Parish | |
---|---|
Category | Unitary state |
Location | Jamaica |
Found in | Counties of Jamaica |
Created |
|
Number | 14 parishes (since 1866) |
Populations | 69,533 (Hanover) – 573,369 (Saint Andrew) |
Areas | 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi) (Kingston) – 1,213 km2 (468 sq mi) (Saint Ann) |
Government |
|
Subdivisions |
|
Jamaicaportal |
The parishes of Jamaica are the main units of local government in Jamaica. They were created following the English settlement of Jamaica in 1655. This administrative structure for the Colony of Jamaica developed slowly. However, since 1 May 1867, Jamaica has been divided into the current fourteen parishes. These were retained after independence in 1962. They are grouped into three historic counties, which no longer have any administrative relevance. Every parish has a coast; none are landlocked.
Parish | Capital | Area km2 | Population Census 2011 [1] | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cornwall County | Savanna-la-Mar | 3,939.3 | 600,581 | |
1 | Hanover | Lucea | 450.4 | 69,533 |
2 | Saint Elizabeth | Black River | 1,212.4 | 150,205 |
3 | Saint James | Montego Bay | 594.9 | 183,811 |
4 | Trelawny | Falmouth | 874.6 | 75,164 |
5 | Westmoreland | Savanna-la-Mar | 807.0 | 144,103 |
Middlesex County | Spanish Town | 5,041.9 | 1,183,361 | |
6 | Clarendon | May Pen | 1,169.3 | 245,103 |
7 | Manchester | Mandeville | 830.1 | 189,797 |
8 | Saint Ann | Saint Ann's Bay | 1,212.6 | 172,362 |
9 | Saint Catherine | Spanish Town | 1,192.4 | 516,218 |
10 | Saint Mary | Port Maria | 610.5 | 113,615 |
Surrey County | Kingston | 2,009.3 | 823,689 | |
11 | Kingston Parish [lower-alpha 1] [lower-alpha 2] | Kingston | 21.8 | 89,057 |
12 | Portland | Port Antonio | 814.0 | 81,744 |
13 | Saint Andrew [lower-alpha 1] | Half Way Tree | 430.7 | 573,369 |
14 | Saint Thomas | Morant Bay | 742.8 | 93,902 |
Total | Jamaica | Kingston | 10,991.0 | 2,697,983 |
Following the English conquest of Jamaica the first phase of colonisation was carried out by the Army, with a system of Regimental plantations. These were drawn up on the southern flat lands, with the Regimental commanders charged with ordering their men to plant provisions. [2] : 135
Certain key figures such as Luke Stokes (1656) [3] and Thomas Modyford (1664) [4] brought substantial numbers of colonists from other English colonies. In 1662 the first census was carried out. There were no parishes and the division of the island into ten districts. [5] [6]
District | Men | Women | Children | Blacks | Arms | Acres in cultivation | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | In the precinct of Port Moranto | 168 | 60 | 37 | 126 | 120 | 446 |
2 | In the precinct of Morant | 122 | 14 | 17 | 53 | 75 | 129 |
3 | In the precinct of Yealoth (Yallahs) | 207 | 36 | 25 | 54 | 72 | 355 |
4 | In the precinct of Legene | 553 | 149 | 125 | 54 | 300 | 549 |
5 | The town of Angelo Delvega (St Jago de la Vega) | 207 | 52 | 42 | 53 | 100 | 100 |
6 | Between Black River, Bower Savanna and thereabouts | 178 | 22 | 12 | 27 | 120 | 200 |
7 | In the Angles Quarters | 100 | 20 | 14 | 46 | 56 | 170 |
8 | In the Seven Plantations, Macaria, Quathabeca (Guatibacoa) | 275 | 50 | 20 | 50 | 150 | 250 |
9 | In the quarters Quanaboa (Guanaboa Vale) and Quardalena | 390 | 42 | 26 | 39 | 330 | 700 |
10 | Upon Point Caugway (Cageway, i.e. Port Royal [2] : 153 ) | 400 | 200 | 90 | 50 | 300 | ... |
Total | 2,600 | 645 | 408 | 552 | 1,523 | 2,917 |
Under Governor Modyford the island was divided into precincts and parishes and he commissioned a map of the island featuring these.[ citation needed ] The first parishes were: [7]
By 1675, the following parishes had been added: [7]
In 1677, An Act for Regulating the Parishes fixed the boundaries of each parish. [7]
The crisis highlighted by the Morant Bay rebellion led to the dissolution of the House of Assembly of Jamaica, and the colonial administration being turned into a crown colony. John Peter Grant was appointed Governor arriving in August 1866, and he set about instituting a number of reforms, including the administrative framework of the parishes. He introduced the by which the 22 existing parishes to 14 through the A Law to Reduce the Number of Parishes (1867/No. 20). Parishes have been a feature of local administration in Jamaica since the island was captured by the English in 1655. [8] The number has varied over time and some no longer exist having either been absorbed into or divided between neighbouring parishes. [8] At the peak, 1841–1865, there were 22 (the current 14 plus those listed below). [8]
The current set of parishes was established in 1866 with the elimination of the 8 listed below (roughly by county): [8]
Surrey:
Middlesex:
Jamaica is divided into three historic counties, though they have no administrative function today. They were established in 1758 to facilitate the holding of courts along the lines of the British county court system. [9]
The three counties are named for the English historic counties of Cornwall, Middlesex, and Surrey. Cornwall County was named for being the westernmost county, just like its namesake. Middlesex County was named for its location on the middle third of Jamaica. Surrey County was named for the English county in which Kingston upon Thames is found, because Kingston was its county town. [9]
County | Population (Census 2011) | Area in km2 | County town |
---|---|---|---|
Cornwall County | 600,581 | 3,939.3 | Savanna-la-Mar |
Middlesex County | 1,183,361 | 5,041.9 | Spanish Town |
Surrey County | 823,689 | 2,009.3 | Kingston |
Jamaica | 2,607,631 | 10,990.5 | Kingston |
Sir Henry Morgan was a Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those under his command raided settlements and shipping ports on the Spanish Main, becoming wealthy as they did so. With the prize money and loot from the raids, Morgan purchased three large sugar plantations on Jamaica.
Spanish Town is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. The town is home to numerous memorials, the national archives, and one of the oldest Anglican churches outside England.
Saint Thomas, once known as Saint Thomas in the East, is a suburban parish situated at the south eastern end of Jamaica, within the county of Surrey. It is the birthplace of Paul Bogle, designated in 1969 as one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes. Morant Bay, its chief town and capital, is the site of the Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865, of which Bogle was a leader.
Saint Catherine is a parish in the south east of Jamaica. It is located in the county of Middlesex, and is one of the island's largest and most economically valued parishes because of its many resources. It includes the first capital of Jamaica, Spanish Town, originally known as San Jago de la Vega or Santiago de la Vega.
Saint Elizabeth, one of Jamaica's largest parishes, is located in the southwest of the island, in the county of Cornwall. Its capital, Black River, is located at the mouth of the Black River, the widest on the island.
Clarendon is a parish in Jamaica. It is located on the south of the island, roughly halfway between the island's eastern and western ends. Located in the county of Middlesex, it is bordered by Manchester on the west, Saint Catherine in the east, and in the north by Saint Ann. Its capital and largest town is May Pen.
St. James is a suburban parish, located on the north-west end of the island of Jamaica in the county of Cornwall. Its capital is Montego Bay. Montego Bay was officially named the second city of Jamaica, behind Kingston, in 1981, although Montego Bay became a city in 1980 through an act of the Jamaican Parliament. The parish is the birthplace of the Right Excellent Samuel Sharpe, one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes.
The Parish of Manchester is a parish located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre. Its St. Paul of the Cross Pro-Cathedral is the episcopal see of the Latin Catholic Diocese of Mandeville.
May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon in Middlesex County, Jamaica. It is located on the Rio Minho river, and is a major market centre for the parish. The population was 61,548 at the 2011 census increasing from 59,550 in 2001, including the surrounding suburbs of Sandy Bay, Mineral Heights, Hazard, Palmers Cross, Denbigh, Race Track, and Four Paths among others. The town has a mayor.
Saint Andrew is a parish, situated in the southeast of Jamaica in the county of Surrey. It lies north, west and east of Kingston, and stretches into the Blue Mountains. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 573,369, the highest of any of the parishes in Jamaica.
Surrey is the easternmost and the smallest by area of the three historic counties into which Jamaica is divided. It was created in 1758, and is divided into four parishes.
Liguanea is an area of the island of Jamaica. Its name came from the language of the Arawak people who currently inhabit some of the island's rural areas in Cornwall County. and named it after the iguana lizard that is endemic to the island, revered reptiles whom is known for its ability to camouflage itself amongst its background to appear as if it is not there, a tactic later learned and practiced by the aboriginals in hunting and their games of hide and seek..
Colonel Peter Beckford was an English-born planter, merchant, military officer and colonial administrator who served as the acting governor of Jamaica in 1702. A prominent member of the planter class in the English colony of Jamaica, by the time of his death Beckford had acquired ownership over 20 plantations, 1,200 slaves and earnt what historian Noel Deer described as "perhaps the greatest fortune ever made in planting."
Colonel Sir Thomas Modyford, 1st Baronet was a planter of Barbados and Governor of Jamaica from 1664 to 1671.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Jamaica:
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the nation of Jamaica.
The Anglican Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands is a diocese of the Church in the Province of the West Indies. It was originally formed as the Diocese of Jamaica, within the Church of England, in 1824. At that time the diocese included the Bahamas and British Honduras ; in 1842, her jurisdiction was described as "Jamaica, British Honduras, the Bahamas". The Bahamas became a separate Diocese in 1861 and British Honduras in 1891. In 2001, the title of the Diocese of Jamaica was extended to include ‘and the Cayman Islands’ to recognise the growth of the Anglican Church in those islands, which had become part of the diocese of Jamaica in the 1960s.
There are currently 304 postal codes in Jamaica, with one and two-digit sector codes only being used in Kingston, the country's capital.
Francis Rose was a plantation owner in Jamaica. He was active in the politics of the island and was elected to serve in the House of Assembly of Jamaica multiple times, becoming speaker in 1702, and later president of the Council of Jamaica.