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 in the subject it was decided to reprint these articles. In doing this it has been thought well to arrange them parish by parish and to add a few words of general history, taken in part from the writer’s contributions to the “Handbook of Jamaica,” and of descriptions of sites and monuments which have not been treated of individually. It is hoped that the following notes may not only serve the double purpose of evoking interest in the history of the colony in the minds of its inhabitants and proving a source of information to visitors, but may be the means of steps being taken to preserve old buildings and other monuments alike from decay and the hand of man. A list of works consulted in the compilation of the notes embodied in this volume would comprise almost all the books in the Jamaica section of the West India Library of the Institute of Jamaica, some 1400 in number. My thanks are due to Mrs. Lionel Lee for making the illustrations and to Mr. Algernon E. Aspinall for kind assistance in seeing the work through the press. F. C. KINGSTON, JAMAICA. 1915. CONTENTS PAGE LISTS OF OFFICIALS Governors, Presidents of the Council, Speakers of the Assembly, Chief Justices, Attorney-Generals, Naval Commanders-in-chief at Jamaica, Agents for Jamaica in Great Britain xiii INTRODUCTION Aboriginal inhabitants, Arawâks: physical features, language, beliefs, habitations, implements, name of Jamaica, other Arawâk names: Spanish occupation, hatos, towns, buildings, names: English possession, ancient monuments, buildings, slavery, politics, forts, religion, agriculture, education, printing, maps, parishes, counties, place-names, Jamaica overseas 1 I. PORT ROYAL The Point: Shirley: Jackson: Forts: Residence of the Governor: Church: Buccaneers: Myngs: Morgan: Earthquake of 1692: Spanish bell: Fire of 1703–4: Hurricane of 1722: Attempt on Cartagena, Ogle, Smollett: Rodney: Water-supply: Rodney’s Look-out: Fort Charles: Nelson’s Quarter-deck: Rodney’s victory over De Grasse: the Convoy: Prince William Henry: Lady Nugent: Gosse: Hill: _Urgent_ 45 II. ST. CATHERINE