Saint Ann's Bay, Jamaica
Parish
Saint Ann 's Bay is a small town in the north of Jamaica, the oldest settlement on the island. The city is located in Middlesex County. It is the capital of the Parish of Saint Ann. In 2010, Saint Ann 's Bay had a population of 14923 people.
History
Saint Ann 's Bay is the oldest settlement in Jamaica. From Christopher Columbus the bay was entered for the first time in 1494 on his third voyage of discovery. On his fourth voyage, Columbus returned after fighting with indigenous people and a mutiny due to the licking ships back there. He lived there about a year 1503-1504 in a fort on the beach. He called the place Santa Gloria. Near the town on an important transport hub is to commemorate the discovery of the bay, a statue of Christopher Columbus. In 1509, the Spanish conqueror and first governor of Jamaica Juan de Esquivel founded in the same place, the settlement Sevilla la Nueva to a town west of Madrid. The settlement became the third capital of the Spanish colonial empire.
Before the year 1526 the first sugar mills were established in Sevilla la Nueva by the Spaniards. Saint Ann 's Bay is now the main exporter of sugar on the island. The town was conquered in 1655 by English colonists. She was then in St. Ann 's Bay, after Lady Anne Hyde, the first wife of King James II of England, named. Saint Ann 's Bay was, mainly because of its large port and an important location for the export of bananas, sugar and bauxite, the capital of the Parish of Saint Ann. Later Ocho Rios sparked the city from a major exporter, but it is still an important trading town and a popular tourist destination. 1795 was a built in 1750 Fort for the first prison of Jamaica, by the name of The Old Jail, rebuilt. In this place many slaves died.
Economy
Saint Ann 's Bay has a large seaport and is the largest sugar exporter of Jamaica. Other important exports are, inter alia, Bauxite and bananas. The city has a large fishing fleet.
Historical Buildings
The oldest surviving building in the city is the St. Ann 's Bay Courthouse, which was built in 1860. Not far away is the St. Ann Parish Church from 1871.
A statue of Marcus Garvey, one of Jamaica's most famous citizen, was erected in front of St. Ann 's Bay Library. Another statue of the discoverer of the bay, Christopher Columbus, is close to the city.
Sons and daughters of the town
- Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), politician and publicist
- Floyd Lloyd ( * 1949 ), reggae musician
- Red Rat (born 1978 ), dancehall singer
- Jodi -Ann Robinson ( * 1989), football player
- Burning Spear ( b. 1949 ), reggae musician