Notes on Slavery and Slave Trade in Jamaica
Enslaved Africans, including the Fante, Ashanti, Coromantee, Ibo, and Yoruba people, were forcibly brought to Jamaica from Africa. They endured unimaginable cruelty while working on sugar plantations from sunrise to sunset, often producing up to 6 tonnes of raw crops per day. The horrors they faced, such as burning and strangulation, aimed to maintain control and obedience.
Slave revolts emerged as a powerful resistance against the oppressive system and eventually led to their freedom in 1838. The frequent slave rebellions in the Caribbean played a role in the abolition of the slave trade and slavery itself. The Abolition Bill was passed in 1808, declaring the trading of African slaves unlawful. Emancipation and apprenticeship were implemented in 1834, with full freedom granted in 1838.
In 1872, the island's capital was moved from Spanish Town to Kingston. Under early English control, the plantation system relied on enslaved labor, importing almost a million captive Africans. The colony saw significant slave unrest in the 18th and 19th centuries. Rebel and imperial forces fought the First Maroon War in the late 1730s and a Second Maroon War in the 1790s. Some maroons eventually moved to Freetown in Sierra Leone. Later rebellions included the Baptist War in 1831 and the Morant Bay rebellion in 1865. While these did not directly lead to independence, they spurred significant reforms. The Baptist War influenced Parliament to end slavery in the British Empire in 1834. After the Morant Bay rebellion, Jamaica became a crown colony, leading to greater supervision from Parliament.
After the First World War, Jamaicans began advocating for greater self-rule. Through social, political, and legal actions in the following decades, Jamaicans asserted more autonomy from the crown. In 1962, with unanimous approval from the national legislature, Jamaica declared its independence.