Montego Bay: From Bahía to brilliance

Montego Bay, capital of St James Parish, offers more than breath-taking vistas. Its history pulses with the rhythms of change and the courage to evolve.

When Christopher Columbus arrived in May 1494, he recorded the region’s Taino name and christened it El Golfo de Buen Tiempo, ‘Fair Weather Gulf’. Under Spanish rule from 1511, the town came to be called Bahía de Manteca (‘Lard Bay’) for its booming export of hog’s lard from local pig hunting operations. When English colonists took control in 1655, St James Parish was formed in 1671 and began its gradual transformation into an export hub.

The real expansion of Montego Bay began around 1720–1772, when Captain Jonathan Barnett subdivided sugar cane estates to found Charles Town (later Barnett Town) and Charles Square (now Sam Sharpe Square). A plan drawn in 1765 marked six wharves reaching into the harbour, visible signs of fast-growing trade. Fort Montego and the courthouse followed, embodying the town’s rising importance by the 1770s.

By 1766, Montego Bay enjoyed ‘free port’ status, an innovation that let ships trade outside strict colonial routes, and, in 1773, it even launched the first Jamaican newspaper outside Kingston, the Cornwall Chronicle. Despite devastating fires in 1795 and uprising-linked destruction in 1831, the town rose again, evolving beyond sugar to banana trade and eventually tourism, post-Emancipation in 1834.

Today, Montego Bay is Jamaica’s second most important city, a vibrant tapestry of heritage and modernity. Its refined Georgian Rose Hall Great House overlooks the coast, telling stories of plantation history and restoration. Sangster International Airport and a deep water pier within the Freeport, initiated in the 1960s by Anthony ‘Tony’ Hart, have cemented its status as a global gateway for tourists, trade and BPO business.

Montego Bay’s story is a powerful echo of a universal truth: Changes. Things around us change with an undeniable rhythm, and so do we. We are in a constant state of becoming, evolving each day. Go within the treasure of your own self, knowing that you are strong and have the courage to make self-changes. Reflecting on our inner strength parallels Montego Bay’s own journey: a place that has transformed across centuries yet remains rooted in resilience and beauty.

Let Montego Bay’s history be our invitation to embrace change, not fear it. In our inner lives, just as this historic town evolved, we, too, can grow poised, rooted, and renewed. Have a day of reflection, and may the spirit of Montego Bay’s endless transformation inspire your own positive evolution.

Contributed by Dr Lorenzo Gordon, a diabetologist, internal medicine consultant, biochemist, and a history and heritage enthusiast. Send feedback to inspiring876@gmail.com