Saint Ann's Bay | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 | |
  Saint Ann's Bay | |
| Coordinates: 18°26′10″N77°12′07″W / 18.436°N 77.202°W Coordinates: 18°26′10″N77°12′07″W / 18.436°N 77.202°W | |
| Country | Jamaica |
| County | Middlesex |
| Parish | Saint Ann |
| Population (2009) | |
| • Total | 13,671 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
Saint Ann's Bay is a settlement in Jamaica, the capital of Saint Ann Parish. It has a population of 13,671 as of 2009. [1]
Musicians Floyd Lloyd and Burning Spear, and Marcus Garvey were born in the town.
When Christopher Columbus first came to Jamaica in 1494, he landed on the shores of St. Ann's Parish. He returned to Jamaica on his fourth voyage and was eventually marooned for one year at St. Ann's Bay (June 1503 – June 1504), which he called Santa Gloria. A statue of Christopher Columbus is located near the town’s main traffic intersection to commemorate the discovery of the bay. [2]
The first Spanish settlement in Jamaica was also at Sevilla la Nueva, now called Seville, just to the west of Saint Ann's Bay. Established by Juan de Esquivel, the first Spanish Governor of Jamaica, St Ann's Bay became the third capital established by Spain in the Americas. The first sugar mills were established by the Spaniards in Sevilla la Nueva before 1526. After 1655, when the English captured Jamaica, St Ann's Bay gradually developed as a fishing port with many warehouses and wharves. The parish of St. Ann was later named after Lady Anne Hyde the first wife of King James II of England.
St. Ann’s Bay was named as the capital of the Parish of St. Ann, largely because of its large harbour and port for shipping goods ranging from bananas to bauxite. In later years, Ocho Rios has eclipsed St. Ann’s Bay due to its rapid growth in tourism and commerce, but St. Ann’s Bay remains a popular destination for those seeking a more traditional Jamaican experience. The town features a number of well-maintained buildings in the early 20th-century Jamaican vernacular tradition. Two of the oldest buildings in town are the St. Ann Parish Church and the St. Ann’s Bay Courthouse. The St. Ann Parish Church is located at the corner of Main St. and Church St. and was constructed in 1871. The St. Ann’s Bay Courthouse is located nearby and was constructed in 1860. [3]
St. Ann’s Bay is also home to Jamaica’s first prison, and is a reflection of the town’s early importance and position of authority. The Old Jail in St Ann's Bay was originally built as a fort in 1750 and was converted to a jail in 1795. [4]
One of Jamaica’s most famous citizens, Marcus Garvey, was born in St. Ann’s Bay in 1887, and a statue was erected in his honour in front of the St. Ann’s Bay Library.
Cardiff Hall, situated to the West of Saint Ann's Bay, was a plantation house owned by John Blagrove. The plantation was worked by 1,500 enslaved Africans. James Hakewell considered Blagrove a kind master, as he gave each slave a dollar in his will. [5]
Montego Bay is the capital of the parish of St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore, all of which form the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area, home to over half a million people. As a result, Montego Bay is the second-largest anglophone city in the Caribbean, after Kingston.
Saint Ann is the largest parish in Jamaica. It is situated on the north coast of the island, in the county of Middlesex, roughly halfway between the eastern and western ends of the island. It is often called "the Garden Parish of Jamaica" on account of its natural floral beauty. Its capital is Saint Ann's Bay. Saint Ann comprises New Seville, the first Spanish Settlement in Jamaica.
Ocho Rios is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as Ochi by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth in the last decade to become a popular tourist destination featuring duty-free shopping, a cruise-ship terminal, world-renowned tourist attractions and several beaches and acclaimed resorts. In addition to being a port of call for cruise ships, Ocho Rios also hosts cargo ships at the Reynolds Pier for the exportation of sugar, limestone, and in the past, bauxite. The estimated population of the town in 2011 was 16 671, which is nearly 10% of the total population of St. Ann. The town is served by both the Donald Sangster International Airport and the Ian Fleming International Airport. Scuba diving and other water sports are offered in the town's vicinity.
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 the Right Honourable 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.
St 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.
Trelawny is a parish in the county of Cornwall in northwest Jamaica. Its capital is Falmouth. It is bordered by the parishes of Saint Ann in the east, Saint James in the west, and Saint Elizabeth and Manchester in the south. Trelawny is known for producing several Olympic sprinters.
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.
Brown's Town is one of the principal towns in St. Ann Parish, Jamaica. In 1991, its population was 6,762. The town is a market and road center in an agricultural region.
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. In the 2011 census, it had 573,369, the highest population of any of the parishes in Jamaica. George William Gordon, one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes, was born in this parish.
Morant Bay is a town in southeastern Jamaica and the capital of the parish of St. Thomas, located about 25 miles east of Kingston, the capital. The parish has a population of 94,410.
Discovery Bay is a town in Saint Ann Parish on the northern coast of Jamaica. The city is also known locally as Dry Harbour, and gives its name to the Dry Harbour Mountains in St. Ann. There is a dispute as to whether Christopher Columbus first landed in Discovery Bay or Sevilla la Nueva in 1494. Near to the city are Puerto Seco Beach and several historic sites, such as the Green Grotto Caves and Columbus Park. Visitors to the Green Grotto Caves can see relics of the native Taíno Arawak lifestyle there. It is said that many Spaniards escaped the English invasion of 1655 through secret passages in the caves with the help of Arawaks and African slaves, in exchange for their freedom.
Port Maria is the capital town of the Jamaican parish of Saint Mary.
Allan George Richard Byfield was a Jamaican school teacher and politician. He was a senator of the West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962, and president of the Senate of Jamaica from 1972 to 1980. In the late 1970s he was minister of education.
Santiago was a Spanish territory of the Spanish West Indies and within the Viceroyalty of New Spain, in the Caribbean region. Its location is the present-day island and nation of Jamaica.
Jamaica was an English colony from 1655, and a British Colony from 1707 until 1962, when it became independent. Jamaica became a Crown colony in 1866.
Spanish Jamaicans are Jamaican citizens of Spanish origin or descent.
The Spanish settlement in Jamaica was a settlement that originated from the 16th century, when Jamaica was Spanish, ending essentially in 1670, the date on which Spain delivered the island to the British Crown under the Treaty of Madrid. However, there were never significant Spanish communities on the island, which was why it easily occupied by the British.
Hamilton Brown was an Irish-born British sugar planter and slave owner in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica, which he represented in the House of Assembly of Jamaica for 22 years. He gave his name to Hamilton Town in the parish of St Ann, now Brown's Town, which he founded.
