In 1881, the British tried to crack down on specific aspects of Carnival, which is a tradition the French had brought over, but it was an important part of the Trinidadian culture. Riots broke out, and the British authorities banned drumming.
So they made new instruments. They used bamboo for a while, but that got banned too. By 1937, they were using frying pans, trash can lids and the lids of steel drums to make music!
Playing these instruments was considered very rebellious. Slowly, however, the stigma disappeared, and the vibrant music and instrument caught on worldwide by the mid-20th century.
The banning of playing steel pans during the early 21st century gave people more time for acoustic experimentation with the emerging steel drum. Material to make drums became abundant via the oil industry and the US naval base. These oil drums eventually replaced other homemade instrument materials as the raw material for pan making. It conveniently provided more area on the face of the pan to produce a chromatic instrument.
After the war, Carnival was reinstated, and with it the famous competitions between steelbands. Since then, the steelpan has become an important element of Trinidadian culture.
And here we are!