History

Location of Taino Archaeological Settlements in and around Montego Bay (Click for Source)

St. James' fascinating and complex history complements the parish's beautiful setting. The first inhabitants were the gentle Taino people, descendants of the Arawaks who migrated out of the Orinoco Delta into the Caribbean around 200 AD. They called their new land 'Xaymaca', meaning 'isle of springs'. Some of their words, such as canoe, hammock, hurricane and tobacco survive today. Skilled carvers, weavers, potters and builders of massive canoes up to 100 feet long, remnants of their villages have been found in Montego Bay. A site in Fairfield was one of the top 14 'caciquecoms' in the island. The location was chosen for its closeness to the Montego River along which cottonwood canoes could be paddled out into the Bogue Islands for fishing. Taino religious ceremonies took place in caves, one at Williamsfield, near John's Hall and another at Crawle west of Rosehall. Their society was communal and shunned materialism; Columbus wrote that the Arawaks were 'a peaceful and generous people.'

Christopher Columbus arrived in Jamaica in 1494, soon reaching Montego Bay. He named it El Golfo de Buen Tiempo (Fair Weather Bay). It was not until 1510 that Spaniards began to colonize Jamaica. Within a few decades the entire Taino people were decimated by plunder, disruption of economic activities, new diseases, and migration. The Spanish colonizers quickly replaced the Tainos with imported slaves, but mostly used the island as a shipping supply point and base for their attacks on Central and Southern America. Little is known about the Montego Bay area during the Spanish period, although it is thought that the name derived from the business of exporting lard, or 'manteca' from the nearby herds of wild pigs. The Spaniards erected a tower in Flankers, a monastery at Miranda Hill and dwellings in Mango Walk.

In 1655 the British ended the Spanish occupation and took control of Jamaica. For administration purposes, they divided the island into parishes. St. James (named after the Duke of York, later James II) came into existence in 1671, and encompassed Trelawny until 1770. St. James and Montego Bay grew slowly, beginning with settlers encouraged by the Proclamation of King Charles II. By 1673, out of an island population of just under 17,500, St. James counted only 146 souls. The parish remained relatively poor until the mid 1700s when, by 1768, historian Edward Long called St. James 'the most thriving district on the island.'

Although Montego Bay was never actually attacked, until the beginning of the 19th century it was constantly threatened by marauding pirates. One of the more famous of these was Calico Jack, so named for his penchant for colourful pants. After his final capture in 1720, it was revealed that two of his crew who had fought most fiercely against the lawmen were women. A famous trial ensued, with Mary Read and Anne Bonny tried and convicted.

The famous Maroons (from the Spanish word 'cimarrón', or 'wild one') were another threat to the British town. These were descendents of the first major slave rebellion in Jamaica, which took place in the parish of Clarendon. These slaves, who were mainly from the fiercely independent Cormorante tribes of the African Gold Coast, escaped into the Blue Mountains and the Cockpit country of nearby Trelawny. The English offered, in 1663, freedom and land grants to the former Spanish slaves - but the Maroons refused. For the next 76 years they remained a force to be reckoned with to the British, raiding plantations and attracting and sheltering runaway slaves. For decades the Maroon War was intermittently fought, until in 1739 a peace treaty was signed. The Maroons received autonomy and 1500 acres of land, but in return they agreed to chase down and return runaway slaves and to assist the government in quelling rebellions. Although relations ran smoother for many years, in 1795 war with the Maroons broke out again. The British resorted to securing 100 vicious hunting dogs from Cuba. This tactic caused the Maroons to sue for peace, reaching an agreement which would allow them to stay on the island. But the British abrogated the agreement and shipped off 600 Trelawneys to Nova Scotia, Canada, from whence they were removed to Sierra Leone. It is said these people were the first ever to be repatriated to Africa.

With the advent of the peace settlement, the town of Montego Bay began to flourish, and St. James became the most important sugar producing parish, filled with wealthy merchants profiting from slave labour and trade. Substantial homes and churches were built, but fires and hurricanes have since erased many of these original buildings. Montego Bay's port was well-used, accommodating more than 150 ships a year. Much of this fabulous wealth was repatriated to Britain, earning Jamaica the title 'a Jewel of the Crown' for its role in supporting the British regime. The plantation system dominated Jamaica; its laws supported the system in every way possible and it occupied the most fertile lands.

While the white population was enjoying increased wealth and comfort, most of the huge slave population lived in brutal and inhumane conditions. Plantation owners lived in constant fear of uprisings, which they tried to prevent by denying permission to congregate and separating families and clan systems. Naturally, they were unable to completely forestall all rebellion, which occurred all over the island. The last and largest occurred in 1831, led by the eloquent Sam Sharpe, one of St. James' most famous sons now honoured as a National Hero of Jamaica. 'Daddy' Sharpe was an educated slave a deacon at the Montego Bay Burchell Baptist church; a well-known church class-leader, he used the classes as a cover for secret meetings denouncing slavery and encouraging passive resistance. Under the erroneous impression that the plantation owners were withholding freedom from the slaves by ignoring a law passed by the British, he called for a general strike by the slaves to begin after the Christmas season. His plans for a peaceful movement, however, were not taken up by the general slave populace. Kensington Estate was set ablaze, and a violent uprising spread across the region. The militia reacted with swift and cruel retribution and the revolt was suppressed in days. Although only 14 colonialists were killed, more than 1000 slaves eventually died - either at the hands of the militia or by hanging in what is now Sam Sharpe Square. Sam Sharpe himself was hanged, and his remains moved by the famous Baptist Missionary, William Knibb, to a grave beneath the pulpit of the Montego Bay Baptist Church.

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