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letter, dated Port Royal, July 3, 1693, quoted by Sir Hans Sloane in his account of the great earthquake already
alluded to, contains the following information about
Kingston :
Others went to the place called Kingston (or by others Killcown)
where from the first clearing of the Ground, and from bad Accommo-
dations, then Hutts built with Boughs, and not sufficient to keep
out Rain, which in great and an unusual manner followed the
Earthquake, lying wet, and wanting Medicines, and all Conveniences,
etc., they died miserably in heaps. Indeed there was a general
sickness (supposed to proceed from the hurtful Vapours belch'd
from the many openings of the Earth) all over the Island so general
that few escaped being sick ; and 'tis thought it swept away in all
Parts of the Island 3000 Souls ; the greatest part from Kingston
only, yet an unhealthy Place.
Many people remained at Port Royal, but most of the
survivors removed to the lower part of Liguanea. The
Council paid Beeston on June 28, £1000. A plan for the
town was drawn up by Colonel Christian Lilly, " Her
Majesty's engineer-general," under the direction of the
Government.
In his plan Lilly adopted the chessboard fashion of
all Spanish cities in the New World^ — a plan which is at
least as old as the Romans. If one omits the lanes, the
plan of Kingston as laid down by Lilly in the seventeeth
century is precisely the same as that of the recently un-
earthed Roman city of Calleva (Silchester) of thirteen
centuries earlier, with its insulae, prototypes of the American
blocks. Kingston consisted then of a parallelogram one
mile in length from north to south, and half a mile in
breadth, regularly traversed by streets and lanes, alternately
crossing each other at right angles. When Long wrote it
contained " sixteen hundred and fifty- five houses, besides
negro houses and warehouses ; so that the whole number
of its buildings, including every sort, may be computed
at between two and three thousand, and thirty-five spacious
streets and sixteen lanes." At present there are in Kingston
171 streets and sixty-nine lanes and about 9000 houses.
Unfortunately Lilly when he planned Kingston, when
land was cheap, omitted to leave room for lines of trees
down each principal street. Had this been done, shade
would have been afforded to drivers and pedestrians alike,
and a picturesque feature would have been assured for
the town. Moreover, the chessboard plan of laying out
a town, naturally from its regularity dear to the heart of
an engineer, is fatal in the interests of picturesqueness,
however suitable it may be for progression.
There was not at first much progress in its settlement,
the recollection of the former wealth and greatness of Port
Royal giving the colonists a continued preference for that
place ; but the fire of 1703 completely destroyed the
favourite town, and the disheartened inhabitants went in
large numbers to Kingston, which the Assembly caused to
be divided into lots and given to those who had lost their
houses. A law was also passed directing the slave-owners
in the parish of St. Andrew to send one out of every twenty
of their slaves to build temporary huts for the refugees,
and, as an encouragement for the early settlement of the
new town, every house built within the year (1703) was
exempted from taxes for seven years. Soon after this
another law was passed declaring Kingston to be " the
chief seat of trade and head port of entry " of the island.
From this time the prosperity of the town was assured,
and in the year 1713 it was declared by law that the place
should " for ever be taken and esteemed as an entire and
distinct parish, with all the powers of any other parish,"
and, further, that it should " have the right of sending,
three representatives to the Assembly."
So rapidly had the town grown that iii 1716 it was thus
described by a historian of the time :
Within the harbour and about six miles from the town of
Port Royal lies the town of Kingston, first laid out and partially
settled after the great earthquake ... It is now become greatly
increased in houses, stores, wharves and other conveniences for
trade and business, so that it is by much the largest town in the
island ; and if the island shall increase in people and new settle-
ments (the consequences of trade and riches) it is likely to be much
the fairest town in all the Indies for 'tis most commodiouslylaid
out, happily and beautifully situated, has many spacious houses
in it, and more are daily building, is the residence of the greatest
merchants and traders, and has resorting to it most of the ships or
vessels that come to the island, and in it is managed the greatest
part of the trade of Jamaica/,
152 HISTORIC JAMAICA
In 1721 an Act was passed empowering 'the inhabitants
to erect a court house and exchange ; and for nearly half
a century the town continued to grow in size and opulence,
and so important had it become in 1755 that the attempt
was then made to constitute it the seat of government.
The Governor (Admiral Knowles) twice proposed and
the Assembly twice rejected a bill for that purpose ; but
at length the Assembly gave way and a law was passed
giving effect to the arrangement. Soon after the public
archives were removed to Kingston and the superior
courts were estabUshed there. But the change was
unpopular throughout the island, and numerous peti-
tions against it were sent to the King. On October 3,
1758 (after Knowles had left), the disallowance of the
law was proclaimed and the records were returned
to Spanish Town, escorted by " a considerable body' of
military."
In 1780, and again in 1782, the town was severely stricken
by a fire. In the former year the large and closely built
portion of the town lying between King and Orange streets
was burnt down, the destruction of property being estimated
at £30,000. But the town soon recovered from the effects
of the conflagrations, and prospered to such an extent that
in 1802 it was granted a corporation under the style of
" The Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council of the City
and Parish of Kingston." The Court of Common Council
was given a seal and empowered to make and ordain by-
laws, ordinances and regulations for the good order of the
city, not repugnant to prerogative or to the laws of the
island. The following is a description of the city seal :
On the obverse the island arms, crest, supporters and
mottoes. Legend, Sigi Commune Givit : Kingston in
Jamaica. Eeverse, Britannia, in the dress of Minerva,
holding a trident in one hand, and in the other a mirror,
reflecting the rays of the benign influence of Heaven on the
produce of the island ; behind her the British Lion, support-
ing her shield, a conch shell at her feet, and at a distance
a ship under sail. Legend, Hos fovet, hos curat, servatque,
Britannia Mater,
In 1843 another great fire devastated a large portion
of the city. In began shortly before 10 a.m. on August 26,
in a foundry situated at the east end of Harbour street
and extended diagonally across the city until it reached
the old Roman Catholic chapel at the corner of Duke street.
Many of the best dwellings and much valuable property
were consumed, and a large number of persons were
left in utter destitution. The sum of £10,149 was dis-
tributed among the sufferers, of which £5000 was voted
by the House of Assembly. At this period a great deal
of the foreign trade of Kingston had disappeared in con-
sequence of the estabhshing of direct steam communication
between the European and Spanish- American states ;
still Kingston continued an important centre of
commerce.
In March 1862, another great fire occurred by which
the commercial division of the city was devastated. Nine-
teen of the principal stores in Harbour and Port Royal
streets, three wharves, and the extensive and well-built
three-storied house in which the Commercial Hotel
was kept, were burnt down at a loss of £30,000. The
value of the merchandise, furniture, &c., destroyed
was estimated at £60,830, making a total of £90,830.
Of this £9400 was covered by insurances, leaving
£81,530 as the total loss to the owners of the premises
and stock.
Three years afterwards representative government
was abandoned in Jamaica, and Kingston ceased to be a
corporate city. All the powers and immunities of the
common council were transferred to a nominated municipal
board created by Law 8 of 1866, the privilege of making
ordinances for the regulation of the city being transferred
to the Governor in Privy Council. Since 1885 its affairs
have been administered by a mayor and city council,
elected every three years, similar to the parochial boards
of the other parishes.
For many years it had become evident that the con-
venience of the Government and of the general pubhc
would be best served by a transfer of the seat of government
from Spanish Town, and in 1872 Sir John Grant, with the
approval of the Secretary of "State for the Colonies, gave
effect to the change.
A calamitous fire occurred in Kingston on December 11,
1882, by which a large section of the business portion of
the city was destroyed. The total number of houses
entirely destroyed was five hundred and seventy-seven,
whilst twelve were partially destroyed. These places
were inhabited by about six thousand persons. The total
loss of house property was estimated at between £150,000
and £220,000.
On January 14, 1907, the city suffered great damage
from the disastrous earthquake of that date and from fire.
Much the same area as that devastated by fire in 1882 was
destroyed in the fire of 1907, in addition to the havoc caused
by the earthquake. The loss of lite was variously esti-
mated as between 1000 and 1500. The value of property
destroyed amounted to between £1,000,000 and £1,500,000.
A Mansion House fund for the relief of, the sufferers
amounted to £55,395, and a free Imperial gi:ant was made
by Parliament of £150,000 and a loan of" £800,000 was
authorised. The relief funds were distributed by a Relief
Committee, afterwards the Assistance Committee, con-
stituted by the Assistance Committee Law 20 of 1907.
After considerable delay and much negotiations, and on
the failure of an appeal in a test case to the Judicial Com-
mittee of the Privy Council, the insurance companies
agreed to pay the claims to the extent of 85 per cent, on
the face values of the policies, and the money was dis-
tributed in 1909.
The Imperial Loan was administered by a Loan Board
created by law. Up to March 31, 1914, loans had been
made to the value of £326,000.
alluded to, contains the following information about
Kingston :
Others went to the place called Kingston (or by others Killcown)
where from the first clearing of the Ground, and from bad Accommo-
dations, then Hutts built with Boughs, and not sufficient to keep
out Rain, which in great and an unusual manner followed the
Earthquake, lying wet, and wanting Medicines, and all Conveniences,
etc., they died miserably in heaps. Indeed there was a general
sickness (supposed to proceed from the hurtful Vapours belch'd
from the many openings of the Earth) all over the Island so general
that few escaped being sick ; and 'tis thought it swept away in all
Parts of the Island 3000 Souls ; the greatest part from Kingston
only, yet an unhealthy Place.
Many people remained at Port Royal, but most of the
survivors removed to the lower part of Liguanea. The
Council paid Beeston on June 28, £1000. A plan for the
town was drawn up by Colonel Christian Lilly, " Her
Majesty's engineer-general," under the direction of the
Government.
In his plan Lilly adopted the chessboard fashion of
all Spanish cities in the New World^ — a plan which is at
least as old as the Romans. If one omits the lanes, the
plan of Kingston as laid down by Lilly in the seventeeth
century is precisely the same as that of the recently un-
earthed Roman city of Calleva (Silchester) of thirteen
centuries earlier, with its insulae, prototypes of the American
blocks. Kingston consisted then of a parallelogram one
mile in length from north to south, and half a mile in
breadth, regularly traversed by streets and lanes, alternately
crossing each other at right angles. When Long wrote it
contained " sixteen hundred and fifty- five houses, besides
negro houses and warehouses ; so that the whole number
of its buildings, including every sort, may be computed
at between two and three thousand, and thirty-five spacious
streets and sixteen lanes." At present there are in Kingston
171 streets and sixty-nine lanes and about 9000 houses.
Unfortunately Lilly when he planned Kingston, when
land was cheap, omitted to leave room for lines of trees
down each principal street. Had this been done, shade
would have been afforded to drivers and pedestrians alike,
and a picturesque feature would have been assured for
the town. Moreover, the chessboard plan of laying out
a town, naturally from its regularity dear to the heart of
an engineer, is fatal in the interests of picturesqueness,
however suitable it may be for progression.
There was not at first much progress in its settlement,
the recollection of the former wealth and greatness of Port
Royal giving the colonists a continued preference for that
place ; but the fire of 1703 completely destroyed the
favourite town, and the disheartened inhabitants went in
large numbers to Kingston, which the Assembly caused to
be divided into lots and given to those who had lost their
houses. A law was also passed directing the slave-owners
in the parish of St. Andrew to send one out of every twenty
of their slaves to build temporary huts for the refugees,
and, as an encouragement for the early settlement of the
new town, every house built within the year (1703) was
exempted from taxes for seven years. Soon after this
another law was passed declaring Kingston to be " the
chief seat of trade and head port of entry " of the island.
From this time the prosperity of the town was assured,
and in the year 1713 it was declared by law that the place
should " for ever be taken and esteemed as an entire and
distinct parish, with all the powers of any other parish,"
and, further, that it should " have the right of sending,
three representatives to the Assembly."
So rapidly had the town grown that iii 1716 it was thus
described by a historian of the time :
Within the harbour and about six miles from the town of
Port Royal lies the town of Kingston, first laid out and partially
settled after the great earthquake ... It is now become greatly
increased in houses, stores, wharves and other conveniences for
trade and business, so that it is by much the largest town in the
island ; and if the island shall increase in people and new settle-
ments (the consequences of trade and riches) it is likely to be much
the fairest town in all the Indies for 'tis most commodiouslylaid
out, happily and beautifully situated, has many spacious houses
in it, and more are daily building, is the residence of the greatest
merchants and traders, and has resorting to it most of the ships or
vessels that come to the island, and in it is managed the greatest
part of the trade of Jamaica/,
152 HISTORIC JAMAICA
In 1721 an Act was passed empowering 'the inhabitants
to erect a court house and exchange ; and for nearly half
a century the town continued to grow in size and opulence,
and so important had it become in 1755 that the attempt
was then made to constitute it the seat of government.
The Governor (Admiral Knowles) twice proposed and
the Assembly twice rejected a bill for that purpose ; but
at length the Assembly gave way and a law was passed
giving effect to the arrangement. Soon after the public
archives were removed to Kingston and the superior
courts were estabUshed there. But the change was
unpopular throughout the island, and numerous peti-
tions against it were sent to the King. On October 3,
1758 (after Knowles had left), the disallowance of the
law was proclaimed and the records were returned
to Spanish Town, escorted by " a considerable body' of
military."
In 1780, and again in 1782, the town was severely stricken
by a fire. In the former year the large and closely built
portion of the town lying between King and Orange streets
was burnt down, the destruction of property being estimated
at £30,000. But the town soon recovered from the effects
of the conflagrations, and prospered to such an extent that
in 1802 it was granted a corporation under the style of
" The Mayor, Aldermen and Common Council of the City
and Parish of Kingston." The Court of Common Council
was given a seal and empowered to make and ordain by-
laws, ordinances and regulations for the good order of the
city, not repugnant to prerogative or to the laws of the
island. The following is a description of the city seal :
On the obverse the island arms, crest, supporters and
mottoes. Legend, Sigi Commune Givit : Kingston in
Jamaica. Eeverse, Britannia, in the dress of Minerva,
holding a trident in one hand, and in the other a mirror,
reflecting the rays of the benign influence of Heaven on the
produce of the island ; behind her the British Lion, support-
ing her shield, a conch shell at her feet, and at a distance
a ship under sail. Legend, Hos fovet, hos curat, servatque,
Britannia Mater,
In 1843 another great fire devastated a large portion
of the city. In began shortly before 10 a.m. on August 26,
in a foundry situated at the east end of Harbour street
and extended diagonally across the city until it reached
the old Roman Catholic chapel at the corner of Duke street.
Many of the best dwellings and much valuable property
were consumed, and a large number of persons were
left in utter destitution. The sum of £10,149 was dis-
tributed among the sufferers, of which £5000 was voted
by the House of Assembly. At this period a great deal
of the foreign trade of Kingston had disappeared in con-
sequence of the estabhshing of direct steam communication
between the European and Spanish- American states ;
still Kingston continued an important centre of
commerce.
In March 1862, another great fire occurred by which
the commercial division of the city was devastated. Nine-
teen of the principal stores in Harbour and Port Royal
streets, three wharves, and the extensive and well-built
three-storied house in which the Commercial Hotel
was kept, were burnt down at a loss of £30,000. The
value of the merchandise, furniture, &c., destroyed
was estimated at £60,830, making a total of £90,830.
Of this £9400 was covered by insurances, leaving
£81,530 as the total loss to the owners of the premises
and stock.
Three years afterwards representative government
was abandoned in Jamaica, and Kingston ceased to be a
corporate city. All the powers and immunities of the
common council were transferred to a nominated municipal
board created by Law 8 of 1866, the privilege of making
ordinances for the regulation of the city being transferred
to the Governor in Privy Council. Since 1885 its affairs
have been administered by a mayor and city council,
elected every three years, similar to the parochial boards
of the other parishes.
For many years it had become evident that the con-
venience of the Government and of the general pubhc
would be best served by a transfer of the seat of government
from Spanish Town, and in 1872 Sir John Grant, with the
approval of the Secretary of "State for the Colonies, gave
effect to the change.
A calamitous fire occurred in Kingston on December 11,
1882, by which a large section of the business portion of
the city was destroyed. The total number of houses
entirely destroyed was five hundred and seventy-seven,
whilst twelve were partially destroyed. These places
were inhabited by about six thousand persons. The total
loss of house property was estimated at between £150,000
and £220,000.
On January 14, 1907, the city suffered great damage
from the disastrous earthquake of that date and from fire.
Much the same area as that devastated by fire in 1882 was
destroyed in the fire of 1907, in addition to the havoc caused
by the earthquake. The loss of lite was variously esti-
mated as between 1000 and 1500. The value of property
destroyed amounted to between £1,000,000 and £1,500,000.
A Mansion House fund for the relief of, the sufferers
amounted to £55,395, and a free Imperial gi:ant was made
by Parliament of £150,000 and a loan of" £800,000 was
authorised. The relief funds were distributed by a Relief
Committee, afterwards the Assistance Committee, con-
stituted by the Assistance Committee Law 20 of 1907.
After considerable delay and much negotiations, and on
the failure of an appeal in a test case to the Judicial Com-
mittee of the Privy Council, the insurance companies
agreed to pay the claims to the extent of 85 per cent, on
the face values of the policies, and the money was dis-
tributed in 1909.
The Imperial Loan was administered by a Loan Board
created by law. Up to March 31, 1914, loans had been
made to the value of £326,000.
Historic Jamaica :With fifty-two illustrations by Frank Cundall
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