It would be hard for a continental dweller to understand that in an island as small as Tobago, there could be great diversity and isolated communities though the extent of the place is only 116 square miles.
Anyone who has travelled off the beaten path extensively knows that in the northeastern part of Tobago, the little villages and their populations are of a very different stamp from those on the Leeward coast. Charlotteville is one of the most tranquil of these.
Kalinago or Carib people were the earliest inhabitants and may have lived here in relative seclusion right into the middle of the 17th century.
In 1633, Jan de Moor, the Burgomaster or mayor of the Dutch town of Flushing sent forth an expedition of his countrymen who happened upon this rugged part of Tobago. The Dutchmen were displaced by the natives and the place remained serene for a while. More Dutchmen came in however around 1650 and of course, brought with them the evil of slavery which they used to transform the verdant slopes into sugar plantations. The constant wrangling for Tobago between the English, Dutch and French from the late 17th and throughout the 18th centuries meant that the original Dutch holdings at Charlotteville went into abandonment for a while. This was during the golden age of piracy in the West Indies and several buccaneers made the island a base for their operations. One in particular, Captain John Phillips, anchored frequently in the deep blue bay and it is possible that the cove called Pirate’s Bay is named for him.
There was some stability in Tobago in the period 1760-81 when it is possible that the area became known as Charlotteville for good since it was the name of the wife of King George III. Certain land grants were made in accordance with the law of the time to settlers who were expected to clear the land and cultivate sugar. The original grantees appear to have been Abraham Markoe, E Hawkins and Alexander Stewart. To what extent they undertook propagation of sugar cane is not known.
In 1777, a year after the United States wrested independence from Great Britain, American privateer John Paul Jones and others like him, sought to harass the outlying districts near Speyside and Charlotteville, plundering supplies and produce from the estates, as well as timber when they could find it. They were put to flight by British Men of War which is possibly how the bay fronting Charlotteville got its name. Recognising the need for greater security in this remote part of Tobago, the British constructed a battery which became known as Fort Cambelton and is a scenic viewpoint today.
The deep harbour and relative isolation of the bay also made it a reconnaissance point for French forces who took the island in a strong military assault against its governor, Mr Ferguson. A period of struggle ensued with Tobago being bandied back and forth between France and England until confirmation of British dominion in 1815.
The hurricane of 1847 wiped out most of the cultivation in Tobago creating economic hardship. Wesleyan Methodists were preaching in Charlotteville from as early as the 1850s but a permanent chapel was not erected until 1923.
Since Emancipation occurred in 1834, sugar production had steadily declined. The formerly enslaved persons farmed small gardens in the hills for a while but with the spike in global cocoa prices in the 1870s, this began to be the dominant crop near Charlotteville. A number of immigrants from Grenada had settled here and brought with them the knowledge of cocoa cultivation. Enough was produced for sale right in the area and also for sale in Scarborough.
In those days, only a bridle path connected Charlotteville to Speyside and villagers relied on a coastal steamer for communication. Some of them became small traders, taking produce as far afield as Port-of-Spain to trade and sell, returning with manufactured goods which were much cheaper and in greater variety than what was available from Scarborough merchants.
The coastal steamer remained the primary link with the outside world until the road was improved and expanded in the 1940s by the public works department. A vibrant and profitable fishing co-operative developed in the village which sold fresh and salted fish in large quantities.
Today, Charlotteville remains one of those places a bit off the beaten path and more reminiscent of what life in Tobago was like at the dawn of the 20th century, as yet untouched by the influence of commercial tourism.