Robert BuddanDevelopment depends above all on the fitness
of the leading classes to promote it. Between 1832 and 1833 - the eve of emancipation - the Jamaican planter class in the Assembly (legislature) spent its energies opposing abolition, saying that the slaves would not be productive as free labourers and otherwise manage their affairs as free people. The British parliament and its abolitionists, it said, had no right interfering in matters that should be the responsibility of the Jamaican Assembly. It believed that abolitionists like Wilberforce were misguided and even mad. They talked about insurrection and threatened to break away from Britain to allow the Assembly its own independence.
talk of confederation
Some began to talk of a confederation with the United States or Canada. The Assembly sent a delegation to Britain in 1833 to make these views known.
James Williams, a former slave, confirmed the destructive behaviour of this class after finding refuge in England in 1837, when British abolitionists bought his freedom and took him overseas to make their case that the system of apprenticeship was as bad as that of slavery, hoping to get the support of the British parliament to have it immediately terminated. Williams said that as of August 1, 1834, his master began to exact vengeance against the apprentices for being deprived of slave labour, and spitefully sought to make sure that they would not enjoy their eventual freedom. Williams said:
"I am about 18 years old. I was a slave belonging to Mr. Senior and his sister. I have been very ill treated by Mr. Senior and the magistrates since the new law come in. Apprentices get a great deal more punishment now than they did when they was slaves; the master take spite, and do all he can to hurt them before the free come; I have heard my master say, 'those English devils say we do be free, but if we is to be free, he will pretty well weaken we, before the six and the four years done; we shall be no use to ourselves afterwards'."
battle lost
When an economic ruling class takes this attitude, the battle for immediate development is already lost. The Governor, who had arrived in Jamaica in 1832, was immediately aware of the ill feeling of the Assembly members, and more
generally, the white administrators,
plantation owners, and their legal and other functionaries. It was the Governor's customary duty to take an islandwide tour and he began to make immediate plans to do so to hear the views of the elite around the country. He heard much of the same.
There was confusion by the slaves about their future as well. They had heard that freedom was coming, but were confused about when. Rumours circulated that the Governor had come with instructions to declare emancipation immediately. Others felt that it could take as long as six more years. The Governor feared that in this confusion and in light of the opposition of the planter class, trouble could break out. He appealed to Britain to send more troops to overwhelm any disturbance that might come either from the disappointment of the slaves or the hostility of the whites.
By 1833, the planters had seemed more resigned to emancipation. But, they only acquiesced because of the promise of substantial compensation by the British government for the loss of their slaves; and they believed that Britain would guarantee protection for West Indian sugar markets and prices in return for emancipation.
A post-emancipation model
After emancipation, considerations began on what model of development Jamaica could follow. New governors, religious leaders and journalists who visited Jamaica agreed that the plantations were bankrupt, government was inept, and people were badly abused. Some felt that the cruelty and corruption of the Jamaican planter class exceeded that of any other West Indian colony.
Yet, most were convinced that Jamaica had great potential. The progressive opinion of the West India Association of Scotland was that large-scale immigration would help Jamaica just as it had helped the United States, Australia, Trinidad and Guyana. Jamaica did not follow suit. Only a comparatively small number of East Indians, Africans and Chinese were imported. Furthermore, most recommendations envisioned an agricultural rather than an industrial economy. Even so, the sugar planters stubbornly resisted agricultural diversification. They also resisted land settlement schemes, industrial training, and an export economy that targeted the US market, the model that the freed people advocated.
The Scottish Association suggested an extensive system of education but the planters would not allow themselves to be taxed to support this. The Association advocated reform of Jamaica's master and servant's laws, the laws against vagrancy and squatting, a strong police force, and a more independent, efficient and fair system of justice. However, it expected the Jamaican Assembly to resist many of these measures, which it did, and believed that the British government would have to directly intervene to get reforms even if the governor had to be empowered to make certain laws by edict.
The Scottish Association felt that Jamaica needed governors with experience in financial management. In fact, Jamaica did not have Governors with experience of Jamaica or of being Governors. The first two Governors in those critical years after emancipation were cases in point. The post-emancipation economy failed because of bad government, a sterile economic class, and its attempts to break the spirit of the freed people. The planters instead blamed emancipation. Slaveholders in the United States were only too happy to use Jamaica as evidence that the abolition of the slave trade and slavery were the cause of the island's economic failure, an argument transparently convenient to them.
Emancipating the economy
Jamaica's economic potential was evident to reformers. A somewhat enlightened post-emancipation Governor, Sir Charles Grey, noted in the 1850s:
The fertility of its soil, both for tillage and pasturage; the richness and variety of its vegetable produce; the alternations of mountain and valley; the numerous hot springs and medicinal waters; the known existence of various and valuable minerals; the timbers and ornamental woods of its forests; the abundance and variety of its fish on its coasts and neighbouring reefs, indicate peculiar facilities for the promotion and future welfare of the prosperity of its inhabitants.
It would be another 100 years before some of these ÒfacilitiesÓ would be exploited and that was only possible when the Jamaica Labour Party and People's National Party entered the Jamaican legislature. Grey had recognised Jamaica's unique climate, saying that this "is part of the globe an African, a coloured, a Creole or a European [could enjoy] an atmosphere-adapted to sustain the healthy condition and energy of each."
Yet, it was only in 1944 that the Hotel Aid Act launched the tourism industry. The Pioneer Industries Act came in 1949, and the Bauxite and Alumina Act was passed in 1950.
In spite of these examples, Jamaica still has to exploit its hot springs, medicinal waters and herbal plants. One hundred years ago, Charles Grey noted that Jamaica's location suited it to become the centre of trade in the Americas. Happily, the heavy investments in port development will allow us to take advantage of this.
Yet, for all these developments, full economic emancipation will not occur until we find a place for more people in the economy and in governance. Hopefully, we will have better results to report come next year's emancipation celebrations.
Robert Buddan lectures in the Department of Government, University of the West Indies. Email: Robert.Buddan@uwimona.edu.jm
