St. James Jamaica: A Historical Overview

St James is one of Jamaica’s smallest parishes with a land area of 591.2 Square km and a current population of 185,000 which is a huge jump from the minute number of 146 souls when the English began settlement of the parish in 1664/1665. Named after James the Duke of York, St James was not always as small as its current size as its land area originally included what are now the parishes of Hanover and Trelawny.

It took quite a while for the parish to develop because of the proximity of the Leeward Maroons who inhabited the immediate interior in the area of the cockpit country  which was a deterrence to English settlement and commercial enterprise. Once the Maroons were pacified, defeated and shipped off to Nova Scotia and sugar was introduced, the parish thrived and rapidly grew from one of the poorest parishes to one with large wealthy estates.

The parish played a significant role in the final abolition of slavery not only in Jamaica but in the entire English-speaking Caribbean in 1838.  What began as a peaceful protest with the withdrawal of their labour escalated in a full-scale rebellion – the so-called  ‘Christmas Rebellion’  which began in December 1831- with the burning of the Kensington Estate in the parish  and which rapidly spread, first to other  estates in the parish and  later to the entire western end of the island. So long and sustained was the burning, looting and destruction that calm was not restored until early January 1832. By this time, the white planter class and the colonial authorities both in Jamaica and in Great Britain had become so fearful for their lives and the sustainability of their enterprise that the final demolition of the slave system was achieved within six short years. In providing the spark for this most momentous event in Jamaican history, St. James gave to Jamaica one of its most revered National Heroes, the enslaved Baptist preacher Samuel Sharpe. Today visitors to the town square in Montego Bay ,renamed Sam Sharpe Square in 1981, will see the memorial sculpture erected on the spot where Sharpe and over 300 African enslaved were hanged in the aftermath of the rebellion.

 Legend of  The White Witch of Rose Hall

[bs-quote quote=”Legend has it that John Rose Palmer, grand-nephnew of John Palmer who built Rose Hall between 1778 and 1790, married Annie Mae Patterson. Although being half -English and half -Irish, the beautiful Annie was raised in Haiti where she learned voodoo. A sexually insatiable murderess, Annie poisoned John Rose Palmer, stabbed a second husband and strangled a third with a fourth possibly escaping. She then bedded and disposed of several slave lovers before being strangled in her bedroom by her brutally mistreated slaves during the Christmas Rebellion of 1831-32. She was buried in the garden where her grave can still be seen . Her husbands are buried under four palm trees on the beach across from the great house. She wore a ring with the inscription “If I survive, I shall have five”. Rose Hall was named after Rosa Kelly who had four husbands, the last being John Palmer. ” style=”style-7″ align=”center” color=”#dd3333″][/bs-quote]

St. James’s  history  has since remained relatively uneventful. Development and focus on the parish  have been centered  on, and continue to be dominated by its capital Montego Bay which most  Jamaicans simply call MoBay. To most non-Jamaicans,  when they hear of  Jamaica the one place they immediately associate with the country is Montego Bay. This in part, explains why proud  Montegonians often refer to their beloved city as ‘The Republic’.

Where did the name Montego Bay come from?

When Columbus sailed into that Bay on May 9, 1494, the winds were so favourable he named it El Golfo de Buen Tiempo or in English ‘Fair Weather Gulf’.   However, that name did not survive but ‘Montego Bay’ is also believed to be Spanish but the corrupted from Bahia de Manteca  meaning ‘Lard’ or ‘Butter’ Bay because of the large exports of hogs lard made by the Spaniards from the port at that time.

Montego Bay or ‘Bay’ as it is colloquially referred to, is Jamaica’s second largest city and the only one to have achieved city status outside the nation’s capital, Kingston. In recent years it has attained all the trappings of being the country’s second city with most governments departments establishing branches there as have most of the major commercial businesses with headquarters in Kingston. Even educational institutions such as the regional University of the West Indies and the University of Technology have established satellite campuses in Montego Bay. Most important of all, Montego Bay has the only other International airport , the Sangster International airport which carries substantially greater traffic in terms of the airlines that fly in and out, the number of passengers serviced  and the spread of destinations they cover than its Kingston counterpart.

In terms of government and commercial services, Montego Bay is seen as the hub for the entire western region of the country with institutions like the Cornwall Regional Hospital (health); the Sam Sharpe Teachers College and the Montego Bay Community College (education) as well as special sittings of the Supreme Court of the country (justice). The Sangster International airport is of particular value to visiting  and returning residents or the country’s far –flung diaspora as it attracts a wider variety, more regular and convenient flights from cities on the US East Coast, Canada, the UK and Europe and saves them valuable travel time instead of having to travel to and from Kingston

Traditionally, Montego Bay was divided into three parts: the busy crowded city centre ; the mile and a half-long central hotel area incorporating the famous ‘strip’ comprising hotels, clubs, restaurants and the world famous Doctors Cave Beach; and the outlying hotels on the beach and the hills overlooking the city stretching all the way from Ironshore  to Rose Hall, site of the legendary Rose Hall Great House of ‘White Witch’ fame. However, developments in recent years have seen the character of the city change in significant ways with both positive and negative effects. Reclamation of the previous mangrove-covered Bogue Islands led to the creation of the Montego Freeport with its deep-water pier, boosting the cruise ship attractiveness of the city; the construction of new luxury hotels and the expansion of commercial enterprises and shopping centres, all of which have decisively shifted the locus of the city further westward.

Montego Bay IS Jamaica’s tourist capital and in spite of the spectacular developments in places like Ocho Rios and Negril the city and the parish have lost none of their cache as the place to go for sun sea and sand. It has matched the new centres in terms of the construction and opening of new, mostly all-inclusive hotel chains from Europe and the USA and in the range of entertainment, attractions and activities that it provides. Moreover the parish and Montego Bay in particular  has diversified its tourism product beyond the ‘sun, sea and sand’  variety in two significant areas that have given it a clear competitive advantage. The opening of the Montego Bay Convention Centre in 2011 provided a major boost for the city and after a slow start has been attracting increased business from local and international clients. Located along what is now described as the ‘elegant corridor’ of Rose Hall, the convention centre can accommodate up to 6,000;  is close to 4,000 luxury hotel rooms, a full-service medical facility, major shopping centres and most significantly, three world championship golf courses . The other area of diversification has its focus on medical tourism with significant new investments in a range of diagnostic and treatment facilities that has caught the interest and attention of potential investors in the diaspora.

St James has given Jamaica a National Hero in the person of Sam Sharpe but also a Head of State in former Governor General Sir Howard Cooke. The evergreen Jimmy Cliff , arguably one of Jamaica’s most versatile and accomplished musicians was born in Somerton in the parish. Internationally acclaimed and prize-winning author Olive Senior is an outstanding alumnus of the Montego Bay High School for girls.

DID YOU KNOW?

[bs-quote quote=”Jimmy Cliff was born James Chambers. His career as a singer goes back to the 1960s, that is 50+ years, which makes his one of – if not Jamaica’s oldest living international recording and performing artiste.

The Doctor’s Cave bathing beach became popular in the early years not only because of the magnificence of its white sand and the colour of its waters but also because it was claimed to have curative powers

The Parish Church of St James which is still in use today was first used in 1782. A fine example of Georgian architecture, it was severely damaged by an earthquake in 1957 but was restored to its original with only minor alterations.” style=”style-5″ align=”center” color=”#dd3333″][/bs-quote]