Mythologising Jamaica’s history – when fiction supersedes facts

In Jamaica these days, there are versions of history based on fiction, not facts. There are those mythologising Jamaica’s history. The fiction has taken hold and is hard to correct, as many people prefer fiction over facts. Fiction provides a narrative of Jamaica’s past which many people prefer to embrace. Let’s look at a few of the fictitious history claims that have taken hold in the country, in spite of efforts to present facts:

1. Fiction - Sabina Park was named for an enslaved woman called ‘Sabina Park’ who committed infanticide in protest against slavery.

Facts – There is evidence that Sabina Park Pen existed in 1781 with that name. It was owned by a slave merchant named Robert Rainford senior, who, with his coloured ‘housekeeper’ Isabella (Bella) Hall, had two sons. On his death in 1804, he left Sabina Park Pen to Bella, who lived there till her death in 1822. If the story of an enslaved woman called Sabina Park was reported in the Jamaica Journal of the 1820s, then quite likely this reported criminal trial occurred then, as this journal appears to have been a contemporary news magazine. Thus, ‘Sabina Park’ would have lived in the 1820s.

After 1822, the property changed owners several times and retained its name. Now, let’s think logically in the context of history, would a man who was a slave merchant name his pen property after an enslaved woman who was protesting slavery? This does not sound plausible in the Jamaica of the 18th and 19th centuries. Interestingly, in The Gleaner of August 17, 1870, there is a brief court report about a woman called ‘Sabina Park’ who was accused of robbery.

2. Fiction – Lady Musgrave Road was built to bypass Devon House, as its owner, George Stiebel, was a black man. Jamaica’s first millionaire.

Facts – George Stiebel was a very wealthy influential ‘coloured’ businessman and political figure in Jamaica from the 1870s onwards. He was related to Louis Verley, who lived across the road at Abbey Court Pen. On the other side, the acting British colonial secretary was residing at Melrose Lodge (at Waterloo ,now Popeye’s). George Stiebel purchased Devon Pen in 1879, the year of his daughter’s marriage. He did not reside there. It is reported that Stiebel resided at Shortwood Estate and in London prior to the completion of the construction of Devon House in 1881. Indications are that Stiebel and his family did not move into Devon House until 1882. There is evidence of the family living there from about 1883 onwards.

It is most likely that the road was named to honour Lady Musgrave for her work to help financially deprived women during her stay in Jamaica from mid-1877 to early 1883. Also, consider the location of Lady Musgrave Road, from Hope Road to the junction with Old Hope Road near Swallowfield, in the era of horse and buggy. Travelling from King’s House, would it make sense to use this road to bypass the Waterloo/Trafalgar/Hope Road intersection to get to St Andrew Parish Church where Sir Anthony and Lady Musgrave are reported at an official function in The Gleaner of December 1880? In July 1881, it is reported in The Gleaner that Lady Musgrave is much admired among the people in Jamaica.

3. Fiction – August Town was settled by runaway slaves from Mona and Papine estates who took refuge in Bedward’s church. People of August Town are maroons.

Facts – August Town was named to mark the month of Emancipation in 1834/38 and was settled by former enslaved people from the Mona and Papine estates. Alexander Bedward did not live during slavery. He was born in 1859 and died in 1930. August Town is not a maroon settlement.

Proper research should be done so that we can stick with facts and not disseminate fiction. Let us avoid mythologising Jamaica’s history. The facts tell a most compelling story without the need for further embellishments.

Can we avoid mythologising Jamaica’s history?

-Prepared by Marcia E. Thomas, history enthusiast, member of the Jamaica Historical Society and Built Heritage Jamaica