On 11 June 1866, an Order in Council established a new Crown Colony constitution for Jamaica, replacing the former representative arrangement with a Legislative Council under direct imperial authority. The new system concentrated power in the governor and appointed officials. Although the House of Assembly had long been dominated by propertied interests, its abolition further narrowed political avenues for Black Jamaicans, who had been pressing for rights and representation after emancipation.
On 24 October 1865, Baptist deacon and community leader Paul Bogle was hanged at Morant Bay after capture and trial under martial law. Bogle had organized resistance to court injustice and led the...
On 13 November 1865, the thirty-day period of martial law in Surrey County ended. The uprising had been suppressed within days, yet emergency rule continued while Black Jamaicans faced military...
On 23 January 1866, the Jamaica Royal Commission began its inquiry into the Morant Bay uprising and the colonial government’s response. The commissioners interviewed witnesses and examined the actions...
On 23 March 1866, the British Parliament enacted the Jamaica Act, providing that constitutional acts passed by Jamaica’s legislature would take effect after the Queen’s assent was proclaimed in the...
Dated 9 April 1866, the Jamaica Royal Commission report criticized the repression following Morant Bay. It found that martial law lasted longer than necessary, executions were too frequent,...
👉 An Order in Council establishes Jamaica’s Crown Colony constitution
Current
11 June 1866
On 11 June 1866, an Order in Council established a new Crown Colony constitution for Jamaica, replacing the former representative arrangement with a Legislative Council under direct imperial...
On 18 June 1866, Colonial Secretary Edward Cardwell sent Governor Henry Knight Storks a dispatch accepting the Royal Commission’s criticism of the repression. The British Government condemned Gordon’s...
On 28 November 1867, Law 8 of 1867 came into force, creating a new police force for Jamaica. Jamaican institutional histories place this reorganization in the aftermath of Morant Bay and the shift...
On 19 May 1884, the final Order in Council restructured Jamaica’s Legislative Council and restored a limited elected element. Nine of the Council’s members were elected, while the Governor, ex-officio...
On 29 April 1938, a disturbance occurred during weekly wage payment at the West Indies Sugar Company’s Frome Estate in Westmoreland. Workers had been waiting for employment at the new factory, while...
On 2 May 1938, a crowd of strikers gathered at the company’s office at Old Frome. Colonial authorities told Parliament that the crowd demolished the office and attacked staff and police, after which...
