The Americas

Jamaica

Americas (Indices) All Modern States Pre-Columbian North Pre-Columbian Central Pre-Columbian South Colonial North Colonial Central Colonial South Post-Colonial Modern

Jamaica is one of the four major islands which make up the Greater Antilles chain in the Americas, the westernmost group of West Indies islands in the Caribbean Sea. Three waves of human migration have affected the island prior to the arrival of the Spanish at the end of the fifteenth century AD.

The first modern human arrivals were the Guana Hatabey (otherwise recorded as the Guanahatabey or Guanajatabey). These were a hunter-gatherer people who reached the island between 5000-4000 BC by following a chain of islands from early Central America, specifically the Yucatán peninsula, through Cuba to reach Jamaica.

That island chain has long since become submerged, largely due to rising sea levels which followed the ending of the most recent ice age, but this rise was an event which took several millennia to reach its full extent. The Guana Hatabey were followed by the Saladoid, an Arawak people, who arrived from early South America around AD 300. Next to arrive were the Taino, around AD 600, coming from the Orinoco region of modern Venezuela. They named the island 'Xaymaca', meaning 'land of wood and water'.

During his second voyage to the West Indies in 1493 on behalf of what was on the verge of becoming a Spanish empire, Christopher Columbus was the earliest-known European to discover Jamaica. Having returned to Cuba, which he had visited in 1492, he continued his explorations and located the northern coast of Jamaica in 1494, naming the island Santiago before returning once again to Cuba. An epidemic, either of swine influenza or smallpox, had already struck the islands of the Antilles in 1492 and would result in the disappearance of the native population on most Caribbean islands within fifty years.

The Spanish Colonies gained Jamaica in 1510. When England declared war on Spain in 1655, they promptly occupied Spanish Jamaica and Hispaniola. The first of those two islands would remain under British rule until 1962, when it became an independent country of Jamaica and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

(Information by John De Cleene, with additional information from Spain in the Americas (National Geographic supplement, National Geographic Society, February 1992), from 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Charles C Mann (Vintage, 2005), and from External Links: Embassy of Jamaica, and Jamaica (Flags of the World), and Jamaica (Rulers.org), and Jamaica Information Service, and The Taino of Jamaica (Jamaicans.com).)

5000 - 4000 BC

The Guana Hatabey arrive in Jamaica, a hunter-gatherer people who reach the island by following a now-submerged chain of islands from the Yucatán peninsula through Cuba to Jamaica. These people generally use caves for dwellings and simple tools for fishing and gathering.

c.AD 300

The Saladoid arrive in Jamaica. As an Arawak people from South America they are skilled in ceramics, with their arrival marking the somewhat late beginning of the island's Neolithic period.

c.600

Taino from the Orinoco region of modern Venezuela become the third wave of immigrants to arrive in Jamaica. They reach the island through eastern Hispaniola and name the island Xaymaca ('land of wood and water'). The Taino adopt the Saladoid but enslave them, preventing them from enjoying luxuries such as hammocks and cassava.

The Taino natives lived on Cuba for over nine hundred years before the coming of the Spanish colonists and the inevitable onset of European disease which largely wiped out the native popuplation

1493 - 1494

Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer who is sailing for the combined kingdom of Castile and Leon, becomes the first European to reach Jamaica, during his second voyage to the West Indies.

Having returned to Cuba, which he had visited in 1492, he continues his explorations and finds the northern coast of the Taino island of Jamaica, which he names Santiago. The Taino already have over two hundred villages which are ruled by caciques (chiefs), with the preponderance of them along the south coast. However, even though they are initially hostile during the first two attempts to land by Columbus, he prevails militarily and Taino resistance melts away.

He claims the island for Ferdinand and Isabella before returning once again to Cuba. An epidemic, either of swine influenza or smallpox, strikes the islands of the Antilles chain and will result in the disappearance of the bulk of the native population within fifty years.

1502 - 1503

On his fourth voyage Columbus explores the southern coast of Santiago (Jamaica). Having established the first Spanish colony on the American mainland in Panama at the end of the year, he returns northwards and is stranded in Jamaica for a year.

When Christopher Columbus arrived on the Bahamian island of Guanahani (San Salvador) in 1492, he encountered the Taino people, whom he described in letters as 'naked as the day they were born'.

In time he leaves for the southern coast of Cuba before making his fourth visit to Jamaica, passing along the northern coast en route to the Taino chief settlement of Nueva Isabella on Hispaniola.

1505 - 1510

Spanish explorers Juan Díaz de Solís and Vicente Yáñez Pinzón sail past the northern coast of Jamaica en route to the mainland of Central America. In 1510, Jamaica (still known as Santiago) becomes a Spanish colony ('Spanish Jamaica') which is subordinated to Santo Domingo on Hispaniola.

The Taino people, though, have almost completely been annihilated though disease which has been introduced by Europeans in general and by the depredations of the Spanish in particular.

Jamaica (Spanish Empire)
AD 1510 - 1655

Americas (Indices) All Modern States Pre-Columbian North Pre-Columbian Central Pre-Columbian South Colonial North Colonial Central Colonial South Post-Colonial Modern

The island of Jamaica sits within the Greater Antilles chain in the Caribbean region of the Americas. Its pre-colonial period of about six thousand years and more saw it inhabited by the Guana Hatabey, the Saladoid, an Arawak people, and then the Taino, around AD 600. The last of these came from the Orinoco region of modern Venezuela. They named the island 'Xaymaca', meaning 'land of wood and water'.

During his second voyage to the West Indies in 1493 on behalf of what was on the verge of becoming a Spanish empire, Christopher Columbus was the earliest-known European to discover Jamaica. Having returned to Cuba, which he had visited in 1492, he continued his explorations and located the northern coast of Jamaica in 1494, naming the island Santiago before returning once again to Cuba. An epidemic, either of swine influenza or smallpox, had already struck the islands of the Antilles in 1492 and would result in the disappearance of the native population on most Caribbean islands within fifty years.

The Spanish Colonies settled Jamaica from 1510, part of a wave of takeovers and expansion in the period leading up to the destruction of the Aztec empire in 1521 and prior to the creation of New Spain in 1535. That latter event, of course, simply focussed and reorganised further colonial expansion. Spanish explorers Juan Díaz de Solís and Vicente Yáñez Pinzón sailed past the northern coast of Jamaica en route to the mainland of Central America in 1505, but it took another five years before Jamaica became a Spanish colony (still known as Santiago) which was subordinated to Santo Domingo on Hispaniola.

The Taino people had already almost completely been annihilated through disease which had been introduced by Europeans in general and by the depredations of the Spanish in particular. A full two decades of such destruction was all it took to clear the greater part of the native population. The Spanish filled the void in terms of servitude by importing slaves from Africa, principally West Africa.

When England declared war on Spain in 1655, it promptly occupied Spanish Jamaica and Hispaniola. Of those two, Jamaica remained under Anglo-Saxon rule as British Jamaica until 1962, when it became an independent country of Jamaica and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

(Information by John De Cleene, with additional information from Spain in the Americas (National Geographic supplement, National Geographic Society, February 1992), from 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Charles C Mann (Vintage, 2005), and from External Links: Embassy of Jamaica, and Jamaica (Flags of the World), and Jamaica (Rulers.org), and Jamaica Information Service, and The Taino of Jamaica (Jamaicans.com), and Famous Americans (Virtualology.com), and History of the Accompong Maroons (Jamaicans.com), and Jamaica (World Statesmen).)

1505 - 1510

The Spanish explorers Juan Díaz de Solís and Vicente Yáñez Pinzón sail past the northern coast of Jamaica en route to the mainland of Central America. In 1510, Jamaica (called Santiago) becomes a Spanish Colony which is subordinated to Santo Domingo on Hispaniola. The first town is Sevilla Nueva in Saint Ann's Bay.

The marriage in 1469 of royal cousins Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile eventually brought stability to both kingdoms but also presaged an era of Spanish dominance in world affairs

1510 - 1514

First Spanish governor of Jamaica.

1510 - 1514

Esquivel had been a lieutenant to Nicolas de Ovando y Caceres, governor of the Indies from Hispaniola, and had quelled a rebellion in the province of Higuey by the cacique Cotabanama. Now Diego Columbus, Ovando's successor, sends him to Santiago (Jamaica) to subdue and colonise the island.

He uses the Taino for growing grain and cotton, and introduces cattle, hogs, and horses to the island. His moderation encourages the Taino to submit to Spanish rule and accept being part of the Spanish Colonies.

early 1500s

The Taino have been almost completely annihilated from disease introduced by Europeans and by the depredations of the Spanish, despite the lighter controlling hand employed by Esquivel. The importation of slaves begins from West Africa to replace the lost workforce. Eventually, this importation will so affect Jamaica that some ninety-two percent modern Jamaicans are black.

Another ethnic group which arrives early in the sixteenth century comes from members of the Jewish Diaspora. They work mainly as indentured servants in sugar manufacturing but they will become an influential group in modern Jamaica.

The importance of the 'extraordinary' archaeological find of a Jewish synagogue in Andalusia's Utrera was difficult to overstate, making it one of now only five such buildings across the whole of Spain to have survived

1514 - 1523

Governor. Died in office.

1519 - 1523

Garay, having served on the second voyage by Columbus, sends an expedition to the Yucatán peninsula to find gold and a route to the Pacific. The expedition is unsuccessful but the discoveries between Veracruz and Tampico result in the grant of a colony there for Garay.

However, despite his successes, he dies of illness during a dispute with Hernán Cortés, conqueror of Tenochtitlan and creator of the colonial administration at Mexico City. The dispute centres on possession of the lands around the Panuco River near Tampico.

1523 - 1526

Governor.

1526

Governor.

1526 - 1532

Governor.

1527

The audiencia, a royal committee, is created to govern the newly conquered Spanish Colonial territories from Mexico City. This serves to relieve Hernán Cortés of his new domain over which he has already displayed a certain degree of possessiveness. The audiencia eventually embraces much of the present-day republic of Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico coastal region, along with Florida.

Juan Ponce de Leon was the first governor of the Spanish imperial colony of Florida, but he was also its first major casualty thanks to intransigent natives

1532 - 1533

Governor.

1533 - 1534

Acting governor.

1534 - 1539

Governor for a second time.

1535

With the colonial audiencia proving to be unwieldy, the king of Spain appoints the first viceroy to take command of New Spain. Antonio de Mendoza vigorously encourages the exploration of all Spanish Colonial territories in the Americas. New areas are discovered, settled and conquered under the control of the viceroy, including the south-west, the western coast of Alta California, and the Philippine Islands.

1538

The Spanish move the capital of Santiago (Jamaica) from Sevilla Nueva to Spanish Town (which they refer to as St Jago de la Vega). The Spanish never settle Jamaica in great numbers because they do not find any gold there. Instead they establish plantations to supply Spanish ships with food.

Jamaica's Blue Mountains form the longest mountain range along the eastern edge of Jamaica and feature majestic scenery while also being the source of the world-famous and highly fragrant Blue Mountain Coffee

1539 - 1544

Governor.

1544 - 1556

Governor.

1556 - 1558

Governor.

1558 - 1565

Governor for a second time.

1565 - 1567

Governor.

1567 - 1575

Governor.

1575 - 1577

Governor.

1577

Governor.

1577 - 1578

Governor.

1578 - 1582

Governor.

1582 - 1583

Acting governor.

1583 - 1586

Governor for a second time.

1586

Governor. First name unknown.

1586 - 1587

English pirates continue to enjoy rich pickings from Spanish galleons which are heading home from the Philippines via New Spain. Sir Francis Drake himself captures Santa Ana on 15 October 1583, while the English corsair, Thomas Cavendish, take several more galleons and sacks Barra de Navidad (in Mexico's west coast state of Jalisco).

Queen Elizabeth I of England turned a blind eye to English piracy around the New World, knowing full well that it was destabilising Spanish efforts to dominate the new continents (pictured by Steven van der Meulen and Steven van Herwijck, as seen at Tate Britain, London)

As a way of combating at least some of these successes, the Pacific ports gain militia units and Spanish vessels become armed. The Caribbean is certainly not immune to such raids, with English adventurers especially becoming an incessant nuisance to the Spanish.

1586 - 1591

Governor.

1591 - 1596

Governor for the third time.

1596

Governor.

1596 - 1606

Governor.

1606

The Spanish king orders the population of Hispaniola to move towards the capital, Santo Domingo, in an attempt to avoid their interaction with the ever-increasing number of Caribbean pirates. In fact, this leaves much of the island empty for Dutch, English, and French pirates to establish new bases.

1607 - 1611

Governor.

1609

Two years after promoting Cuba to the rank, the Spanish colonial governorship of Guatemala is also raised to the position of captaincy general, in the hope that the region's greater level of autonomy will be able to halt increased pirate attacks. However, New Spain's grip on the Caribbean is gradually weakening.

The Spanish conquest of the Americas delivered vast resources in labour and slaves, but introduced infectious diseases which killed thousands of people who had no immunity to them

1611 - 1614

Governor.

1614 - 1620

Governor.

1620 - 1625

Governor.

1625 - 1632

Governor.

1628

Rival governor in opposition to Terril.

1631 - 1632

Rival governor in opposition. Gained the post (1632).

1632 - 1637

Governor (and formerly in opposition).

1637 - 1639

Governor.

1639 - 1640

Governor.

1640 - 1643

Governor.

1643 - 1645

Governor. First name unknown.

1645 - 1646

Governor.

1646 - 1650

Governor.

1649

Spain has not settled the Bahamas, although it had enslaved and deported a substantial number of natives to work in Cuba and Hispaniola until that population had dwindled to nothing by 1515. Now the first permanent European settlement is established there by English Puritans who are known as the 'Eleutheran Adventurers'.

Warships at the time of the English Civil War, with ninety of them mustered in Plymouth Sound in 1625 (with the kind permission of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Library of Toronto)

1650

Governor for a second time.

1650 - 1651

Governor. Opposed his successor from 1655.

1651 - 1655

Governor.

1655

England declares war on Spain (in 1654) over the growing commercial rivalry between the two nations. Each side attacks the other's commercial and colonial interests in various ways, such as through privateering and naval expeditions. In 1655 England launches an amphibious operation in the Caribbean which results in the capture of Jamaica and Hispaniola.

1655 - 1656

Former governor, now in opposition at Guatibacoa.

1656 - 1657

Governor in opposition to English-owned Jamaica.

1655 - 1657

The English rename the island from Santiago to Jamaica. It becomes a permanent English colony, one which at first is used as a hub for rum production and slave trading. Taino and African slaves who have been freed by the Spanish flee to a remote mountainous region in the centre of western Jamaica and there establish themselves in a fortified village known as Accompong.

Shown here is Trelawney Town the later chief settlement of the Accompong Maroons on Jamaica, a group which was created out of Spanish interference and then the sudden removal of Spanish authority over the island

This name comes from one of their leaders but it sticks, and this mixture of Taino survivors and Africans become known as the Accompong Maroons. They remain unconquered by the new English rulers of the island and fight fiercely to retain their freedom.

Jamaica (British Empire)
AD 1655 - 1958

Americas (Indices) All Modern States Pre-Columbian North Pre-Columbian Central Pre-Columbian South Colonial North Colonial Central Colonial South Post-Colonial Modern

The Caribbean island of Jamaica, part of the Greater Antilles chain in the Americas had been inhabited by various native groups from early Central America and early South America from about 5000 BC. Each of these groups, the Guana Hatabey, the Saladoid, an Arawak people, and then the Taino subdued the previous group prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus.

Columbus was the earliest-known European to discover Jamaica, during his second voyage to the West Indies in 1493. He located the northern coast of Jamaica in 1494, naming the island Santiago before returning once again to Cuba. The natives immediately began to suffer increasing losses due to an epidemic, and those losses would quickly destroy their social cohesion and culture. Spain was able to colonise and create 'Spanish Jamaica' in 1510, prior to its creation of New Spain in 1535.

The Taino people had already almost completely been annihilated, more generally through disease and in particular due to the depredations of the Spanish. A full two decades of such destruction was all it took to clear the greater part of the native population. The Spanish filled the void in terms of servitude by importing slaves from Africa, principally West Africa.

When England declared war on Spain in 1655, it promptly occupied Jamaica and Hispaniola. Of those two, Jamaica remained under Anglo-Saxon rule until 1962, when it became an independent country of Jamaica and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.

The English took advantage of the island's strategic location to harass Spanish gold and silver-laden ships. Many of the early English settlers were landowners, but many more were pirates who operated with government approval. For a time, the Jamaican economy boomed, and the pirate headquarters at Port Royal became rich with stolen Spanish gold, renowned as the 'wickedest city in the world'. In time the British government gained full control of the problem and the island.

(Information by John De Cleene, with additional information from Spain in the Americas (National Geographic supplement, National Geographic Society, February 1992), and from External Links: Embassy of Jamaica, and Jamaica (Flags of the World), and Jamaica (Rulers.org), and Jamaica Information Service, and The Taino of Jamaica (Jamaicans.com), and Famous Americans (Virtualology.com), and History of the Accompong Maroons (Jamaicans.com), and Jamaica (World Statesmen), and Aldbourne Heritage Centre (Aldbourne Heritage), and Jamaica (British Empire), and Rastafarians (Minority Rights), and 1692 Jamaica Earthquake (Roodepoort Record), and Tacky’s Rebellion (Zinn Education Project).)

1655

English commissioner for Jamaica. Imprisoned. Released.

1655

William Penn is a Royal Navy officer who has sympathies for the beheaded Stuart King Charles I. He is also the father of William Penn, founder of the English New World colony of Pennsylvania. He is one of the commanding officers during the capture of Jamaica for England but, upon his return home, he is briefly imprisoned for his political sympathies. He submits and goes to his estates in Ireland.

In the same year, Edward Morgan, uncle of the famed pirate, Henry Morgan, operates in the Caribbean under royal authority and letters of marque when he captures the Dutch islands of Sint Eustatius and Saba.

1655

Joint English commissioner. Followed Penn home.

1655

Robert Venables helps Penn conquer Jamaica, despite his vast distrust of the man. Penn sails for England with half the fleet following the operation's conclusion - largely due to the failure to prevent the formation of the Maroons in the mountains.

Venables fears quite rightly that he has been abandoned, so he chases after Penn. In England, Venables is briefly imprisoned before he retires to his estates in Cheshire, having been considered incompetent by the Cromwell government.

William Penn, fearing the consequences of his failure to prevent the creation of the Maroons, abandoned Venables (shown here) and sailed for home with half the fleet on 25 June, determined to get in his side of the story first, and with Venables in hot pursuit

1655 - 1657

Joint English commissioner.

1655

Joint English commissioner. Died in office.

1655 - 1656

Joint English commissioner. Died in office.

1655 - 1657

The English do not immediately pursue Taino and African slaves who have been freed by the Spanish. They have created a remote mountainous stronghold which they have named Accompong. This mixture of Taino survivors and Africans become known as the Accompong Maroons. They remain unconquered by the new English rulers of the island and fight fiercely to retain their freedom.

Having now added Jamaica to England's growing list of New World Colonies, the island is turned into a hub for rum production and slave trading. However, it also provides a highly useful base from which contact can be renewed with the Mosquito Coast.

1656

Joint English commissioner.

1657 - 1662

D'Oyley becomes military governor of Jamaica and finally routes the Spanish in two battles in 1657 and 1658 to cement England's possession of Jamaica. He establishes a base at Port Royal for pirates who had earlier been based in Tortuga.

A traditional view of the Mosquito Coast shows what could be a 'dream holiday' view of the Atlantic coast in this part of Central America, making it an ideal residence for the coastal natives groups who made this their home prior to the arrival of Europeans

1656 - 1657

Joint English commissioner. Died in office.

1657 - 1662

English commissioner again (joint in 1657). Governor.

1661 - 1662

Following the restoration of Stuart King Charles II, D'Oyley is confirmed in office (in 1661) as the first civil governor of Jamaica. He disbands the army and sets up a civilian government with a democratically elected council which forms the predecessor of modern Jamaica's 'House of Assembly'.

1662

Baron Windsor. Governor.

1662 - 1664

Acting governor.

1664

Acting governor.

1664

Acting governor. Privateer.

1664 - 1671

Governor.

1671 - 1675

Lieutenant-governor (previously acting in 1664).

1672 - 1675

Sir Henry Morgan is a famous and wealthy buccaneer who, at the demand of the Spanish, is arrested in Jamaica and is sent to England. His followers refuse to engage in pro-English military action just at a time in which England is again at war with the Dutch. King Charles II therefore knights him and returns him to Jamaica as lieutenant-governor. Morgan gives up privateering to become a respectable sugar planter.

The staunchly Catholic King James II was intent on ignoring the concerns of his largely Protestant subjects in Britain, but in Ireland with its predominantly Catholic population his cause was much more popular

1675

Acting lieutenant-governor. Privateer.

1675 - 1678

Lord Vaughan. Lieutenant-governor.

1678

Acting lieutenant-governor, second time. Privateer.

1678 - 1680

Earl of Carlisle. Lieutenant-governor.

1680 - 1682

Acting lieutenant-governor for the third time. Privateer.

1680s

Sir Henry's successful campaigns against the Karmahaly Maroons drives the survivors into the mountains where they most likely join with or create the core of the Windward Maroons.

1682 - 1684

Lieutenant-governor for a second time.

1684 - 1687

Acting lieutenant-governor.

1687 - 1688

Duke of Albermarle. Lieutenant-governor.

1688 - 1690

Acting lieutenant-governor.

1690 - 1692

Earl of Inchiquin. Governor.

1692

Acting governor.

1692

An earthquake destroys Port Royal, striking in the morning of 7 June 1692. The earthquake generates a tsunami which devastates the infamous port town, which is a well known haven for piracy. Its location is atop a small island opposite the present-day city of Kingston, with many of its buildings for a population of 6,500 being constructed right over the water.

The earthquake struck Jamaica's Port Royal on the morning of 7 June 1692, leading to a tsunami which devastated the infamous town, a known haven for piracy, on its small island off the coast opposite today's Kingston

1692 - 1693

Acting governor.

1693 - 1702

Governor (acting to 1699).

1694

The French admiral, Jean-Baptiste du Casse, sacks Morant Bay. Peace between England and Spain, though, is eliminating the need for piracy. Jamaica's economy shifts towards the export of sugar, cocoa, and other agricultural products.

1702

Governor.

1702

Acting governor.

1702 - 1711

Governor (acting to 1704) for England.

1707

The formal union of the crowns of England and Scotland is enacted. The idea had been recommended by William III and is now approved by Queen Anne as a method of avoiding the possibility of Scotland going its own way, as the Scottish parliament refuses to endorse the Hanoverian succession.

Following the Welsh-descended Tudors and the Scots-descended Stuarts, the German Hanoverians created links with continental Europe which would survive until the First World War forced them to be broken off

1711 - 1716

Governor. First for England and then for the United Kingdom.

1716 - 1718

Governor.

1718 - 1722

Governor.

1722 - 1726

Duke of Portland. Governor.

1726 - 1728

Acting governor.

1728 - 1734

Governor. Died in office.

1734 - 1735

Acting governor for a second time.

1735

Acting governor.

1735 - 1736

Governor.

1736 - 1738

Acting governor for a second time.

1738 - 1752

Governor.

1739

Two major conflicts take place between the Maroons and Great Britain. The First Maroon War largely concerns the Windward Maroons in the east and the Accompong Maroons in mountainous central Jamaica, whom the British refer to as Leeward Maroons. Peace treaties are signed between all of the parties.

The first of these is with the Accompong Maroons, granting them limited self-government and land. A couple of months later Great Britain enters into a similar treaty with the Windward Maroons. The treaties, requiring as they do that the Maroons return runaway slaves, cause rifts among the Maroons themselves.

Shown here is Trelawney Town the later chief settlement of the Accompong Maroons on Jamaica, a group which was created out of Spanish interference and then the sudden removal of Spanish authority over the island

1752 - 1756

Governor.

1756 - 1759

Acting governor.

1759

Governor. Died in office.

1759 - 1762

Acting governor for a second time.

1760

On Easter Monday, 7 April 1760, a group of enslaved Ghanaians in Jamaica under the leadership of 'Tacky' rise up against their British overseers in a violent and yet unsuccessful rebellion. Inspired by the Maroon wars, the enslaved rebels seek to overthrow the colonialists and create an independent black nation on the island. The rebellion ends in the death by suicide of many of the black participants.

1762 - 1766

Governor.

1766 - 1767

Governor.

1767 - 1772

Governor. Died in office.

1772 - 1774

Acting governor.

1774 - 1777

Governor.

1777 - 1781

Acting governor for a second time.

1781 - 1784

Governor (acting to 1783).

1784 - 1790

Governor.

1790 - 1791

Earl of Effingham. Governor. Died in office.

1791 - 1795

Acting governor.

1795 - 1801

Earl of Balcares. Governor.

1801 - 1805

Governor.

1806 - 1808

Governor.

1808 - 1827

Duke of Manchester. Governor.

1827 - 1829

Acting governor.

1829 - 1832

Earl of Belmore. Governor.

1831

The Christmas Rebellion, led by Sam Sharpe, begins on the Kensington Estate in St James which is destroyed by fire. It takes five weeks for a British military crackdown to restore peace, but the effort places the final nail in the slavery coffin as far as the average Briton is concerned. Eighteen months later slavery is abolished throughout the empire.

Akan people - photographed here around the beginning of the twentieth century - migrated into regions of modern Ghana from around the eleventh century AD, but probably in smaller family groups rather than as a single mass movement of people

1832

Acting governor.

1832 - 1834

Earl of Mulgrave. Governor.

1834

Slavery, one of the key institutions in the economy of Jamaica, is abolished in the British Parliament by the 'Slavery Abolition Act'. The plantation system collapses. Unemployment and heavy taxation follow, bringing calamity to the Jamaican economy.

1834

Acting governor.

1834

Acting governor for a second time.

1834 - 1836

Marquess of Sligo. Governor.

1836 - 1839

Governor.

1839 - 1842

Governor.

1842 - 1846

Earl of Elgin. Governor.

1845

The first Indian immigrants arrive, mostly from northern India, as indentured servants to work the abandoned plantations following the abolition of slavery. Later, more Indians come from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, the Central Provinces, Punjab, and the North-West Frontier.

The First Afghan War (1839-1842) pitted British forces in India against the multiple clans and factions of Afghanistan - elements of the British forces are shown here at Urghundee

1846 - 1847

Acting governor.

1847 - 1853

Governor.

1853 - 1856

Governor.

1854

Chinese immigrants begin to arrive, particularly from Hong Kong and Kwang Tung Province in south-eastern China. The Chinese also tend to be more likely to be indentured servants.

1856 - 1857

Acting governor.

1857 - 1862

Governor.

1862 - 1865

Governor (acting to 1864). Recalled in some disgrace.

1865 - 1866

The depressed economy produces the Morant Bay Rebellion. Governor Eyre brutally suppresses it, killing hundreds and hanging the leaders. When word of the rebellion reaches the British Parliament, Eyre is recalled, although before he leaves he persuades the terrified locally governing house of assembly to abolish itself.

In 1866 the British government establishes Jamaica as a crown colony, with the governor assuming almost the entire executive and legislative power. As such, Jamaica sees improvements in its communications, transportation, education, health, and social services.

The British North America Act of 1867 created Canadian confederation out of the various British-governed territories in North America, uniting all of them into a single body

1865 - 1866

Governor.

1866 - 1874

Governor.

1872

The capital of Jamaica is moved from Spanish Town to Kingston, originally a fishing village on the more sheltered southern side of the island. Its prosperity levels have risen with the decline of buccaneering. Around the same time migrants from Palestine and Lebanon begin to arrive in Jamaica, fleeing from persecution for their religious or political beliefs or seeking a better way of life.

1874

Acting governor.

1874 - 1877

Governor.

1877

Acting governor (Jan-Aug).

1877

Acting governor (Aug).

1877 - 1883

Governor.

1883

Acting governor.

1883

Acting governor.

1883 - 1889

Governor.

1889

Acting governor.

1889 - 1898

Governor.

1898

Acting governor. First name unknown.

1898 - 1904

Governor.

1904

Acting governor.

1904

Acting governor.

1904 - 1907

Governor.

1907

Acting governor for a second time.

1907 - 1913

Governor for a second time.

1913

Acting governor (Jan-Mar).

1913 - 1918

Governor.

1914 - 1918

Having jointly guaranteed in 1839 to support the neutrality of Belgium, when the country is invaded by Germany, Britain, France and Russia are forced to declare war at midnight on 4 August. The First World War (variously called World War I, or the Great War), has begun.

Kaiser Wilhelm II of Prussia and the German empire inspects his troops on the eve of war in 1914, a war which none of the tributary German principalities had any chance of escaping

As a crown colony, Jamaica is directly involved, with troops being conscripted or volunteering for military service, and financial and supply aid also being provided to the British war effort.

1918

Acting governor.

1918 - 1924

Governor.

1924

Acting governor.

1924 - 1925

Governor.

1925

Acting governor for a second time, since knighted.

1925 - 1926

Acting governor.

1926 - 1932

Governor.

c.1930

Around the time that Ras Tafari Makonnen becomes emperor of Ethiopia, under the name of Haile Selassie I, a new movement arises in Jamaica which regards him as an incarnation of Jah (from 'Yahweh', the Old Testament name for the Israelite monotheistic god).

He is thought by a few religious leaders to be the black king who has been foretold as a messiah in a play which had been written by Marcus Garvey, the proponent of African pride and founder of the 'United Negro Improvement Association'.

A Rastafarian symbol, based on the Ethiopian flag under the emperors, with the lion representing the lion of Judah, the 'Elect of God', two of the titles held by Ethiopia's Haile Selassie and with the green, gold, and red colour combination being ubiquitous in Rastafarian culture

The unusual religion takes its name from the emperor's princely title of Ras Tafari. The Rastafarians eventually become a recognised religion amongst a tiny minority of Jamaicans whose adherents do not cut their hair and who smoke marijuana, which they call ganja, as a sacrament.

Rastafarians gain outside influence through the spread of reggae, a musical form which some skilful singers such as Bob Marley adopt and popularise. Reggae especially infuses British musical culture thanks to that country's large post-war minority Afro-Caribbean population.

1932

Acting governor for a second time (Nov only).

1932 - 1934

Governor.

1934

Acting governor for the third time (Apr-Oct).

1934 - 1938

Governor. Died in office.

1938

By now, labour unions have begun to form, and political parties arise which are allied to those unions. This is partially in response to the worldwide economic depression and partially due to resentment against the crown colony system of government.

Sir Alexander Bustamente founds the 'Bustamante Industrial Trade Union' (BITU) and the 'Jamaica Labour Party' (JLP). Norman Manley founds the 'National Workers Union' and the 'People's National Party' (PNP). These unions and parties become major forces in modern Jamaica and are the main movers of national politics in the present day.

Nazi-led German troops are shown here progressing in good order through a Polish town on the first day of the invasion, 1 September 1939, leading the the official outbreak of the Second World War two days later

1938

Acting governor (Jun-Aug).

1938 - 1943

Governor.

1943

Acting governor.

1943 - 1951

Governor.

1944

Jamaica adopts a new constitution which provides for a two-party 'House of Representatives' in which candidates are elected by universal suffrage. Governors appoint cabinet members. Further changes to the constitution in 1953 and 1957 lead to full internal self-government in 1959.

1951 - 1957

Governor.

1957 - 1958

Remained governor and governor-general of Jamaica.

1958

The British authorities unite their West Indian islands into a 'Federation of the West Indies' in an attempt to form a unified independent nation. The federation does not receive the sustained support it needs but Jamaica remains a colonial possession while it survives.

Modern Jamaica (Greater Antilles)
AD 1958 - Present Day
Incorporating Heads of State (1958-2022), British Colony (1958-1962), & Independent Constitutional Monarchy (1962-On)

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The modern independent state of Jamaica is one of the four major islands which make up the Greater Antilles chain, the westernmost group of West Indies islands in the Caribbean Sea. It is neighboured by the Cayman Islands to the north-west, the eastern half of Cuba to the north, Haiti to the west, and Columbia and Panama to the somewhat distant south, while over nine hundred kilometres to the west is the Yucatán peninsula of Mexico.

When England declared war on imperial Spain in 1654, it promptly occupied what was then Spanish-administered Jamaica and Hispaniola. Of those two, Jamaica remained under Anglo-Saxon rule. The English took advantage of the island's strategic location to harass Spanish gold and silver-laden ships. Many of the early English settlers were landowners, but many more were pirates who operated with government approval, primarily because their targets were Spaniards.

However, the English seizure of the island also gave the Spanish the opportunity to release a mass of slaves who promptly fled into the mountains to reform as the Accompong Maroons. Dealing with them would remain a headache for many decades. In the lowlands the 'British Jamaican' economy boomed and the pirate headquarters at Port Royal became rich with stolen Spanish gold, renowned as the 'wickedest city in the world'. In time the British government gained full control of the problem and the island (Maroons largely included). Settled colonial status followed, with the island being created a crown colony in 1866.

Today's Jamaica, as an 'Independent Constitutional Monarchy', is an English-speaking constitutional monarchy, with the monarch of the United Kingdom as its head of state, represented locally by a governor-general. The island operates a parliamentary democracy on the British model and is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The island is yet to address the question of independence for its Maroon population, who have longstanding claims after having successfully defended themselves during three centuries of British domination of the island.

Please note that the History Files does not regularly monitor changes in modern heads of state or their representatives. Get in touch here if this section requires updating.

(Information by John De Cleene, with additional information from Spain in the Americas (National Geographic supplement, National Geographic Society, February 1992), and from External Links: Embassy of Jamaica, and Jamaica (Flags of the World), and Jamaica (Rulers.org), and Jamaica Information Service, and The Taino of Jamaica (Jamaicans.com), and Famous Americans (Virtualology.com), and History of the Accompong Maroons (Jamaicans.com), and Jamaica (World Statesmen), and Aldbourne Heritage Centre (Aldbourne Heritage), and Jamaica (British Empire), and Rastafarians (Minority Rights), and 1692 Jamaica Earthquake (Roodepoort Record), and Tacky’s Rebellion (Zinn Education Project).)

1957 - 1962

Governor of 'British Jamaica', and governor-general.

1958

The British authorities unite their West Indian islands into a 'Federation of the West Indies' in an attempt to form a unified independent nation. The federation does not receive the sustained support which it needs. Instead, each constituent part appears to drive towards becoming a separate, independent nation.

1962

The 'Federation of the West Indies' collapses when Jamaica withdraws from it. Jamaica becomes an 'Independent Constitutional Monarchy' on 31 August 1962, with a British-style parliamentary government.

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is head of state, being represented in Jamaica by a governor-general. The Accompong Maroons maintain a claim of independence of their own, although this is not addressed by the Jamaican government.

Rockhouse Resort in Jamaica is a forty-room boutique hotel in Jamaica, close to the sleepy, bohemian-fringed town of Negril

1962 - 1973

Governor-general.

1972 - 1992

The 1970s and 1980s are a period of rivalry between two philosophies of government. Political violence characterises elections during the 1970s, especially amongst impatient opponents of South African apartheid.

The more conservative and restrained view point is represented by Edward Seaga, the leader of the 'Jamaica Labour Party' (JLP), who is prime minister from 1980 to 1989. Seaga, one of the writers of the 1961 constitution, is viewed as being too close to the United States while also being considered a strong anti-communist.

Michael Manley, head of the 'People’s National Party' (PNP) leads the government between 1972-1980 and 1989-1992. He has more of a socialist vision, advocating more prominence for black power. He establishes and expands programmes for the poor, while implementing land reform and reducing the voting age. Both of those two are elected in landslides.

Washington DC, the capital of the United States, was specifically constructed for the purpose between 1790-1800, capped with what could be described as a 'shining beacon upon a hill'

1973

Acting governor-general (Mar-Jun).

1973 - 1991

Governor-general.

1991

Interim governor-general (Mar-Aug).

1991 - 2006

Governor-general.

2006 - 2009

Governor-general.

2009 - On

Governor-general.

2022

At least two painful exchanges take place between island governments in the Caribbean and the earl and countess of Wessex during their week-long tour of the British-linked Caribbean islands. Comments during a meeting on Antigua & Barbuda makes likely a future pursuit of full independence.

St Kitts & Nevis also reveals its plan to cut ties with the United Kingdom, with a growing sense of injustice around the former slave trade being used as a key point. Earlier in the year the same sentiment has already been echoed by the Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, and Jamaica.

Protesters in St Vincent during the royal visit by the earl and countess of Wessex in 2022 showed that calls for independence were not going away