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The Trinidad and Tobago Independence Act 1962 (c. 54) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted independence to Trinidad and Tobago with effect from 31 August 1962. As a result of the Act, Trinidad and Tobago became an
independent country Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
in the West Indies achieving independence from the United Kingdom.


Background to enactment

The bill was first presented in the
House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...
as the ''Trinidad and Tobago Independence Bill'' on 4 July 1962, by
Secretary of State for the Colonies The secretary of state for the colonies or colonial secretary was the Cabinet of the United Kingdom, British Cabinet government minister, minister in charge of managing the United Kingdom's various British Empire, colonial dependencies. Histor ...
, Reginald Maudling. It was passed in the House of Commons after a third reading and committee on 6 July 1962, without amendments. It entered the House of Lords on 9 July 1962 and was read by George Petty-Fitzmaurice, 8th Marquess of Lansdowne (The Minister of State for Colonial Affairs) on 16 July 1962. It was passed in the House of Lords on 26 July 1962 without any amendments. The bill received Royal assent on 1 August 1962, from
Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
.


Content

Key areas of the Act included: *''Section 1'' - ceding responsibility from the United Kingdom *''Section 2'' - effects of citizenship and British nationality. This section was later repealed by the British Nationality Act 1981. *''First Schedule'' - granting legislative powers to the legislature of Trinidad and Tobago


See also

* History of Trinidad and Tobago *
List of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, 1960–79 {{British legislation lists This is an ''incomplete'' list of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from its establishment in 1801 up until the present. Lists of Acts by Year * List of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, 1801– ...


References

{{Trinidad and Tobago topics Independence acts in the Parliament of the United Kingdom United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1962 1962 in politics 1962 in international relations History of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago–United Kingdom relations Trinidad and Tobago and the Commonwealth of Nations United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations