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 officials and nominated members retained substantial influence. The Governor also kept powers to add officials or override the Council on matters declared of paramount importance. The reform followed public agitation over Crown Colony rule, but voting remained restricted and most elected seats initially went to white men; this was a constrained concession within colonial rule, not popular self-government.
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,...
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...
👉 A limited elected element returns to Jamaica’s Legislative Council
Current
19 May 1884
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...
On 23 May 1938, labor disturbances in Kingston included strikes by wharf, transport and public-service workers amid island-wide demands for higher wages. In a statement to Parliament, the Colonial...
On 26 May 1938, serious disturbances occurred in Spanish Town during the wider labor uprising. The Colonial Secretary reported eight casualties among police and the crowd, none fatal, and said order...
On 18 September 1938, Norman Manley and fellow organizers launched the People’s National Party (PNP) at Kingston’s Ward Theatre, in the wake of the island-wide labor unrest. The party connected...
