, Madeira) Aromatic Bitters gains Diploma of Merit (later produced by Henry Luz of Santa Maria Maior, Madeira).

The Black Cat Bar (of Port-of-Spain), managed by João Manuel Ferreira (John Ferreira, family of JB Fernandes and award winner, see 1906-1907 above), opened under the New Miranda Hotel on 10 August 1912. It was later managed by Henry da Luz under the ownership of MA Silva

1913: Pereira and Co. is founded.

1914: João Quintal of São Roque, Madeira, establishes one of the earliest Portuguese bakeries (106–108 Coffee Street, San Fernando).

1916: Henry de Nobriga is elected Mayor of Arima.

1917: Feast of Nossa Senhora do Monte is celebrated at the Chapel of Our Lady of Exile at Mt St Benedict (also called the Portuguese Fête of Nossa Senhora do Monte) on 18 and 19 August.

1918: Ernest S. Vieira and Company is started.

Tribute is paid to the late Solomon dos Santos by Mr F.J. Maingot, mayor of Port of Spain. Mr dos Santos was an interpreter at the City Magistrate’s Court.

1919: Portuguese Association acquires their clubhouse on Richmond Street.

Stained glass window is erected at St Ann’s Church of Scotland, called the country’s finest work of art.

First bazaar of the Portuguese Association, in aid of the Portuguese poor in Trinidad, is held. It was held on 24 December and raised $700. The day before the fair, $240 was cabled to Madeira, which had been hard hit because of damage to crops by tornadoes and forest fires.

1921: Silvestre Severiano Nunes Pereira of Campanário, Madeira, establishes his Trinidad-branch confectionery (SSN Pereira Ltd.). His trademark candy was acquired by KC Confectionery, which continues his brand of dinner mints (son, William Pereira, later started Diana Candy).

1922: The Portuguese Association commemorates its seventeenth anniversary on Saturday 15 July 1922, with a convert followed by a dance. The convert features an orchestral selection, songs, a recitation, two comedies, "Heirs-at-Law" and "As Birras do Papa" ("Daddy's Tantrums"),and boxing and skipping exhibitions.

1923: The Portuguese Association holds one of its Carnival celebrations at Richmond Street, Port-of-Spain, with a Fancy Dress Dance (with Lusitanian Pierrots) and Children's Carnival on Friday 9 February 1923

1926: Charles Reis publishes a brief history of the Portuguese Association.

1926: Rev Fr José Marques Jardim, parish priest of Monte, gives a lecture in Portuguese on the topic of Patriotism at the hall of the Associação Portuguesa on 25 July. He also exhibited the jewels of the late Emperor Charles of Austria who had died in Monte 4 years prior.

1927: Portuguese Club is founded on 5 December, headquartered in Queen’s Park East.

1927: Port of Spain Gazette publishes a letter to the editor in Portuguese by Eduardo de Sá Gomes of São Pedro, Madeira.

1930: Sá Gomes Radio Emporiums is established.

1931: Albert Maria Gomes launches the Beacon, successor of the magazine Trinidad; the Beacon group included Ralph de Boissière, C.L.R. James, Alfred Mendes and others.

Camacho Brothers of Santo António, Madeira establish their business.

1932: Henry A. de Freitas is elected Mayor of Port of Spain.

Crown Bakeries is established by José Francisco de Freitas of Santa Cruz, Madeira.

Yvette Ferreira gives a violin recital at the Royal Victoria Institute on Tuesday 20 Dec 1932.

1934: Portuguese Association receives the Grau de Benemerência (Class Order of Benefactor) from the Government of Portugal.

Alfred Hubert Mendes publishes Pitch Lake, a novel about the Portuguese community.

Eduardo de Sá Gomes sends Attila the Hun and Roaring Lion to record in New York City; he worked closely with Henry de Freitas, who managed the Mighty Sparrow.

Correia (Trinidad) Ltd, with parent company in Guyana, is established, importing wines into Trinidad and bottling them on Chacon Street.

Charles Albert Correia began making and storing wines in Trinidad in 1952 at Long Circular Road, later moving to Old St Joseph Road, Laventille, four years later. C.A. Correia passed away in 1967.

1935: Sound radio comes to Trinidad via Diego Serrão’s home broadcasting station.

1938: George de Nobriga is elected to the Legislative Council.

Albert Gomes is elected to the Port-of-Spain City Council.

1937: Eric Williams (b. 1911) marries Elsie Ribeiro (b. 1912), sister of businessman Oscar Ribeiro, children of José Joaquim (JJ) Ribeiro and Frances Eliza Neverson (born in St Vincent and the Grenadines). Eric and Elsie have two children, Elsie Pamela and Alastair. (JJ and Maria Martin Ribeiro were the parents of Isabella Ribeiro de Cabral and 7 other children - see 1948 below.)

1939: Errol Lionel dos Santos (1890–1992) is awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).

1941: Albert Gomes is elected a member of the Trinidad Electricity Board.

1942: Coelho and Sons is established (from a business owned by João Vieira Coelho of Santa Cruz, Madeira, begun earlier, in 1931); in 1973, Coelho bought Holsum Baking Co. which was later acquired by Kiss in 1989.

1944: Flight Lieutenant Charles Vernon Pereira (Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, No 105 Squadron), received the highest award of the Royal Air Force, the Distinguished Flying Cross. He later became president of Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce, and of the Employers’ Consultative Association.

Emmanuel Raymond de Souza, son of Manuel Vasconcellos de Souza of Machico, Madeira, Machine Gunner, United States Army, is wounded in the Invasion of France and awarded the Purple Heart Medal.

Albert Gomes is twice elected as Deputy Mayor of Port-of-Spain (1944-1945).

1945: Charles Reis publishes a history of the Portuguese Association.

1945– Albert Gomes is elected to legislative council, winning the seat formerly held by Mayor Arthur Cipriani.

1946: The one hundredth anniversary of the 1846 arrivals in Trinidad (especially the Madeiran Presbyterian refugees) is observed.

Albert Gomes is elected to executive council.

Errol Lionel dos Santos is knighted.

1947: Sir Errol Lionel dos Santos is promoted to colonial secretary.

George M. Cabral is elected mayor of Port of Spain.

Charles Gomes Netto is elected mayor of Arima.

Noble Marquez founds Trinidad and Tobago Electrical Contractors Ltd (TATEC).

1948: Isabella Ribeiro de Cabral de Freitas of Trinidad obtains her pilot’s licence (first female pilot in the English-speaking Caribbean). Isabella was the daughter of POS Mayor George Cabral and Isabella Ribeiro, daughter of JJ and Maria (Mary) Ribeiro.

Monica Estella Ferreira (née Pereira), daughter of SSN Pereira of Guyana, launches the first Children’s Carnival band, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, with the help of a Miss Coelho. The band paraded on stage in Jaycees Carnival (other bands followed in later years Portuguese Peasants, and Portuguese Fishermen, portrayed by thirty children of various backgrounds, mainly Portuguese).

1948: Sir Errol L. dos Santos, Kt Bach, CBE joins the Board of Directors of Alstons Ltd. on 1 April, retiring on pension from the Government Service.

1950: Albert Gomes, de facto chief minister of Trinidad and Tobago, and Minister of Labour, Industry and Commerce.

1950s: Mr Fabian J. Camacho, magistrate.

Hi-Lo Food Stores Ltd (formerly the Ice–House Grocery, then Fernandes [1933] Ltd) is established.

1951: Albert Gomes helps to bring freedom to the Shouter Baptists, earlier asking the legislative council to appoint a committee to look into a repeal of the 1917 Shouters Prohibition Ordinance, which denied Shouter Baptists freedom of religious expression for thirty-four years. Gomes also supported the steel band movement and calypso.

1952: John (João) Ernesto Ferreira Jr invents double seconds and double tenor pans.

J. Ernesto Ferreira, his father, of Santo António, Madeira, founded the Boys from Iwo Jima steel band in 1947, Melody Makers in 1949 and Dixieland Steel Orchestra in 1950, the first sponsored steel band - Jeffrey’s Beer (from the agents Grell & Co. and promoted by Landy de Montbrun), winning the 1960 Music Festival Winner with Agnus Dei and Estudiantina.

Dixieland saw several offshoots, such as the Highlanders (founded by Kim Loy Wong), Tropitones (Mosca brothers), and Dixie Stars. When Dixie Stars came to an end, most of the members became part of Silver Stars.

Colin Frank Agostini (Govia) – at the age of 19 (the youngest on the team) – is part of the first ever Trinidad and Tobago football team to tour England.

1953: On Sunday 26 July 1953, at 4:00 p.m., there took place the Solemn Blessing by the Archbishop Finbar Ryan of the new life-size statue of Our Lady of Fatima, a gift from Manuel Augusto da Silva (of MA Silva's Aromatic Bitters and Mimosa Madeira wine), a well-known merchant and Portuguese benefactor of the Monastery, in a fulfilment of a promise made to Our Lady. (MA Silva had already returned to Portugal to live, from where he continued his businesses and trade in Trinidad.)

The statue was the third of its kind in the world (the other two being in Lisbon and Brazil), carved from cedar wood in the ateliers of Maia Brothers, Portugal; it took the artist – Amálio Maia – nine months to complete. The entire height of the statue is a little more than six feet (6.88), which includes a pedestal depicting the top of the oak tree on which Our Lady appeared at the Cova da Iria and the cloud that surrounded her feet. The figure itself is 5.41 feet in height and richly decorated with precious stones.

Before the ceremony, His Grace had tea at the Guest House with some Portuguese Catholics from Port of Spain.

1954: One hundredth anniversary of the St Ann’s Church of Scotland.

Michael George Raymond Agostini (Govia) becomes the country’s first British Empire and Commonwealth Games sprint gold medallist (Vancouver, BC, Canada 1954).

Lionel de Freitas wins the silver medal for weightlifting at the above games.

1956: J. Ernesto Ferreira Jr founds the National Pigeon Racing Commission of Trinidad and Tobago.

1960: Joseph (Joey) Nunes wins Milo-Madonna round-the-island cycle race at age 17, being the youngest rider to have won such a race to date (and continued as a successful competing master’s category cyclist at age 68).

1962: Ignatius Severiano Ferreira becomes the first local managing director of the Trinidad Trading Co. Ltd (TTCL, later becoming Furness Trinidad Ltd in 1976); Ferreira is the son of Silvano Ferreira (born in São Roque, Madeira, on 7 July 1885) and Arcenia Maria Gomes (b. 24 January 1897).

1964: Joseph Bento (JB) Fernandes receives the Diploma and Insignia of the Ordem Militar de Cristo from the Government of Portugal, in recognition of services rendered to the Portuguese Community residing in Trinidad.

Denyse Gomes wins the Jaycees Carnival Queen title as Miss Radio Trinidad.

1968: Portuguese Magnolias Hockey Club, now Shandy Carib Magnolias, is founded.

1969: Roger (Gomez Sheppard) Gibbon, cyclist – with many accomplishments starting at age 17 – is awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Silver) for Athletics – Cycling.

Carlton Kenneth Anthony Gomes (1928–2003) is first appointed to Senate in October as a parliamentary secretary; he becomes minister of education in 1970, a post he holds until 1976.

1972: Gene E. Miles, b. 1930 (granddaughter of John Teixeira), who revealed the Gas Station Racket, passes away.

Geoffrey Ferreira is Trinidad and Tobago’s representative at the Munich Olympic Games (swimming).

Alfred Mendes is awarded an honorary doctorate (DLitt honoris causa) from the University of the West Indies, St Augustine.

Peter Carvalho, carnival bandleader, is awarded the Public Service Medal of Merit (Silver) for Carnival Development.

Harold (Sally) Saldenah/Saldenha, carnival bandleader, is awarded the Public Service Medal of Merit (Silver) for Carnival Development.

1973: Edmond Gerald (D’Olliviera) Hart, carnival bandleader, is awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Gold) for Carnival Development.

Ferreira Optical is founded by Mervyn Ferreira.

1974: Albert Gomes publishes his autobiography, Through a Maze of Colour.

1975: Charles de Freitas, retired manager of the Cocoa and Coffee Industry Board, is awarded the Public Service Medal of Merit (Gold).

Christine Mary (de Silva) Jackson, Trinidad and Tobago’s representative at Miss Universe, wins Miss Amity.

1976: Hugh Ferreira, chief immigration officer (retired), is awarded the Public Service Medal of Merit (Gold). He is also featured in the Tobago Museum.

Ignatius Severiano Ferreira succeeds Charles Gomes Netto (former mayor of Arima) as president of Portuguese Association (until 2006).

1977: Media Sales Ltd is started by Chris Ferreira.

1978: Albert Gomes publishes All Papa’s Children, a novel about the Portuguese community.

Lady Enid dos Santos, Voluntary Social Worker, is awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Gold) for Voluntary Social Work.

1979: René Serrão, Senior Pilot, is awarded the The Hummingbird Medal Gold for National Security Service.

1980: Geoffrey Ferreira, Trinidad and Tobago’s first Olympic swimmer (at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games), sets a Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games record of 1:02.2 in a Butterfly event, and a national record of 56:60 for the 100m Butterfly in April 1980.

1980: Maria Nunes, Student, is awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Gold) for Sport (Golf).

Ignatius Severiano Ferreira, Business Executive/Commander, St John Ambulance Brigade of Trinidad and Tobago, is awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Silver) for Community Service.

1980: Ignatius Severiano Ferreira becomes chairman of Furness Trinidad Ltd.

1984: One hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the arrival of the Azoreans in Trinidad is observed(first Portuguese labourers to come anywhere in the Caribbean).

1985: Ignatius Ferreira succeeds José Thiago (JT) Gonsalves as honorary consul of Portugal up to 2021, when he was succeeded by his son William Anthony Ferreira, former honorary vice-consul.

Ovid Owen Fernandes, retired special advisor to the minister of energy and natural resources, is awarded the Public Service Medal of Merit (Gold) for Public Service.

The following were inducted into the Trinidad and Tobago Sports Hall of Fame:

Customs officer Carl de Souza, son of Henrique Polycarpo de Souza, was a Pan-American silver medallist at the 1951 Games at Buenos Aires (weightlifting)
Roger P. Gibbon (cycling)
Hilary (Larry) Angelo Gomes (cricket)
Gerald (Gerry) E. Gomez (cricket)
Compton Gonsalves, founder of the Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation (cycling).
Joey Gonsalves (football)
Gerard Ian Jardine (hockey)

1987: Sir Errol dos Santos inducted into the Trinidad and Tobago Sports Hall of Fame (Administration).

Furness Trinidad Ltd (formerly Furness Withy and Co.) is now 100 per cent locally owned, with Ignatius Ferreira being the main shareholder.

1988: Maria Mónica Reis Pestana of Estreito de Câmara de Lobos, Madeira, later of St Joseph and Mt Lambert, self publishes her memoirs, Travelling Memories with Jokes and Tips from 1910 to 1984, under the name of Monica Ries; she also starts a book on old Portuguese love songs.

1989: Father John Mendes, son of João Mendes of Ponta de Sol, Madeira, is ordained bishop of Port of Spain on 6 January.

1990: Celestine de Freitas retires as principal of the Holy Family Private School.

1991: Ignatius Ferreira receives the Grau de Comendador (Degree of Commander) from the government of Portugal.

Sr Paul (Gloria) D’Ornellas, founder of the Foundation for Human Development and a retired school principal, is awarded the Public Service Medal of Merit (Gold) for Education; she later celebrates her diamond jubilee in August 2014, having entered religious service in 1954.

David (Pestana) King, archery coach, is founding president of the Trinidad and Tobago Target Archery Federation.

Roger A. Camacho is elected to the Boiler Examiners Board (a State Board) in 1991, and becomes Chairman in 2010.

1992: Hilary (Larry) Angelo Gomes, cricketer, is awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Silver) for Sport.

1992: (Mrs.) June Rita Gonsalves, radio and television broadcaster, is awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Gold) for Community Service.

1994: Gerry Rodrigues becomes World Masters Open Water Champion in Montréal, Canada.

Dr Alvro Camacho (born 1927) passes away. He had the largest private practice of paedriatric endocrinology in the United States and was listed in the Who’s Who in America.

He was the son of Lewis and Hilda Camacho and the brother of Gloria C. Mendes, Lewis F. Camacho and Dr James E. Camacho.

Jo-Anne Ferreira, who is descended from the Vasconcellos de Souzas of Machico, publishes The Portuguese of Trinidad and Tobago: Portrait of an Ethnic Minority; her PhD thesis is completed later in 1999.

1995: Marjorie Paddy Fernandes-Williams is inducted into the Trinidad and Tobago Sports Hall of Fame (hockey).

Robert Ames sets a golf record at Palmas del Mar.

1996: 150 years of the Madeiran presence in Trinidad since 1846 is noted; others had previously arrived in 1835.

Gerard Ferreira is elected mayor of San Fernando; he demitted office in 2003.

1998: Edmund de Freitas is inducted into the Trinidad & Tobago Racing Authority (TTRA) Racing Hall of Fame for his contribution/service to racing and other oustanding achievements.

William Anthony Ferreira, Honorary Vice-Consul, receives the Ordem de Mérito - Oficial (OM - Medal of Merit - Officer) from the government of Portugal.

Little Lisbon, a Portuguese restaurant, owned by Rui Pires of Angola and Portugal, opens its doors on Dundonald Street, Port-of-Spain.

1999: Mary Jane Gomes screens Angel in a Cage, a film about the Portuguese community, the first in a planned trilogy of films on Trinidad’s Madeiran community.

2000: Anthony (Camacho) Milne’s Portuguese story, “Winter Wonderland: Letter Home from JB de Callao”, is published.

The following were inducted into the Trinidad and Tobago Sports Hall of Fame:

Debra O’Connor, granddaughter of João Mendes of Ponta de Sol, Madeira (badminton)
Gene Samuel, grandson of Albino João/John of São Roque, Madeira (cycling)
Silvano Gomes Ralph (all rounder)

2002: The Autobiography of Alfred Mendes 1897–1991 is edited by Michele Levy and published by the University of the West Indies Press. Three other books follow.

2002: B.C. Pires, one of three West Indians, is included in Guha’s The Picador Book of Cricket (the other two were C.L.R. James and V.S. Naipaul), celebrating the finest writers of cricket literature.

2003: Cecilia Salazar, great-granddaughter of António and Virginia Coelho of Madeira, wins the Cacique Award for Most Outstanding Actress (and other awards in following years).

2004: Stephen Michael (Pereira) Ames, Sportsman, is awarded the Chaconia Gold Medal for Sport (golf).

Carl de Souza, former customs officer, is posthumously awarded the Public Service Medal of Merit (Gold).

Arlindo Nunes is inducted into the Trinidad & Tobago Racing Authority (TTRA) Racing Hall of Fame for his contribution/service to racing.

2005: On 11 May, Charles Vernon Pereira passed away in England; past president of Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce, he served for many years on the finance committee of The University of the West Indies and on the boards of many companies, and was also president of the Employers’ Consultative Association. He served with distinction in the Royal Air Force during World War II and was the recipient of the highest award of the Royal Air Force, the distinguished Flying Cross and Bar.

(Mrs.) Alix Archer De Silva, brand manager, is awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Silver) for Honesty.

2008: Gabrielle (de Freitas, of the Charles de Freitas family) Walcott, representing Trinidad and Tobago, is second runner-up at Miss World.

John (João) Ernesto Ferreira is inducted into Sunshine Awards Hall of Fame (Steelband Music).

Alicia (Ferreira) Milne screens her short student film Luso Trinidad: Home in the Land of the Homeless and also conducts the Calvinadage Project (named after carne vinha d'alhos or garlic pork).

2010: Augustine "Rock" Ribeiro, footballer, is awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Silver) for Sport.

Roger A. Camacho, a grandson of Manuel Fernandes Camacho, a foundation member, succeeds Ignatius S. Ferreira as president of Portuguese Association (until 2020). Camacho served on the Board of Management for over ten years and is a Meritorious Member. He was Treasurer from 1982 to 1986.

2011: Hayden Ferreira is selected as one of fifty distinguished alumni of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine.

Trinidad Guardian Special Publications Unit, headed by Tracey Alonzo, publishes supplement on the 165th anniversary of the Madeiran Portuguese in Trinidad and Tobago, coordinated and edited by Jo-Anne S. Ferreira, on 10 June, Day of Camões, Portugal and Portuguese communities.

2012: Guyana-born international musician Dennis de Souza passes away (father of Rhonda de Souza, a singer, who passed away in 2000).

2014: Jowelle de Souza, activist for Animal Welfare, is awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Bronze) for Community Service.

Three Luso-Trinbagonians attend the II Curso Intensivo de Verão para Luso-descendentes (CIVLD): Língua, Literatura e Cultura Madeirenses (created in 2013), hosted by Centro das Comunidades Madeirenses da Secretaria Regional dos Assuntos Parlamentares e Europeus jointly with the Centro de Competências de Artes e Humanidades of the Universidade da Madeira. Three others followed in 2015.

Jo-Anne S. Ferreira becomes a Councillor on the Madeiran Diaspora Council (Conselho da Diáspora Madeirense), representing the Caribbean.

Greyfriars Church of Scotland hall is demolished in December, with only some remnants of the church building standing; the St Ann’s Church of Scotland restoration project was completed and commemorated in April of the same year. Greyfriars was the first English-speaking church in the world to welcome Madeiran religious refugees.

2017: Staff and students of the Portuguese and Brazilian Studies of the Department of Modern Languages and Linguistics (Faculty of Humanities and Education, The Univsersity of the West Indies, St Augustine) host LusoFesta 2017 featuring Amazonas (Brazil), Bissau (Guinea Bissau), Macau (China) and Madeira (Portugal). The Centro das Comunidades Madeirenses supported by sending Madeiran tourism materials and artefacts.

2018: Cazabon Wine and Cocktail Bar opens, with Portuguese wines and items (especially from Madeira) on the menu.

2019: The Madeiran Portuguese Community commemorates 185 years since the arrival of the first ship, the Stralhista from Madeira arriving on 7 December 1834, having left on 12 November 1834 with 28 passengers (25 males and 3 females from Funchal, Machico, Santa Cruz, Calheta and Porto Santo). An event was held at Cazabon Wine and Cocktail Bar with a small newspaper supplement but otherwise good newspaper coverage.

2020: Christopher Santos is awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Silver) as Artist/Designer in the Spheres of Art/Costume Design.

Ricardo Eduardo succeeds Roger A. Camacho as president of Portuguese Association.

2021: J. Ernesto Ferreira is awarded the Hummingbird Medal (Gold) for his contribution to the national instrument, the Steelpan, 69 years after his invention and innovation with the double seconds and double tenor steelpans.

Eleven Luso-Trinbagonians attend the XIX Curso Intensivo de Verão para Luso-descendentes (CIVLD): Língua, Literatura e Cultura Madeirenses (created in 2013) in the month of July. This was the first virtual edition because of the pandemic, hosted by Centro das Comunidades Madeirenses da Secretaria Regional dos Assuntos Parlamentares e Europeus jointly with the Centro de Competências de Artes e Humanidades of the Universidade da Madeira. Six others had gone to Madeira for the courses in 2014 and 2015.

William Anthony Ferreira, former honorary vice-consul, succeeds his father Ignatius S. Ferreira as honorary consul of Portugal

The Portuguese community and the St Ann's Church of Scotland celebrate 175 years of the arrival of the first Madeiran Portuguese Protestants on the William of Glasgow with 197 Presbyterian refugees) arriving on 16 September 1846. The refugees were welcomed by the Greyfriars Church of Scotland.

2022: Cônsul-Geral of Portugal based in Caracas, Mr Licínio Bingre do Amaral, visits Trinidad & Tobago on a diplomatic mission from 23 to 24 February.

See the National Awards Database. Awards also went to Rupert Mends, Neville Miranda, Nora Florence Franco, and Raymond (Atilla) Quevedo.

Sports figures include David King, Silvano Gomes Ralph, Matthew Nunes, Carlton Franco and Ryan Mendes. Other sportsmen include Lionel de Freitas (weightlifting), Lester Gomes (tennis), Randy Gomes (cricket) and Sheldon Gomes (cricket).

Singers and composers include Lord Executor (Philip Garcia), Stephen Ferreira, Marcia Miranda, Gaston Nunes and others.

The doctors, lawyers, soldiers, architects, pilots, musicians, chefs, entrepreneurs, beauty queens, etc., are too numerous to count here.

Any omission is unintended and inadvertent, in spite of best research efforts. The author and compiler is always happy for corrections and updates. Obrigada!