Edward Jordon (1800-1869), or Edward Jordan, was a leading campaigner for equal rights for
free people of color
In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not ...
in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
during the nineteenth century.
Background
Edward was born in the
Colony of Jamaica on 6 December 1800, the son of a white man from
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...
with the same name, and a Jamaican black woman named Grace. Jordon found employment as a clerk in the firm of James Brydon, a
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
merchant, who later terminated Jordon's service because he objected to the free coloured's growing participation in the campaign for equal rights for Jamaica's free people of colour. Jordon wrote in reply, "I regret to learn that my political sentiments should, in your opinion, render a separation necessary."
Campaigner for equal rights
In 1823, the free coloureds of Jamaica presented a petition to the Jamaican Assembly asking for restrictions placed upon them to be lifted, and that free people of colour be allowed to testify in a court of law. However, the Assembly rejected the petition, and continued to deny free coloureds equal rights. The Jamaican colonial government deported the leaders of the free coloureds,
Louis Celeste Lecesne
Louis Celeste Lecesne (c. 1796 or 1798 – 22 November 1847), also known as Lewis Celeste Lecesne, was an anti-slavery activist from the Caribbean islands.
Lecesne was on a committee to improve the rights of free men of colour. He was arrested ...
and John Escoffery, in an attempt to destroy the movement. However, young Jordon joined the movement at this time, becoming a member of the Kingston Coloured Committee. His name is first mentioned in the minutes of a committee meeting on 12 May 1823.
Jordon wanted to start a newspaper, but a lack of finance prevented him from doing so. Instead, together with another leader of the community of free people of colour,
Robert Osborn (Jamaica)
Robert Osborn (1800–1878) was a Jamaican newspaper editor and campaigner for equal rights for free people of color.
Campaigner for equal rights
Robert was born on 5 April 1800, the son of Kean Osborn, a white Jamaican planter of Scottish descent ...
, they started a bookshop. In 1828, from the success of this bookshop, Jordon and Osborn launched their own newspaper, ''The Watchman''. Unlike other newspapers, which expressed the views of white planters, ''The Watchman'' presented issues of importance to the Jamaican free coloureds, and it forged ties with the humanitarian movement and the
Anti-Slavery Society in England.
In 1827, a petition was presented by another free coloured leader,
Richard Hill (Jamaica) Richard Hill (1795 - 1872), was a Jamaican lawyer and leader of the free people of colour, when they campaigned for equal rights in the early nineteenth century. In addition to his legal practice, Hill was also a naturalist, a poet, and an educator, ...
, to the House of Commons. In 1830, when Jordon and his colleagues presented another petition to the Jamaican Assembly, enough pressure was brought to bear to grant free coloureds the rights to vote and to run for public office.
Arrest
During the Christmas period of 1831, an educated slave and Baptist deacon named
Samuel Sharpe
Samuel Sharpe, or Sharp (1801 – 23 May 1832), also known as Sam Sharpe, was an enslaved Jamaican who was the leader of the widespread 1831–32 Baptist War slave rebellion (also known as the Christmas Rebellion) in Jamaica.
He was proclaim ...
led a slave rebellion that became known as the
Baptist War. The colonial authorities suppressed the revolt with great brutality, and used the opportunity to clamp down on opposition. When ''The Watchman'' printed an editorial calling on the Jamaican authorities to "knock off the fetters, and let the oppressed go free", Jordon was arrested and charged with sedition.
Jordon was eventually acquitted of sedition, but he had to spend six months in prison.
After emancipation, Jordon converted ''The Watchman'' into ''The Morning Journal''.
Political career
The emancipation of the slaves that ''The Watchman'' campaigned for came to fruition when the House of Commons passed an Act abolishing it in 1833. The Act took effect on 1 August 1834, with the creation of the Apprenticeship, which Hill later complained was nothing more than an extension of slavery.
In 1835, Jordon was elected as a member of the Assembly, representing the parish of
Kingston
Kingston may refer to:
Places
* List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated:
** Kingston, Jamaica
** Kingston upon Hull, England
** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia
** Kingston, Ontario, Canada
** Kingston upon Thames, ...
. Jordon became a leader of the informal Kings House Party, or Coloured Party, which opposed the interests of the established elite, the Planters Party. Jordon and the Kings House Party successfully opposed attempts by the Planters Party to increase the property qualification for voting, which would have effectively removed a lot of better-off black and coloured voters from the rolls.
Jordon represented Kingston for 30 years, between 1835 and 1865. In 1852, Jordon was appointed to the Legislative Council, which advised the governor. In 1854, Jordon was the first man of colour to be elected mayor of Kingston, a post he held for 14 years. From 1861-4, Jordon was the first non-white man to become speaker of the Assembly.
In 1864, Jordon was appointed receiver general, and a year later, island secretary. In 1865, when the
Morant Bay Rebellion
The Morant Bay Rebellion (11 October 1865) began with a protest march to the courthouse by hundreds of people led by preacher Paul Bogle in Morant Bay, Jamaica. Some were armed with sticks and stones. After seven men were shot and killed by th ...
took place, governor
Edward John Eyre used the opportunity to persuade the Assembly to abolish itself, ending the growing influence of the people of colour in elective politics. The practice of barring non-whites from public office was reinstated. Jordon bitterly opposed this reactionary measure.
Death and legacy
In 1869, Jordon died. In 1875, a statue in his honour was unveiled at what is now
St. William Grant
William Wellington Wellwood Grant OD (1894 – 27 August 1977) was a Jamaican labour activist. He was known as "St. William Grant", "St." presumably meaning "Sergeant" in reference to his military or UNIA service.
He is regarded as the person w ...
Park in Kingston.
The
National Library of Jamaica
The National Library of Jamaica is the national library of Jamaica. It is located at 12 East Street in Kingston, Jamaica. The library provides access to various collection of Jamaican literature, maps, films, newspapers, photographs, and more.
...
produced a video about the story of Jordon.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordon, Edward
19th-century Jamaican people
Jamaican activists
1800 births
1869 deaths
Mayors of Kingston, Jamaica
Free people of color