On August 26, 1843, a fire erupted in Kingston and burned down a tenth of the city. Valuable properties, homes, and businesses burned down. One of those homes was Mrs. Seacole’s which she mentions in her narrative. The cause of the fire remains unknown, but arson had been suspected which became a problematic suspicion. There had already been racial tensions, but the fire only made it worse.  The city turned on the black population to blame them even though there had been no evidence to suspect such actions. About 10,149 Jamaican pounds had been distributed to those who lost property, although Mrs. Seacole never mentions receiving the money in her non-fiction narrative. By 1850 only a portion of the houses had been rebuilt. 

Lumsden, Joy. “1843 James the Founder's or Matcham's Fire.” Jamaica's History - Always Something New to Find out!, Weebly, 2018, https://jamaica-history.weebly.com/1843.html. 

Seacole, Mary. Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands, Penguin Classics. 1857.