[3] The island is surrounded by shallow waters and coral reefs,[4] which allow it to be approached by boat only during high tide.

[10] From the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries, trade with Trinket, as with the rest of the Nicobar Islands, was dominated by Indian, Arab, and European merchant fleets.

[3] Prior to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the island's populace was dependent on the outside world for many goods, including foodstuffs.

[11] Those products were traded for imports such as rice, sugar, and clothes, which were used to supplement the local subsistence economy based on hunting and gathering, fishing, pig and chicken rearing, and household gardens.

Like the other Nicobar and Andaman Islands, Trinket was devastated by tsunamis generated by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

[13][17] On Trinket, the tsunami left 91 dead or disappeared[15] and the total devastation of the island's communities and economy.