- Sangre Grande
Sangre Grande is the largest town in northeastern
Trinidad , inTrinidad and Tobago . It is east ofArima and southwest ofToco . Sangre Grande (pronounced, in the local English dialect, "Sandy Grandy" and sometimes "SaGrandy") is the seat of theSangre Grande Regional Corporation .Overview
The name "Sangre Grande" means "big blood", and it has been suggested that the town was named for a battle. However, this interpretation is not supported by historical records. The true origin of the name refers to when, in the late 1770s, Spanish surveyors who were charting the island for the purposes of creating a map, found that the waters of two of the tributaries of the nearby Oropuche River were red as blood, hence the name.
In addition, the neighbouring town is called "Sangre Chiquito" ("small blood"). Sangre Grande grew as a result of the growth of
cacao cultivation in the latenineteenth century . It grew further when it became the terminus of therailroad . Construction of the railroad caused the town to migrate down the hill to meet the railroad. When the town relocated to the foot of the hill, the name Sangre Grande moved with it. As a result, the name of the pre-existing village, "Cunapo", was largely, but not entirely, lost.Transport
The railways closed in the late 20th century, but with growing road traffic congestion there are plans in 2008 to rebuild the railway network.
See also
*
Transport in Trinidad and Tobago References
External links
* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/TD/6/Sangre_Grande.html FallingRain Map - elevation = 44m (Red dots are defunct railways)]
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