1655 – The English Invasion: A Glimpse from the Front
"We have not only eaten all the cattle within near 12 miles of the place, but now also almost all the horse, asses, mules flesh near us... The Spanish dogs scrape up shallow graves, and our men eat English dogs unless they’re well befriended or respected."
So wrote one of the English soldiers in a letter home, later included in the Narratives of General Venables. The account lays bare the chaos and desperation of the tenuous occupation — disease, hunger, and fierce resistance foreshadowed the long struggle England would face in holding Jamaica.
1692 – The Great Earthquake: Port Royal Sinks
"Before that [pipe of tobacco] was out, I found the ground rolling and moving under my feet... I saw the Earth open and swallow up a Multitude of People, and the Sea mounting in upon us over the Fortifications."
This eyewitness account captures the sudden, apocalyptic destruction of Port Royal. Once known as the “wickedest city on Earth,” it was swallowed by the sea in minutes. The full graphic passage is included in the book, offering a chilling, moment-by-moment look at how the city fell.
1835 – Apprenticeship, Free Villages, and New Settlers
The chains were gone — but true freedom had not yet arrived. Under Apprenticeship, the formerly enslaved still labored under harsh control. Hope lingered, but so did hunger and uncertainty. What was freedom without land, home, or means?
That year, Sligoville — Jamaica's first Free Village — was founded, a bold vision of self-sufficiency. At the same time, the British government began settling Germans in the colony, building Seaford Town in Westmoreland. Two visions of Jamaica's future were taking root — but not on equal footing.
1865 – The Morant Bay Rebellion: A Fight for Justice
The uprising that shook Jamaica to its core. Discover the stories and the long shadow it cast over the island's future. And find out how — in the aftermath — two unlikely voices entered the debate: Charles Darwin and Charles Dickens. What does a scientist known for the theory of evolution, and an author famous for Oliver Twist and A Tale of Two Cities, have to do with a rebellion on a far-flung island?
More than you might imagine — and in ways that shaped Britain's response.
1944 – A Vote for the Future: Universal Suffrage Begins
Freedom without a voice was no freedom at all. In 1944, Jamaica took a defining step toward self-governance: for the first time, every adult — regardless of race, wealth, or gender — had the right to vote.
It was a break from centuries of exclusion. The shackles of slavery were gone, but the right to shape the island’s future had remained in elite hands. Now, at last, ordinary Jamaicans could choose their leaders — and the countdown to independence had truly begun.
