204 



JAMAICA. 



Mexican hog, the armadillo, the opossum, the rac- 

 coon, the musk-rat, the alco, and the monkey. The 

 agouti perhaps remains, and the raccoon was numer- 

 ous in the time of Sir Hans Sloane. The other 

 animals are extirpated. Of the lizard, there are 

 many varieties. The woods and marshes abound in 

 great variety of wild fowl, some of excellent flavour. 

 Parrots are still found in the groves ; but the flamingo 

 is nowhere to be seen. The limit of the miasmata 

 and pestilential atmosphere, in this zone, is supposed 

 to be at an elevation of about 1300 feet above the 

 sea. At that height, the air is perfectly salubrious. 

 The high district, called Pedro plains, on the south- 

 west coast of Jamaica, is said, by Bryan Edwards, 

 to vie with any spot on the surface of the globe, in 

 the mildness of its temperature and the purity of its 

 air. At the estate of Cold Spring, 4200 feet above 

 the level of the sea, he thought the climate the most 

 delightful he had ever experienced ; the thermome- 

 ter seldom falls below 56, or exceeds 70 ; and 

 many English fruits, as the apple, peach, strawberry, 

 &c., flourish there in perfection. 



Jamaica is situated near the limits of the great 

 volcanic region of South America, and it is, in con- 

 sequence, liable to earthquakes. June 7, 1802, at 

 mid-day, an earthquake destroyed the town of Port 

 Royal. The convulsion lasted about three minutes, 

 when the town sank several fathoms under water. 

 The walls of the buildings may still be seen in calm 

 weather. The heavy buildings throughout the island 

 were thrown down, shattered mountains ruined many 

 settlements, general sickness ensued, order and in- 

 dustry were at an end, and a mischievous confusion 

 prevailed until the terror subsided ; 3000 lives were 

 lost by this visitation. Smart shocks are felt almost 

 every year ; in 1802, and again in 1816, they were 

 more violent than usual. Hurricanes are more fre- 

 quent, and, in many cases, more terrible and destruc- 

 tive than earthquakes. A succession of hurricanes 

 desolated this and some of the neighbouring islands 

 for seven years, beginning in 1780, with the excep- 

 tion only of 1782 and 1783. The first, in 1780, was 

 much the most destructive. The amount of property 

 destroyed exceeded 2,000,000 pounds sterling. 



The grazing farms have lately increased much, and 

 horned cattle are abundant. They feed on Guinea 

 grass, which was introduced by means of seeds brought 

 and dropped by birds, in the middle of the last cen- 

 tury. The oxen are chiefly from the Spanish breed, 

 small, but hardy. The sheep are said to have been 

 originally African. The swine are smaller than those 

 of Europe, and have short pointed ears. The pork 

 is said to be much whiter and sweeter than that of 

 Great Britain. The wild hog abounds in the remote 

 woods. The chase of the wild boar is a favourite 

 diversion of the Creole whites. The Creole horses 

 are small, but active. The British and North 

 A merican horses do not so well endure the climate. 

 The mules do the heavy work of the plantations, and 

 are capable of enduring twice as much fatigue as a 

 horse. The latter is seldom used as a beast of bur- 

 den. The carts and wagons are drawn by oxen. 

 The rats are very numerous and destructive, particu- 

 larly to the sugar cane ; in some years, whole fields 

 of this plant are as completely destroyed by them as 

 if a blight had alighted on them. Eight or ten hogs- 

 heads of sugar are supposed to be annually lost in 

 this way out of every hundred. 50,000 rats have 

 been caught on some properties in a single year, but 

 no sensible diminution of their number takes place. 

 The negroes eat them dressed in molasses. 



The legislature of Jamaica is composed of the 

 governor, of a council nominated by the crown, con- 

 sisting of twelve gentlemen, and a house of assembly 

 containing forty-three members, who are elected by 



the freeholders. The most important articles of ex- 

 port produced in the island are sugar, rum, molasses, 

 coffee, cocoa, cotton, indigo, pimento, and ginger. 

 Of these were exported in the year 1828, as follows : 

 Sugar, 86,386 hhds; Rum, 34,668 puncheons; 

 Coffee, 16,530,751 Ibs.; Pimento, 2,872,165 casks 

 and bags; (linger, 2,344 casks. The annual public 

 revenue of Jamaica is about ,300,000, and the local 

 taxation nearly a similar sum. In 1830, the total 

 shipping inwards was, number, 715; tons, 120,721; 

 outwards, number, 690; tons, 130,747. Population 

 of Jamaica at different periods : 



Years. Whitet. Free People of Colour. Slavet. 



1658 .... 4,500 .... .... 1,400 



1787 . . . 30,000 .... 10,000 . . 250,000 



The slaves amounted in 1812, to 319,912; in 1817, 

 to 346,150; in 1826, 331,119. By returns made in 

 1833, the slaves were numbered at 302,632. These, 

 by the emancipation bill, ceased from the 1st of 

 August, 1834, to be slaves, and became apprenticed 

 labourers. The whites in the same year were esti- 

 mated at 85,000, and the maroons at 1200. The 

 military establishment of the island generally consists 

 of about 3000 regulars, and from 16 to 18,000 militia. 

 The capital of Jamaica is St Jago de la Vega, or 

 Spanish Town (7000 inhabitants). Kingston is the 

 principal place in the island (35,000 inhabitants). 



Historical Sketch. Jamaica was discovered by 

 Columbus, May 3, 1494, in his second expedition to 

 the new world. In June, 1503, being on his return 

 from Veragua to Hispaniola, he was driven by tem- 

 pestuous weather upon this island, where he remained 

 upwards of twelve months, having lost his vessels, 

 and suffered every variety of hardship. After his 

 death, his son Diego, as hereditary viceroy of the 

 countries discovered by his father, sent out, in 1509, 

 to Jamaica, Juan de Esquivel, who conciliated the 

 natives by his kindness; and the island prospered 

 under his administration. His successors, however, 

 appear to have adopted the cruel policy of other 

 governors of that period. So entire was the exter- 

 mination of the Indians at Jamaica, that of a popula- 

 tion of 60,000 persons living at the discovery ot 

 Columbus, not a single descendant was alive little 

 more than a century and a half afterwards. In 15f)6, 

 an English party took the capital, and delivered it up 

 to pillage. Forty years afterwards, it was again 

 invaded by a force from the Windward islands, and 

 the town of St Jago de la Vega was plundered. 

 Jamaica was finally conquered by the English during 

 the administration of Oliver Cromwell. The whole 

 number of whites at this time did not exceed 1500, 

 and the number of negroes was about the same. The 

 Spanish inhabitants, rendered desperate by oppres- 

 sion, made a manly resistance, and for a long time 

 the British were harassed by their vindictive incur- 

 sions. Cromwell encouraged emigration, both from 

 Great Britain and the other colonies in the West 

 Indies. Two or three thousand persons were engaged 

 by Henry Cromwell in Ireland, and a considerable 

 number embarked from Scotland for this purpose ; 

 and, in the hands of governor D'Oyley, the govern- 

 ment, was administered with energy. In May, 1658, 

 an attempt was made by the Spaniards to recover 

 the island; but the force which landed for this pur- 

 pose was repulsed. About this time, the settlement 

 became the resort of the buccaneers, who spent their 

 immense gains in characteristic extravagance, and 

 enriched the inhabitants. After the restoration of 

 Charles II., Jamaica became a place of refuge for 

 many republicans who had distinguished themselves 

 in the civil contest. One of the first measures of the 

 monarch was to continue D'Oyley in office, and 

 authorize the election of a council and assembly ot 



