Historic Jamaica

hearing of their noble deeds or reading of their compositions? Montaigne The care which a nation devotes to the preservation of the monuments of its past may serve as a true measure of the degree of civilization to which it has attained. Les Archives Principales de Moscou du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères, Moscow, 1898. UP-PARK CAMP IN 1840 From a coloured lithograph by Joseph B. Kidd HISTORIC JAMAICA BY FRANK CUNDALL, F.S.A. SECRETARY AND LIBRARIAN OF THE INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA WITH FIFTY-TWO ILLUSTRATIONS PUBLISHED FOR THE INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA BY THE WEST INDIA COMMITTEE LONDON 1915 Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co. Ltd. at the Ballantyne Press London, England PREFACE In the year 1900 the present writer published a small volume entitled “Studies in Jamaica History,” giving the records of certain historic sites in the colony. In its issue of October 27, 1908, the Editor of the “West India Committee Circular,” commenting on the appointment of a Royal Commission to enumerate and report upon the historical monuments in England, drew attention to the need for the preservation of historic sites and buildings in the West Indies, and stated that a letter on the subject had been addressed by the West India Committee to the Colonial Office. On November 24 he was able to state that the Secretary of State for the Colonies (the Earl of Crewe) sympathised with the object of the West India Committee and had forwarded their representations to the governors of the various West Indian colonies, recommending them to their consideration. In Jamaica the present writer, at the request of the Governor (Sir Sydney Olivier) and with the consent of the Board of Governors of the Institute of Jamaica, undertook to prepare a list, parish by parish, of historic sites, buildings and monuments, stating in each case the nature of its interest and the name of its owner. This list was published as a special supplement to the “Jamaica Gazette” on December 23, 1909; and in November 1912 it was reprinted as part of a report relating to the preservation of historic sites and ancient monuments and buildings in the West Indian colonies presented to Parliament. In the meantime the present writer had commenced a series of articles in the “West India Committee Circular” dealing with historic sites and monuments in Jamaica, which appeared from October 1909 till October 1914. At the suggestion of various persons interested…