Number 45 – Post Slavery (Free but not totally free)

“Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.” (Abraham Lincoln)  In 1833 a bill was passed in the British parliament to end slavery, it was called the Emancipation Act.  When the slaves were free it was a very monumental, no one should have to experience being a slave and when it was ended they all were real happy. The Emancipation Act gave the slaves some freedom but not total freedom, during the 19^th century Jamaica was a gold mine, they produce large about of coffee, sugar and pimentos for export.

According to the (Jamaica information services) here are the terms of the Emancipation Act:

Commonly called the Emancipation Act, the act passed in 1833 is called the Abolition of Slavery Act. It was very strict in its provisions:

• On Aug. 1, 1834, all slaves 6 years old and younger were to be freed, as would be any new children born in British territories.
• On Aug. 1, 1834, all older slaves would begin a period of apprenticeship that would last for four or six years.
• Predials," field-laborers, would remain apprenticed until Aug. 1, 1840.
• Non-predials would remain apprenticed until Aug. 1, 1838.
• After these dates, the slaves would be completely free.
• During the period of apprenticeship, the slaves would work for their masters for three-fourths of each week, which amounted to 40.5 hours of work.
• During the remaining 13.5 hours of the week, they were free to work for wages or work on the provision grounds.
• With wages earned, a slave could buy his or her own freedom, with or without his master's consent.
• Special Magistrates, later called Stipendiary Magistrates, would be appointed to oversee this apprenticeship process.
• Parliament would divide out a sum of £20,000,000 among the slave owners as compensation for the loss of their property.

The Act gave the slaves some structure and it also gave them an opportunity to see the fruits of their labor, many of the plantation owners did not like this agreement at first but they adjusted to it because the slaves where free but not totally free. The apprenticeship was viewed by many slaves as free labor and some resisted it, others saw it as a way to become independent and one day earn enough money to buy their freedom papers.

After the apprenticeship ended 1840 the island face some hardship, plantation owners were losing their labor force to other plantation owners who could offer the workers better working conditions, many struggle to keep their land and was not very successful being a land owner. This along with the great depression lead to a sharp decline in crops being produce, however, renewed British administration after the 1865 rebellion, in the form of crown colony status, resulted in some social and economic progress as well as investment in the physical infrastructure. Agricultural development was the centerpiece of restored British rule in Jamaica. In 1868 the first large-scale irrigation project was launched. In 1895 the Jamaica Agricultural Society was founded to promote more scientific and profitable methods of farming. Also in the 1890s, the Crown Lands Settlement Scheme was introduced, a land reform program of sorts, which allowed small farmers to purchase two hectares or more of land on favorable terms.(Growth and Structure of the Economy) (U.S. Library of Congress)

Post slavery is very important to the history of Jamaica and I am very happy to place it on this list, the Emancipation Act and also the creation of the Jamaica Agriculture Society gave my farmers the opportunity to become owners of their produce and it open doors for the creation of new crops that can be sold all the island and also exported. My great-grandfather and grandfather benefited greatly from the change in the agriculture sector, my great-grandfather worked and eventually owned three acres of crown land and planted sugar cane on it. He also work at the Long pond sugar factory in Trelawney, my grandfather grew up and do the same thing as his father and that land still remains in my family. As Jamaicans our forth fathers did not want to be here but  their hard work, struggles and pain made this wonderful  island what it is and I am extremely proud of it.

Post Slavery made the countdown because even though there were struggles after the Emancipation Act of 1834 they persevered and help give Jamaica its identity.

See you tomorrow. 

Free at Last

Emancipation Parade

Emancipation Park, Jamaica.

Number 46 - Slave Revolts

As we continue our countdown of the 50 most significant events and people in Jamaica history, today we are at number 46. Today day I will share with you a series of events that help shape Jamaica and also shape world history, slavery was a big part of the “New World” the Spanish and English fought for the lands in the Caribbean because of the great amount of natural resources here.

Thousands of slaves survived the trip from Africa to Jamaica; they were brought here to work on the sugar cane plantations, slaves were scattered all over the island. They worked from sun up to sundown on the plantations and they lived in some of the most humane conditions and to top it off they did not receive compensation for all that hard labor. The slaves came together and decide they have enough, considering they outnumbered their plantation owners 20:1 it  did not take long for the slaves to start revolting.

At the beginning of the 18^th century Jamaica was producing a lot of Sugar and coffee and that made Jamaica a very valuable place, this made it more difficult for the slaves. They did not receive anything for all their hard work, this lead to the start of many revolts. It started with the Maroons, then the Baptist War which was lead by Samuel Sharp, the Morant bay riot which was lead by Paul Bogle and the revolt in the 1930’s which was lead by sugar workers and dock workers.

The slave revolts signifies to me that when it comes to making a change people will not whatever it takes to make it happen, after years of being abuse and mistreated they finally work together to change things around, a lot of lives were lost during the slave uprising but at the same time change occur and it lead to that epic day on August 1, 1838. August 1^st is celebrated as emancipations day in Jamaica, this signifies the celebration of all the slaves coming together and knowing this is a new beginning and they are not owned by everyone.

The courage all those slaves who fought so that one day they will be free is one of the great landmark in Jamaica history and I am glad to share it. When the bird is caged up for a very long time and he is finally free, he will fly with excitement and joy but in the back of his mind all he knew was being caged up so his new found freedom will be an adjustment and that is the same for the slaves.  The next phase for the slaves is how we deal with this new found freedom; we will explore the next phase at a later date.

Jamaica is a land full of prideful and very determine people and the slave rebellion is the root of that and that is why it made the top 50.

Sam Sharp

Nanny of the Maroons

Morant Bay Riot

Number 47 Slavery

When i set out to write these blogs about Jamaica, the most difficult part was to rank  the significnce of each events and where do they stand in not only Jamaica history but also World history. This topic is the sole reason many Jamaicans do exsit, slavery is a big part of our culture and that is why it made the list. It being this low on the list does not demisnish it significants.

In 1662 400 slaves arrive in Jamaica from Africa via the Atlantic Slave trade, As the cultivation of sugar cane was introduced, the number of slaves grew to 9,504 by 1673.  The landowners acquired more slaves to do the work on the estates, and in 1734 there were 86,546 slaves.  In 1775 there were 192,787. This was a lot of people travelling from across the world and these numbers could have been more if others have survived the journey. Slavery became prominent in Jamaica and the Americas because of the amout of goods that was avaliable in the new world. The English capture Jamaica from the Spanish and at this time sugar cane was booming and this drive up the number of slaves that came to Jamaica. According to data taken from Long's Manuscripts which were presented by C. E. Long, Esq. to the British Museum in March 1842. From 1702 to 1749,  1239 ships arrived in Jamaica, 299306 slaves imported, 108795 slaves exported to the Americas and 190511slaves where kept in Jamaica. Once again that is a lot of people, slaves did all the hard work in some real harsh conditions.

Slavery change the course of history because it gave the "New World" not only a new labor force but also a new nation, the slaves from Africa were much more durable than the Arawaks, they survieded the journey across the Atlantic ocean on a ship stack like a can of tuna. Slavery is a big part of Jamaica history because most if not all Jamaicans are related to a slave, we carry some of our forthfathers traits, determination and resilience. Many slaves who were capture died on the ships and vessels from starvation and also many committ suicide, the ones who made it here show a lot of strong will.

Slavery was not accepted by everyone, many felt that it was ungodly for anyone to be whip and punish and even sold by another person."Slavery is founded on the selfishness of man's nature -- opposition to it on his love of justice. These principles are in eternal antagonism; and when brought into collision so fiercely as slavery extension brings them, shocks and throes and convulsions must ceaselessly follow". Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) Politician. President of the United States. "Slavery is so intolerable a condition that the slave can hardly escape deluding himself into thinking that he is choosing to obey his master's commands when, in fact, he is obliged to. Most slaves of habit suffer from this delusion and so do some writers, enslaved by an all too ''personal'' style." W. H. Auden (1907-1973) English-born poet and man of letters.

My great grandmother was born during the early 1900, her father was a plantation captain and her mom initally was a slave. My great grandmother was raise inside the house because her dad will not allow her nor her mom to work in the fields with the other slaves. When i started to do social studies in all age school ( Middle school) i ask her about her complextion and why she was not as dark as us and she said "my daddy was white and he didn't want me to look like them other kids".  That's how it was on the platation and it was a social status, the lighter your complextion the less work you do, you were able to read and write before any of the field slaves could, you eat good food while the people who work the hradest gets the scrap or eat the same food as the pigs.

Slavery is very important to Jamaica history because it made us who we are today, i am not mad about slavery because if those events did not happen there is no telling where i will be. As an individual yu have to know your roots and what were the things are events that contributed to you mere exsitance, I will not hide it my skin color signifies the hardship my forth farther endure to come to the new world and that is one of the reason i am here.

 Slavery shape the course of history and it change Jamaican history both good and bad, their is an old addage if you keep troubling the bull behind the fense one day he will tear it down the fense.  Tomorrow i will share with you what happen when the fense breaks down and the people can't take anymore.

This Video by Stephen Marley signifies where everything was started. #Bless

Please feel free to leave a comment.

Number 48 Christopher Columbus

"For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps." (Columbus) Christopher was one of the greatest voyagers in world history; he was a  great leader an excellent strategist and many will say he is a crook.

Christopher Columbus was born on October 31, 1451 in a northwest Italian town named Geona, Columbus was a explorer, colonizer and navigator. Columbus worked for the Catholic Monarchs of Spain where he was set out on voyages to the Americans, he complete four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean and during these voyages he establish settlement for Europeans and he discovered what was later call the “New World” “You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” (Christopher Columbus) that quote shows you the mentality he had when it comes to traveling the seas.

Now you might wonder where Columbus fits in with the island of Jamaica, well on June 20 1503 Columbus arrived in Jamaica with only two of his four vessels, this was his final voyage to the “New World” At first, the natives welcomed Columbus and his crew, providing them with food and other supplies in exchange for various trinkets, generally welcoming the sailors into their community with open arms. This arrangement didn’t last very long. Over the next several months, the natives became discontented with the guests of their island.  Columbus’ crew repaid the generosity of the natives by frequently stealing and cheating them, as well as raiding villages for supplies, among many other indiscretions committed by the crew (murder, rape, etc.).  As a result of this, by January of 1504, the indigenous peoples decided to stop supplying the stranded Europeans, regardless of what they might offer in trade.

Columbus and his crew were running out of food and did not have any means to leave so he made a gamble. He told all the leaders of the tribes that an eclipse will take place on February 1504 he called a meeting with the chiefs of the nearby tribes shortly before the eclipse was to take place.  In this meeting, he told them his god was angry with them for ceasing to give him supplies.  As a result, his god would take away the moon as a sign of his anger and subsequently punish them for their actions. According to Columbus son Fernando who was thirteen at the time of the voyage he said “The Indians observed this [the eclipse] and were so astonished and frightened that with great howling and lamentation they came running from every direction to the ships, laden with provisions, praying the Admiral to intercede by all means with God on their behalf; that he might not visit his wrath upon them…  and promising they would diligently supply all their needs in the future.”  Columbus did what he had to for his crew to get what they want and the timing could not have been any more perfect, he caught them at a very vulnerable state and it work in his favor.

Columbus was a very colonist; he got the best out of the tribes so he can trade goods back to Europe, when ask about the natives this is what he said about them "They (the Arawak Indians) ... brought us parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells. They willingly traded everything they owned.... They were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features.... They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane.... They would make fine servants.... With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want." (Christopher Columbus) It did not take long for his crew to take over the island and this lead to Jamaica and other islands being a very hot area for trade.

I hope the past two post will put to rest the notion that Christopher Columbus discover Jamaica or the Americas because people lived here before him, Jamaica have a lot of natural resources and Columbus tap into it and it have change the course of history, his invatiion of Jamaica later lead to the extinction of a nation but it soon later lead to the establishment of a new nation.  Jamaica does not celebrate the works of Columbus because he is view by many as a crook, a liar, and the devil. I at times agree with those entirely but personally he is the best opportunist in the world, with the extinction of the Arawaks it open the doors for SLAVES from Africa. 

Christopher Columbus

Columbus and his crew landed in Jamaica

Columbus three ships setting a sail to the New World.

Tomorrow the countdown continues

Number 49- Jamaica First Settlers (Arawaks)

As a child one of the first stories that were told to me was Jamaican first settlers, and every child heard stories about the Arawaks. We all, from the least educated to the most widely read, accept it almost instinctively that there were, before the Europeans landed on these our islands, a peaceful and gentle tribe of Amerindians called the Arawaks who had inhabited the entire Caribbean archipelago.

The Arawaks were very simple and primitive tribe of people, they excelled in farming and hunting. They hunted little mammals or lizards with sticks, and birds with stones. They had domesticated a breed of dog, which they used for hunting, and occasionally as food, the sea was close and it provided them with great access to fishing and also navigation. The Arawaks were great at crafting and making tools, they made tools that helped them to be better hunters and builders. Their art of weaving was highly developed and the cotton hammock in which they slept was one of the few long lasting contributions they made to European culture. They made good baskets and agricultural tools; and sometimes sculpted wooden seats. Their pottery was extremely refined and of real artistic value; even though they ignored the potter's wheel.  Their clothing was very limited, women wear shirts. The way the shirt were cut and the color of it will indicate social status and age. Being the first settlers on the island they basically had their own way of living and they form their own Utopia. The Arawaks were a very skilled tribe of people and a lot of their creations are still very prominent even to this day.

The Arawaks were considered by many as "animists", which means that they believed in the inner connection of the two worlds (the visible and the invisible one) and in the existence and survival of the soul in the environment (tree, rivers, etc.). They loved the moon, sun, stars, their priest and their doctor, The Arawaks believed in eternal life for the virtuous.

The Arawaks settled and lived in Jamaica for almost 900 years, the Spaniard invaded Jamaica around 1494 and they lived with the Arawaks, not too long after that the Spaniards turn the Arawaks into slaves and slowly take over the island. The virgin soil epidemic caused by the arrival of smallpox and other diseases from Europe, combined with Spain's harsh policies of enslavement, resettlement, and the separation of families. After 50 years the tribe almost became extinct, People were killed, some died of hunger, and some were unable to survive the diseases brought in by the Spanish. Many committed suicide to escape being enslaved by the Spanish.

Our first settlers had it pretty good until the Spaniards took over, they pretty much make the bed and the Spanish settlers slept in it and the rest is history, so if someone tell you Jamaica was discovered by Europeans just tell the Arawaks was here first, and to quote from the blockbuster movie Avatar “those people sits on a goal mine” the Arawaks were the Blue People of the 1400.

 Interestingly the word Jamaica has been derived from the Arawak word 'xaymaca' which means the 'land of wood and water' or the 'land of forest and water'. (http://www.mapsofworld.com/jamaica/language/arawak.html)

Tomorrow I will let you get to meet one of the biggest opportunists in World History.

Thanks for reading.

Arawak Chair

Village

Warriors

Jamaica

I was born on April 19, 1982 on the wonderful island of Jamaica, and for twenty one years I live and experience most of what the island had to offer. As I grown as a man I have a greater appreciation for the land of my birth.

On August 6, 2012, Jamaica will be fifty years old, for the next fifty days leading up to her big day I will highlight significant, events and persons that have contributed to make Jamaica and  Jamaicans very proud and easily recognizable to the world. This is my top fifty and I do not speak for all Jamaicans, I am using this medium to share with the rest of the world my love for the most beautiful island in the world.

I will start from number 50 until I get to number 1, please enjoy and comments are more than welcome:

Number 50-  Jamaica.

Jamaica is an Island of the Greater Antilles and is 10,990 square kilometers (4,240 sq mi) in area; Jamaica is almost the size of Delaware. According to the (World Bank 2010) the population is 2,702,300, the currency is Jamaican Dollar, and Jamaica has 14 parishes which are divided by three counties: Cornwall, Middlesex and Surrey. The capital is Kingston, the life expectancy for woman is 76 years old and for men 71 years old (United Nations). The main language is English and the official and unofficial language is Patios, the island main source of food comes from agriculture (e.g. yam banana, cabbage potato, mango, apples, and pears. Etc) the beauty of Jamaica is the wonderful scenery and the beaches.

Life on this wonderful island gives you both joy and pain, joy in how bless you are to live somewhere where the people are nice, the weather is pretty consistent, the food is great and  the culture is very unique. Where the term “no problem man” is carried out on a daily bases and is like a prayer, no matter how hard things are the state of mind is things could be worse and we came over come this. This thinking came from our forth fathers and it is synonymous to almost every Jamaicans both home and abroad, to be a Jamaican is sheer bliss and many people from different places around the world would love the opportunity to say I am a Jamaican. Pain is areas of the island are underdeveloped and very little job creation is available, violence is one of the biggest pain and at times the violence is use to hide the other pain and hardship on the island, access to tertiary education is a huge problem, there is very little resource for high school kids to help them transition from high school.

Jamaica is the land of my birth and she is one of the world’s most beautiful creations, for the next fifty days I will take you guys on a journey that is full of knowledge and excitement, we will indeed know Jamaica a bit more after this. YEAH MAN.

This Video by Protoje gives you both the Joy and Pain of Jamaica. Bless.