The earliest inhabitants of Westmoreland were the Arawak and Ciboney Indians.[3] The Ciboney were first to arrive, from the coast of South America, around 500 BC.[4] Known as "cave dwellers", they lived along the cliffs of Negril. The labyrinth of caves and passageways beneath what is now the Xtabi Hotel in Negril are one of the first known settlements of Ciboney Indians in Jamaica.
Christopher Columbus stopped at what became Westmoreland on his second voyage when he landed in Jamaica. One of the first Spanish settlements was also built at present-day Bluefields in this parish.
The English took over the island from Spanish rule in 1655. Colonists named the parish Westmoreland in 1703, for it was the most westerly point of the island. In 1730, Savanna-la-Mar, a coastal port, was designated to replace Banbury as the capital of the parish. A fort was built in the 1700s to defend the port against pirates. Today it is one of the historic sites of the parish.
In the mid-18th century, Westmoreland was, acre for acre, one of the most profitable territories, not only in Jamaica, but throughout the British empire. The plains of Westmoreland were densely populated with sugar plantations, and by the time of Tacky's War Westmoreland had about 15,000 slaves labouring on more than 60 sugar plantations, many of them owned by leading men of the island, such as William Beckford and Arthur Forrest.[5]
The name Westmoreland appears to stem from Dr John Drummond (1744–1804), who had several plantations on the island (foremost being the Drummond Estate) and vast lands at Savanna-la-Mar, which had been owned by his parents. He was surgeon to the Westmoreland Regiment of Foot from 1784. This British regiment was officially on the island from 1802 to 1813<,ref> "Military Regiments locations in Jamaica - 1". www.jamaicanfamilysearch.com.</ref> but the name appears to pre-date this, for John Drummond refers to his "Westmoreland estate" in his will of 1793.[6]
In 1938, riots at the Frome sugarestate changed the course of Jamaica's history. In the wake of these riots, the legislature passed legislation for universal adult suffrage in 1944, as well as a new constitution, which was approved by the Crown. This put Jamaica on the road to self-government and eventually independence. The two national heroes, Sir Alexander Bustamante and Norman Washington Manley, emerged as political leaders during this time.
Geography
Westmoreland has an area of 807 square kilometres (312sqmi), making it Jamaica's eighth-largest parish. Westmoreland's population of 144,817 is made up of a large percentage of ethnic East Indians, descendants of indentured laborers who came to Jamaica from India to work after Britain abolished slavery in 1834 and the demand for labor remained high. Many intermarried with people of African descent, and their multi-racial descendants are known locally as "half indian".
There are over 40 square kilometres (10,000 acres) of morass land, the largest part of which is called the Great Morass. This contains plant and animal material collected over centuries. The morass can be mined as peat, an excellent source of energy. The marsh serves as a natural and unique sanctuary for a wide variety of Jamaican wildlife and birds. The remaining area consists of several hills of moderate elevation, and alluvial plains along the coast.
Numerous rivers run through the parish. The Cabaritta River, which is 39.7km long, drains the George's Plain and can accommodate ships weighing up to eight tons. Other rivers include the Negril, New Savanna, Morgan's, Gut, Smithfield, Bowens, Bluefields, Robins, Roaring, Great and Dean.
Westmoreland is home to several secondary schools include Manning's School, Frome Technical High School, Grange Hill High School, and others.
Commerce
As a result of the fertile plains, the parish thrives on agriculture, mainly sugarcane, which offers direct employment. Other agricultural products include bananas, coffee, ginger, cocoa, pimento, honey, rice, and breadfruit. Pastoralism is also practised; the rearing of cattle, horses, and mules, as well as fishing—there are 19 fishing beaches with over 90 boats engaged in the industry. Manufacturing is the third largest sector. Manufactured items include food and drink, tobacco, animal feeds, textile and textile products.
Jamaica lies 140 km (87 mi) south of Cuba and 190 km (118 mi) west of Haiti. At its greatest extent, Jamaica is 235 km (146 mi) long, and its width varies between 34 and 84 km. Jamaica has a small area of 10,992 km2 (4,244 sq mi). However, Jamaica is the largest island of the Commonwealth Caribbean and the third largest of the Greater Antilles, after Cuba and Hispaniola. Many small islands are located along the south coast of Jamaica, such as the Port Royal Cays. Southwest of mainland Jamaica lies Pedro Bank, an area of shallow seas, with a number of cays, extending generally east to west for over 160 km (99 mi). To the southeast lies Morant Bank, with the Morant Cays, 51 km (32 mi) from Morant Point, the easternmost point of mainland Jamaica. Alice Shoal, 260 km (160 mi) southwest of the main island of Jamaica, falls within the Jamaica–Colombia Joint Regime. It has an Exclusive Economic Zone of 258,137 km2 (99,667 sq mi).
Negril is a small, widely dispersed beach resort and town located in Westmoreland and Hanover parishes at the far western part of Jamaica, 80.8 kilometres (50.2 mi) southwest from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.
Saint Mary is a parish located in the northeast section of Jamaica. With a population of 114,227 it is one of Jamaica's smallest parishes, located in the county of Middlesex. Its chief town and capital is Port Maria, located on the coast.
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.
Hanover is a parish located on the northwestern tip of the island of Jamaica. It is a part of the county of Cornwall, bordered by St. James in the east and Westmoreland in the south. With the exception of Kingston, it is the smallest parish on the island. Hanover is the birth parish of Alexander Bustamante, labour leader, first head of government of Jamaica under universal suffrage, and one of seven Jamaican National Heroes. Its capital is Lucea.
Savanna-la-Mar is the chief town and capital of Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica. A coastal town, it contains an 18th-century fort constructed for colonial defence against pirates in the Caribbean.
Lucea is a coastal town in Jamaica and the capital of the parish of Hanover.
Bluefields Beach Park is a public beach in Bluefields in the south-east of Westmoreland, Jamaica. It gets very busy at weekends and holidays.
Green Island is a small town in northwestern Jamaica, located on the west coast between Negril and Lucea in the parish of Hanover. It is located close to Orange Bay.
Tacky's Revolt was a slave rebellion in the British colony of Jamaica which lasted from 7 April 1760 to 1761. Spearheaded by self-emancipated Coromantee people, the rebels were led by a Fante royal named Tacky. It was the most significant slave rebellion in the West Indies between the 1733 slave insurrection on St. John and the 1791 Haitian Revolution. The rebels were eventually defeated after British colonial forces, assisted by Jamaican Maroons, waged a gruelling counterinsurgency campaign. According to historian Trevor Burnard, "[in] terms of its shock to the imperial system, only the American Revolution surpassed Tacky's War in the eighteenth century." It was also the largest slave rebellion in the British West Indies until the Baptist War of 1831, which also occurred in Jamaica.
Roaring River Park is a heritage and nature park near Petersfield, Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica.
Petersfield is a small town in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica. It shares its name with five other places in Jamaica.
The South Negril River is a river in Westmoreland, Jamaica.
Xtabi is a cove on the cliffs of Negril, in Westmoreland, Jamaica. It consists of a labyrinth of caves and passageways carved from solid rock over millennia of ocean water striking it.
Little London is a Town in the Little London District of Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica. It sits midway between the town of Negril to the north and the Parish Capital Savanna-la-Mar to the south.
The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was captured by the English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British colony from 1707 and a Crown colony in 1866. The Colony was primarily used for sugarcane production, and experienced many slave rebellions over the course of British rule. Jamaica was granted independence in 1962.
John Drummond (1744–1804) was a British landowner, physician and surgeon associated strongly with Jamaican history. He appears to have had a liberal attitude toward the institute of marriage, with at least five families in Britain and Jamaica. Most documents refer to him simply as John Drummond of Jamaica.
Mesopotamia was a sugar plantation in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, north of Savanna-la-Mar on the Cabaritta River. It was adjacent to the Friendship and Greenwich estate.
The Friendship and Greenwich was a plantation in Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica, north of Savanna-la-Mar on the Cabaritta River. It was adjacent to the Mesopotamia estate.
Trinity was a plantation in colonial Jamaica, located south of Port Maria, in Saint Mary Parish, one of several plantations owned by Zachary Bayly that formed part of the area known as Bayly's Vale. By the early nineteenth century, over 1,000 people were enslaved there producing mainly sugar and rum for which a mile-long aqueduct was built by Nathaniel Bayly to supply water for the refining process.
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