Town Council

From Illustrious Cabildo to Town Council

The “Illustrious Cabildo”, a Spanish colonial institution, was vested with extensive powers and its members enjoyed great privileges. In Spanish times, this group administered the affairs of Trinidad - first from St. Joseph, then from 1783 onwards from Port-of-Spain. The Cabildo had a President (usually the Governor of the colony held this office) and twelve members, two of whom were elected ‘Alcaldes’. One of the main privileges of the ‘Illustrious Cabildo’ was the levy of duties and the imposition of taxes within the boundaries of the town.

When Governor Don José Maria Chacon capitulated and the island became a British possession in 1797, the Cabildo continued to operate. Minutes were kept in Spanish until June 1813, when the new Governor Sir Ralph Woodford ordered that records were to be kept in both Spanish and English. In December of that same year, Spanish was dropped altogether and from then on, English was the single official language of the Cabildo.

Members of the Illustrious Cabildo in 1813
Sir Ralph Woodford	Gobernador y Presidente
Mr. James Cadett	Alcalde Ordinario, 1. Voto
Mr. Valentin de Basanta	Alcalde Ordinario, 2. Voto
Mr. Miguel de Gourville	Alferez Real
Mr. Philip Langton	Alcalde Provincial
Mr. Bartholomew Portel	Alcalde Provincial
Mr. Martin Sorzano	Fiel Ejecutor
Mr. James Lowe	Regidor Electo
Mr. Louis Lapeyrouze	Regidor Electo
Mr. Juan Maria Dancla	Regidor Electo
Mr. Diego Almandoz	Regidor Electo
Mr. William Boyle	Regidor Electo
Mr. John Dascum Gumbes	Regidor Electo
Mr. Charles Desson	Sindico Produrador General
Mr. Antonio Ardila	Secretario

In 1840, the Cabildo’s name was changed to the ‘Town Council of Port-of-Spain’. Along with the name change an ordinance was passed for regulating the powers and constitution, and settling the mode of election of the members. The Governor Sir Henry MacLeod was still president of the organisation, and the members consisted of two ‘Alcaldes’, nine ‘Regidores’ and one person functioning as Town Clerk, Treasurer and Standing Counsel.

Thirteen years later, in 1853, the Town Concillors asked the Governor to introduce the same system of Municipal Corporations as in England. This was granted, and the Town Council changed its name to ‘Borough Council of Port-of-Spain’. Under the new constitution, the city got its first mayor, Dr. Louis Antoine Aimé de Verteuil.

Mayors of the Town Council
Louis Antoine Aimé de Verteuil, M.D.	1853
James Kavanagh	1853/54
Joseph Flament	1854/56
Henry Stone	1856/58
Henry Alexander Fitt	1858/59
Louis Antoine Aimé de Verteuil, M.D.	1859/64
Leon Denis O’Connor	1864/66
Gilbert Taylor	1866/67
Michel Maxwell Philip	1867/70
Jno. Bell Smythe	1870/71
William Herbert	1871/72
Leon Agostini	1872/73
Martin James Kavanagh	1873/75
Joseph Emmanuel Cipriani	1875/82
Charles Leotaud	1882/83
Martin James Kavanagh	1883/84
Eugene Lange	1884/86
Francis Damian	1886/88
Henry Browne Philipps	1888/89
Vincent Brown	1889/90
Emilius Julius Wainwright	1890/92
Henry Albert Alcazar	1892/94
Henry Browne Philipps	1894/95
John Cox Newbold	1895/96
Henry Albert Alcazar	1896/97
John Alfred Rapsey	1897/98

46 years and 26 mayors later, the Borough Council of Port-of-Spain in turn was abolished and substituted by ‘Town Commissioners’. The Governor named personally all four commissioners of the new corporation, thus able to exert a greater power. The first four commissioners were:

Hon. S. W. Knaggs, Chief Commissioner

Hon Vincent Brown, Q.C.

Hon. George Goodville

Mr. Leon Agostini

From 1904 on, Port-of-Spain was administered by three authorities: the Town Commissioners, the Water Authority and the Sewerage Board. These three were merged in 1907 into one body, called the ‘Port-of-Spain Town Board’. Adam Smith was the first chairman of the Town Board. In 1914, the City Council came into existence, which was partly nominated by the Governor, partly elected.