Colony of Jamaica

Jamaica, 1655–1962. Draft, not yet reviewed

English forces launched an invasion of Jamaica in 1655, capturing the existing Spanish colony. Jamaica was primarily used for exporting sugarcane from plantations operated by African slaves, and experienced several rebellions over the course of British rule. Britain outlawed slavery in its empire in 1834, with full emancipation from chattel slavery declared in 1838. The colony was granted independence in 1962.

Seat of power: Kingston

Rulers

William Beeston

Governor of Jamaica, 1693–1702

Beeston returned to Jamaica in 1693 after being knighted and appointed lieutenant-governor of the island. In 1694 Beeston, as commander-in-chief, successfully resisted a very formidable invasion of Jamaica by the French. Earlier he had been a leader of the colonists in their struggle for self-government, but now he was the recognised upholder of royal prerogative.

Thomas Handasyd

Governor of Jamaica, 1702–1711

Thomas Handasyd was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Elsdon, Northumberland, who served as the governor of Jamaica from 1702 until 1711. Like his predecessor Beeston, he had a difficult relationship with the planter-dominated Jamaican Assembly. This came to a head in 1710, when he tried to dissolve the Assembly and in the ensuing commotion, its President Peter Beckford died after allegedly falling down the stairs.

Robert Hunter

Governor of Jamaica, 1728–1734

Robert Hunter was a British army officer, playwright and colonial administrator who successively served as governor of New York, New Jersey and Jamaica. While in Jamaica, Hunter waged an unsuccessful war against the Jamaican Maroons. His arrival as governor led to an intensification of the conflict.

Portrait of Robert Hunter: Godfrey Kneller, Public domain, file

Edward Trelawny

Governor of Jamaica, 1738–1752

He is best known for his role in signing the treaty which ended the First Maroon War between the colony of Jamaica and the Jamaican Maroons. The treaties he offered the Maroons formally recognised their status as free people of colour, allocated them land in the Jamaican interior and exempted them from paying tax to the colonial authorities. In 1745 Trelawny wrote and published a pamphlet titled An Essay concerning Slavery, arguing that slavery in Jamaica should be abolished.

Alured Clarke

Governor of Jamaica, 1784–1790

Clarke became Governor of Jamaica in summer 1784. He acquitted himself well enough as Governor of Jamaica that he was recommended to George III as a suitable person to become lieutenant-governor of Lower Canada in October 1790.

Portrait of Alured Clarke: AnonymousUnknown author - The Fusilier Museum London, Public domain, file

Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres

Governor of Jamaica, 1795–1801

He was governor when the Second Maroon War broke out. Balcarres sent representatives to Havana to purchase 100 Cuban bloodhounds, which were employed against Maroons and runaways, though their use provoked criticism in Britain. One of his generals, George Walpole, persuaded the leader of the Maroons of Cudjoe's Town, Montague James, to surrender on condition they would not be deported, but Balcarres reversed Walpole's promise and transported the Trelawny Maroons to Nova Scotia.

Portrait of Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester

Governor of Jamaica, 1808–1827

During his term, he oversaw the implementation of the abolition of the Slave Trade in the colony. In 1815, he dealt with the aftermath of the Port Royal fire and the devastation of Jamaican plantations by a hurricane. Manchester Parish in Jamaica was named after him.

Portrait of William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester: Sir William Beechey, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Charles Edward Grey

Governor of Jamaica, 1847–1853

Charles Edward Grey was an English judge and colonial governor. He was appointed Governor of Barbados and the Windward Islands, covering St Lucia, Trinidad, Tobago and St Vincent, before he was appointed Governor of Jamaica. Earlier he served as a Judge in the Supreme Court of Madras and then as Chief Justice on the Supreme Court of Bengal.

John Peter Grant

Governor of Jamaica, 1866–1874

Grant was responsible for the disestablishment of the Anglican Church in Jamaica, which took place in 1870. He also established a constabulary in 1867 as well as instituting Crown Colony rule with a nominated council there.

Portrait of John Peter Grant: Messrs. Bourne and Shepherd, Public domain, file

Anthony Musgrave

Governor of Jamaica, 1877–1883

He governed Jamaica for six years, focusing much of his attention on improving its cultural life. Under his administration, the government purchased the Jamaica Railway Company and extended the line. Musgrave also initiated the Jamaica Scholarship, and was instrumental in establishing the Institute of Jamaica, dedicated to fostering and encouraging the development of arts, science, and literature.

Portrait of Anthony Musgrave: Unknown author, Public domain, file

Henry Wylie Norman

Governor of Jamaica, 1883–1889

Henry Wylie Norman was a senior Indian Army officer and colonial administrator who later became Governor of Jamaica and then Governor of Queensland. In October 1883, Norman became Governor of Jamaica and implemented the decision of the Colonial Office to introduce a new constitution intended to limit the ability of the local assembly, which was dominated by white plantation owners, to make all decisions.

Portrait of Henry Wylie Norman: W. & D. Downey, CC0, file

Henry Arthur Blake

Governor of Jamaica, 1888–1898

Henry Arthur Blake was an Irish-born British colonial administrator who held the governorships of six British colonies over the course of his career. He became the Captain-General and Governor of Jamaica, and his term was extended at the request of Legislature and public bodies of the island. The John Crow Mountains in Jamaica were renamed the Blake Mountains in 1890 but the name did not stick.

Portrait of Henry Arthur Blake: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file

Augustus Hemming

Governor of Jamaica, 1898–1904

Hemming served as governor of a number of colonies, including British Guiana and Jamaica. In April 1902 he and Lady Hemming visited Cuba as guests of Military Governor Leonard Wood. Later the same year he opened an extension to the Constant Spring Hotel, promoting increased tourism to the island.

Sydney Olivier, 1st Baron Olivier

Governor of Jamaica, 1907–1913

In 1907, following a devastating earthquake in Jamaica, Olivier returned to the colony as governor. He quickly reestablished order after the earthquake, and his reforms of the colony's government proved to be very popular. He was responsible for the construction of the Public Buildings in downtown Kingston, in which the bureaucracy and courts were housed after the earthquake.

Portrait of Sydney Olivier, 1st Baron Olivier: George Grantham Bain Collection (Library of Congress), Public domain, file

John Huggins

Governor of Jamaica, 1943–1951

Sir John Huggins was a British colonial administrator in Penang and subsequently Trinidad. He was Governor of Jamaica from 1943 to 1951.

Culture

The British government sued for peace, and signed treaties with the Leeward Maroons led by Cudjoe and Accompong in 1739, and the Windward Maroons led by Quao and Queen Nanny in 1740.
In 1831 the enslaved Baptist preacher Samuel Sharpe led a strike, and the Baptist War that followed became the largest slave uprising in the British West Indies.
Rastafari is a religion founded in Jamaica in the 1930s that combined Christianity with an Afrocentric theology focused on the figure of Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia.
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a black activist and Trade Unionist, founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League in 1914. Garvey also promoted the Back-to-Africa movement, which called for those of African descent to return to the homelands of their ancestors.

Picture

Port Royal is a small town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica.

Image: Raychristofer, CC BY-SA 4.0, file

Sources

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.