Spanish Town

Spanish Town is a city in southern Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital city of the island until the British government offices were transferred to Kingston in 1872.

Parent Map

UVU Victorian Literature and Politics for the Present - Map

Coordinates

Latitude: 17.995573876664
Longitude: -76.954293251038

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Timeline of Events Associated with Spanish Town

Date	Event			Manage
22 Jun 1802	Criminal Jurisdiction Act passed An amendment of the Colonial Governors Act (1700), the Criminal Jurisdiction Act holds colonial officials accountable to the Court of King’s Bench in England for crimes committed in the colonies. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″
29 Aug 1833	Slavery Abolition Act The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 received the Royal Assent (which means it became law) on 29 August 1833. The Act outlawed slavery throughout the British Empire; Britain’s colonial slaves were officially emancipated on 1 August 1834 when the law came into force, although most entered a form of obligatory apprenticeship that ended in 1840. Image: The Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Image: the Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Articles Elsie B. Michie, "On the Sacramental Test Act, the Catholic Relief Act, the Slavery Abolition Act, and the Factory Act" Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″
Dec 1849	Carlyle's "Negro Question" On December 1849, Thomas Carlyle published “Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question” in Fraser’s Magazine; the article was later republished in his Critical and Miscellaneous Essays as “On the Nigger Question.” Image: Photograph of Thomas Carlyle, circa 1860s, by Eliott & Fry. This image is in the public domain in the United States as its copyright has expired. Articles Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″
2 Oct 1865	George William Gordon executed Gordon, a Jamaican former slave and elected member of the Jamaica House of Assembly, is executed by hanging after a court martial condemns him to death for his alleged role in encouraging the Morant Bay rebellion. Articles Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″
11 Oct 1865	Morant Bay Rebellion A rebellion by Black peasants against unjust treatment by Jamaican courts breaks out at Morant Bay, Jamaica on 11 October 1865. Image: Photograph of Governor Edward John Eyre, circa 1870, by Henry Hering. The Caribbean Photo Archive. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. Articles Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″
Dec 1865	“Jamaica Committee” The Jamaica Committee, a coalition of politicians, writers, and scientists, is organized to seek governmental and legal accountability for the actions undertaken by Governor Edward John Eyre and his subordinates during thirty days of martial law in the aftermath of the Morant Bay rebellion in Jamaica. Image: Photograph of Governor Edward John Eyre, circa 1870, by Henry Hering. The Caribbean Photo Archive. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. Articles Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″
27 Mar 1867	Edward John Eyre indictment hearing The Jamaica Committee’s first attempted indictment, at Market Drayton in Shropshire, of Edward John Eyre, ex-Governor of Jamaica, for the murder of George William Gordon; hearing ends in Eyre’s discharge by the grand jury. Image: Photograph of Governor Edward John Eyre, circa 1870, by Henry Hering. The Caribbean Photo Archive. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. Articles Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″
11 Apr 1867	Nelson and Brand charges dismissed A Middlesex grand jury at London’s Old Bailey criminal court dismissed charges brought by the Jamaica Committee against Colonel Abercrombie Nelson and Lieutenant Herbert Brand for the murder (via illegal court martial) of George William Gordon at Morant Bay, Jamaica in October 1865. The trial was a result of the Morant Bay Rebellion of 11 October 1865. Articles Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″
Jun 1868	Edward John Eyre acquitted 3 June 1868 saw the last, unsuccessful action against Edward John Eyre. This was the final effort by the Jamaica Committee to prosecute ex-Governor of Jamaica Edward John Eyre under the Colonial Governors Act for abuse of power in imposing an extended period of martial law during the 1865 Morant Bay rebellion; the case is sent forward to a grand jury, but Eyre is not indicted. Image: Photograph of Governor Edward John Eyre, circa 1870, by Henry Hering. The Caribbean Photo Archive. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. Articles Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″
Jun 1870	Civil suit against Edward John Eyre nullified Appeal before the Exchequer Chamber of the civil suit brought by Jamaican citizen Alexander Phillips against ex-Governor of Jamaica, Edward John Eyre, for assault, battery and false imprisonment during martial law from October 13 to November 13, 1865 at Morant Bay, Jamaica, results in the upholding of the Jamaica Assembly’s Indemnity Act for military and administrative actions under martial law, nullifying Phillips’s right to sue Eyre in English courts. Image: Photograph of Governor Edward John Eyre, circa 1870, by Henry Hering. The Caribbean Photo Archive. This image is in the public domain in the United States because its copyright has expired. Articles Sarah Winter, “On the Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica and the Governor Eyre-George William Gordon Controversy, 1865-70″