Kingston is the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
and largest city of
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 ...
, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural
harbour
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
protected by the
Palisadoes
Palisadoes (word apparently of Portuguese origin) is the thin tombolo of sand that serves as a natural protection for Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. Norman Manley International Airport and the historic town of Port Royal are both on Palisadoes.
T ...
, a long
sand spit
A spit or sandspit is a deposition bar or beach landform off coasts or lake shores. It develops in places where re-entrance occurs, such as at a cove's headlands, by the process of longshore drift by longshore currents. The drift occurs due t ...
which connects the town of
Port Royal
Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...
and the
Norman Manley International Airport
Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country ...
to the rest of the island. In the
Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
, Kingston is the largest predominantly English-speaking city in the Caribbean.
The local government bodies of the parishes of
Kingston and
Saint Andrew
Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Peter ...
were amalgamated by the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation Act of 1923, to form the
Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation
The Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation (KSAC) is a unit of local government in Jamaica. It was formed in 1923 when the parishes of Saint Andrew and Kingston were administratively merged. It is divided into 15 Political Constituencies, which ar ...
(KSAC). Greater Kingston, or the "Corporate Area" refers to those areas under the KSAC; however, it does not solely refer to Kingston Parish, which only consists of the old downtown and Port Royal.
Kingston Parish had a population of 89,057, and St. Andrew Parish had a population of 573,369 in 2011
Kingston is only bordered by Saint Andrew to the east, west and north. The geographical border for the parish of Kingston encompasses the following communities:
Tivoli Gardens
Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli, is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampe ...
,
Denham Town
Denham Town is a predominantly residential neighbourhood in western Kingston, Jamaica. It has a reputation as one of Kingston's more violent areas. It was named in memory of Edward Brandis Denham, Governor of Jamaica 1935–1938.
Amenities
Th ...
,
Rae Town
Rae Town is a Kingston, Jamaica neighborhood by Kingston Harbor
Kingston Harbour in Jamaica is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the world. It is an almost landlocked area of water approximately long by wide. Most of it is deep enough t ...
, Kingston Gardens,
National Heroes Park
National Heroes Park (formerly King George VI Memorial Park) is a botanical garden in Kingston, Jamaica. The largest open space in Kingston at 50 acres in size, ,
Bournemouth Gardens
Bournemouth Gardens is a neighborhood in the eastern area of Kingston, Jamaica, off of Kingston Harbour
Kingston Harbour in Jamaica is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the world. It is an almost landlocked area of water approximately l ...
, Norman Gardens,
Rennock Lodge
Rennock Lodge is a neighbourhood in Kingston, Jamaica. J.E. Duerden reported finding pre-Columbian art in the area in 1879 in the form of two stone sculpted "images" described as amulets.
Notable people
* Outlaw Dennis Barth attended Rennock ...
, Springfield and Port Royal, along with portions of
Rollington Town
Rollington Town is a neighborhood in the area of Kingston, Jamaica. Part of it is in Kingston Parish. A campus of Kingston College is in Rollington Town.
Notable events
In 2017 Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) suspended service on a line ...
, Franklyn Town, and Allman Town.
The city proper is bounded by Six Miles to the west,
Stony Hill to the north, Papine to the northeast, and
Harbour View to the east, which are communities in urban and suburban Saint Andrew. Communities in rural St. Andrew such as Gordon Town, Mavis Bank, Lawrence Tavern, Mt. Airy, and Bull Bay would not be described as being in Kingston city.
Two districts make up the central area of Kingston: the historic Downtown and New Kingston. Both are served by
Norman Manley International Airport
Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country ...
and also by the smaller and primarily domestic
Tinson Pen Aerodrome
Tinson Pen Aerodrome in Kingston, Jamaica is the largest of Jamaica's three domestic airports. It is located on Marcus Garvey Drive, a major highway that links Kingston to the nearby residential community of Portmore. The airport is also loc ...
.
History
![Map Kingston 1897](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Map_Kingston_1897.jpg)
Kingston was founded in July 22, 1692,
shortly after the
1692 earthquake that devastated
Port Royal
Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...
in 1692; the original section of the city which was situated at the bottom of the Liguanea Plains was laid out to house survivors of that earthquake.
Before the
earthquake
An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...
, Kingston's functions were purely
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
.
The earthquake survivors set up a camp on the sea front. Approximately two thousand people died due to mosquito-borne diseases. Initially the people lived in a tented camp on Colonel Barry's ''Hog Crawle''. The town did not begin to grow until after the further destruction of Port Royal by fire in 1703. Surveyor John Goffe drew up a plan for the town based on a grid bounded by North, East, West, and Harbour Streets. The new grid system of the town was designed to facilitate commerce, particularly the system of main thoroughfares across, which allowed transportation between the port and plantations farther inland.
By 1716, it had become the largest town and the centre of trade for
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 ...
. The government sold land to people with the regulation that they purchase no more than the amount of the land that they owned in
Port Royal
Port Royal is a village located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest city in the Caribbean, functioning as the centre of shipping and co ...
, and only land on the sea front. Gradually wealthy merchants began to move their residences from above their businesses to the farm lands north on the plains of
Liguanea
Liguanea ( ) is an area of the island of Jamaica. Its name came from the language of the Yamaye people who currently inhabit some of the island's rural areas in Cornwall County, Jamaica, Cornwall County. and named it after the iguana lizard that ...
.
The first free school, Wolmers's, was founded in 1729 and there was a theatre, first on Harbour Street and then moved in 1774 to North Parade.
Both are still in existence.
In 1755 the
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
,
Sir Charles Knowles, had decided to transfer the government offices from
Spanish Town
Spanish Town ( jam, label=Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. Th ...
to Kingston. It was thought by some to be an unsuitable location for the Assembly in proximity to the moral distractions of Kingston, and the next governor rescinded the Act. However, by 1780 the population of Kingston was 11,000, and the merchants began lobbying for the administrative capital to be transferred from Spanish Town, which was by then eclipsed by the commercial activity in Kingston.
The Church of St. Thomas, on King Street, the chief thoroughfare, was first built before 1699 but was rebuilt after the earthquake in 1907.
By the end of the 18th century, the city contained more than 3,000 brick buildings.
The harbour fostered trade, and played part in several naval wars of the 18th century. Kingston took over the functions of Spanish Town (the capital at the time). These functions included agriculture, commercial, processing and a main transport hub to and from Kingston and other sections of the island.
In 1788, Kingston had a population of 25,000, which was about a tenth of the overall population of the island. One in every four people living in Kingston was white, and there was a large population of
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 ...
there too, meaning that two out of every five people living in Kingston were free. The remaining three-fifths of Kingston's population was made up of black slaves.
[Christer Petley, ''White Fury'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), p. 38.]
The government passed an act to transfer the government offices to Kingston from Spanish Town, which occurred in 1872.
In 1882, there was a large fire in Kingston. In 1892, electricity first came to Jamaica, when it was supplied to a coal-burning steam-generating plant on Gold Street in Kingston.
![Kingston (1907)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/Kingston_%281907%29.jpg)
In 1907, 800 people died in another earthquake known as the
1907 Kingston earthquake
The 1907 Kingston earthquake which shook the capital of the island of Jamaica with a magnitude of 6.2 on the moment magnitude scale on Monday January 14, at about 3:30 p.m. local time (20:36 Coordinated universal time, UTC), is described by t ...
, destroying nearly all the historical buildings south of Parade in the city.
That was when a restriction of no more than of height was instituted on buildings in the city centre. These three-story-high buildings were built with reinforced concrete. Construction on King Street in the city was the first area to breach this building code.
During the 1930s, island-wide riots led to the development of
trade union
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...
s and political parties to represent workers.
The city became home to the
Mona campus of the
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...
founded in 1948, with 24 medical students.
In the 1960s, the international attention of
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
music at that time coincided with the expansion and development of of the Kingston city centre waterfront area; by the 1980s, most of the old buildings were demolished by construction companies and the entire waterfront was re-developed with hotels, shops, offices, cultural centres, and cruise and cargo ship facilities.
In 1966, Kingston was the host city to the
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
.
![Downtown Kingston waterfront](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/Downtown_Kingston_waterfront.jpg)
In the 1980 general elections, the
democratic socialist
Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...
People's National Party
The People's National Party (PNP) is a Social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by independence campaigner Osmond Theodore Fairclough. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in ...
(PNP) government was voted out, and subsequent governments have been more market-oriented and focused on tourism and relations with the United States, which reflected the "turbulent" and "volatile" era, in which Cuba and the United States fought for cultural control over Jamaica.
In the 1990s, crime increased in the region and several riots were reporting, including one in 1999 against a rise of fuel prices.
In 1999, the Jamaican government ordered army troops to patrol the streets of Kingston in an attempt to curb the violent crime.
In 2001, army troops and armoured vehicles used force to "restore order" in Kingston after "three days of unrest leave at least 27 people dead".
In 2010, the
Kingston unrest, an armed conflict between
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 ...
's
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
and
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
forces in Kingston and the
Shower Posse
The Shower Posse is a Jamaican gang, started by Lester Lloyd Coke, which is involved with drug and arms smuggling. Its home is in Tivoli Gardens in Jamaica, but it primarily operates in the Canadian province of Ontario and the US states of New ...
drug cartel
A drug cartel is any criminal organization with the intention of supplying drug trafficking operations. They range from loosely managed agreements among various drug traffickers to formalized commercial enterprises. The term was applied when the ...
, attracted international attention.
The violence, which largely took place over 24–25 May, killed at least 73 civilians and wounded at least 35 others.
Four soldiers and police were also killed.
Demographics
The majority of the population of Kingston is of
African descent
Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...
. Large minority ethnic groups include
East Indians
The East Indians, also called East Indian Catholics or Bombay East Indians, are an ethno-religious Indian Christian community native to the Seven Islands of Bombay and the neighbouring Mumbai Metropolitan Area of the Konkan Division.
Histo ...
and Chinese, who came to the country as
indentured servants
Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract, called an "indenture", may be entered "voluntarily" for purported eventual compensation or debt repayment, ...
in the late 19th century. The Chinese occupy important roles in Jamaica's economy especially in the retail markets in Downtown Kingston and the wider metropolitan area. There is also a minority of
Europeans
Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...
, mostly descending from immigrants from Germany and Great Britain.
Syrians
Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...
and
Lebanese form one of the most influential ethnic groups in not only Kingston, but the entire island. Though a minority ethnic group, the
Lebanese were able to give Jamaica one of its prime ministers,
Edward Philip George Seaga
Edward Philip George Seaga ( or ; 28 May 1930 – 28 May 2019) was a Jamaican politician. He was the Prime Minister of Jamaica#Prime Ministers of Jamaica, fifth Prime Minister of Jamaica, from 1980 to 1989, and the leader of the Jamaica Labour ...
. Multi-racial Jamaicans continue to form the second largest racial group, and there is also a small Jewish population in the city.
Demographic breakdown
* 79.2%
Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
* 12.8%
Multiracial
Mixed race people are people of more than one race or ethnicity. A variety of terms have been used both historically and presently for mixed race people in a variety of contexts, including ''multiethnic'', ''polyethnic'', occasionally ''bi-ethn ...
* 5.2%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
* 3.4%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
Religion
There is a wide variety of
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
churches in the city, most of which are
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
. The chief denominations are
Church of God,
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
,
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
,
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
,
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
,
Seventh-day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventism, Adventist Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the Names of the days of the week#Numbered days of the week, seventh day of the ...
and
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement .
There is a strong Roman Catholic community, with the
Holy Trinity Cathedral which is the seat of metropolitan archbishop and was consecrated in 1911, as well a few Catholic schools and institutions such as the
Immaculate Conception High School, St Francis Primary and Infant School,
Holy Childhood High School which was founded and is owned by the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of our Lady of Perpetual Help (FMS) in Jamaica.
Afro-Christian
syncretic
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...
religions such as the
Rastafari movement
Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control o ...
also have a significant following.
The
Shaare Shalom Synagogue
Kahal Kadosh Sha'are Shalom (''Holy Congregation of the Gates of Peace''), also known as the United Congregation of Israelites, is a historic synagogue in the city of Kingston on the island of Jamaica.
History
With the influx of Jews to Jamai ...
serves Kingston's
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
population. The city also has communities of
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
,
Buddhists
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, and
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
. The Islamic Council of Jamaica and the Islamic Education and Dawah Centre are both located in Kingston. There are three units of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
in the city.
Economy
![Air jamaica building from the west](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Air_jamaica_building_from_the_west.jpg)
Kingston plays a central role in Jamaica's economy. The vast majority of economic activity takes place within Kingston, and as most government ministries are located in the city, it is a key force in legislation in regards to Jamaica's finances. The high population density of the capital city means that the majority of monetary transactions occur in Kingston – stimulating much of Jamaica's local economy. The city is also home to the highest number of
schools
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...
,
hospitals
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emerge ...
and
universities
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
anywhere in Jamaica. Kingston is also the island's main transportation hub
and its largest seaport.
Many multinational conglomerates and financial institutions are headquartered in and around the Kingston Metropolitan Area.
Air Jamaica
Air Jamaica was the national airline of Jamaica. It was owned and operated by Caribbean Airlines from May 2011 until the cessation of operations in 2015. Caribbean Airlines Limited, headquartered in Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago, had administrati ...
was headquartered in Kingston. The idea of making Jamaica an
International Financial Centre has also been proposed as a way to boost the city's financial sector and create more jobs, especially for professionals such as accountants and lawyers.
The city's major industries include tourism, apparel manufacturing, and shipping. Many international exports are traded through the city's seaport, with major exports including bauxite, sugar and coffee.
The city is also a major tourist destination, and tourism is one of its largest sources of economic activity.
The city has suffered economic troubles recently, however, along with the rest of the country of Jamaica.
Plans to help the city's economy have made downtown Kingston the subject of numerous redevelopment plans.
There have also been attempts to grow the manufacturing industry in the area and to attract call centres to the city.
Geography and climate
![Kingston, Jamaica](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Kingston%2C_Jamaica.JPG)
Kingston is surrounded by the
Blue Mountains, Red Hills, Long Mountain and the
Kingston Harbour
Kingston Harbour in Jamaica is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the world. It is an almost landlocked area of water approximately long by wide. Most of it is deep enough to accommodate large ships, even close to shore. It is bordered to th ...
. The city is on the
Liguanea
Liguanea ( ) is an area of the island of Jamaica. Its name came from the language of the Yamaye people who currently inhabit some of the island's rural areas in Cornwall County, Jamaica, Cornwall County. and named it after the iguana lizard that ...
plain, an alluvial plain alongside the Hope River. Kingston experiences frequent earthquakes, including the 1907 earthquake.
Kingston has a tropical climate, specifically a
tropical wet-and-dry climate (''Aw/As''), that borders on a hot
semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-ar ...
(''BSh''). characterised by a wet season from May to November, which coincides with the hurricane season, and a dry season from December to April. During the dry season, there is not much rainfall, however, cold and stationary fronts occur at this time, and often bring heavy showers, especially in March. Kingston is in the
rain shadow
A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side.
Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...
of the Blue Mountains; therefore, little to none of the moisture carried by the Northeast
Trade Winds
The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisph ...
falls over Kingston, causing Kingston to be very dry in comparison to
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
and
Saint Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
on the windward side of the Blue Mountains. Kingston is on a coastal location, hence it comes under the influence of the sea, though dense urban development can negate this effect. In the 21st century, Kingston has experienced temperatures as high as and as low as . Between 1895 and 1990, the total average rainfall was recorded at , the highest monthly average rainfall recorded in October at , and the lowest monthly average rainfall recorded in March at .
Fog, hail, thunder and tornadoes are all extremely rare.
Housing
In 1848 the Jamaican government expanded Kingston by constructing new homes in the west, north and east of the city. This housing became highly segregated in terms of race and class and by 1860 the majority of white elites lived on the outskirts of the city.
As Kingston's population grew, existing settlements became so densely occupied that marshes in the southwest were filled in to allow the development of new housing. By 1935, continued population growth and poverty resulted in the emergence of slums in the east and west of the city. Later these areas were demolished by the government and residents were rehoused in
Denham Town
Denham Town is a predominantly residential neighbourhood in western Kingston, Jamaica. It has a reputation as one of Kingston's more violent areas. It was named in memory of Edward Brandis Denham, Governor of Jamaica 1935–1938.
Amenities
Th ...
. This development accommodated 3,000 people, leaving more than one sixth of displaced resident homeless. Consequently, overcrowding persisted throughout the city and cramped living condition resulted in public health issues.
Suburbanization
Suburbanization is a population shift from central urban areas into suburbs, resulting in the formation of (sub)urban sprawl. As a consequence of the movement of households and businesses out of the city centers, low-density, peripheral urba ...
also became significant and by the 1960s this residential area spread to the foothills of the Blue Mountains. Subsequently, the lack of space and continued consumerism meant this area then expanded to the east of the mountains.
In Kingston, 20% of the population now live in squatter settlements. Contrastingly, Kingston is also home to Red Hills, Norbrook, Cherry Gardens, Stony Hill, Jack's Hill, suburbs that hold some of the most expensive houses in all of Jamaica.
Parks
The city of Kingston is home to a number of urban parks which are frequently transformed to accommodate various events and festivities on the Jamaican calendar. The most popular parks include: Emancipation Park, Hope Gardens, Devon House, National Heroes' Park,
St William Grant Park and Mandela Park.
Emancipation Park
The Liguanea Club, a recreational and social club for the upper class in society, located on Knutsford Boulevard, owned over of land including the former Liguanea Park now the site of Emancipation Park. The club gave the land measuring seven acres as a gift to the Jamaican Government.
Several government members argued that the land should be converted into a business district, while others felt a multi-functional entertainment complex should be built on the site. The large financial input needed for either venture, was not forthcoming. In 2002 Cabinet granted approval for the transfer of the land to the National Housing Trust on the condition that a park was built and maintained at that location. The land was transferred for one Jamaican dollar.
The park is well known for the 11 ft. (approximately 3m) high bronze sculpture done by Jamaican artist Laura Facey, situated at the park's main entrance. This prominent sculpture comprises two naked black male and female statues gazing to the skies – symbolic of their triumphant rise from the horrors of slavery. The statue was unveiled in July 2003, in time for the park's first anniversary which caused an out cry from the Jamaican populace who believed that the blatant nudity and generous bodily proportions of the figures were very inappropriate to depict the freedom of black people.
Hope Gardens
The Royal Botanical Gardens at Hope, popularly called Hope Gardens serves as a national attraction. The Hope Gardens is a part of the of land making it the largest botanical garden in the English-speaking Caribbean. The land situated by the foothills of the Blue Mountains was originally owned by Major Richard Hope from whom it got its name. Two hundred acres of this land was obtained by the Government of Jamaica in 1880 and was originally established as a plant introduction and crop-testing facility for plants such as pineapple, cocoa, coffee and tobacco. The formal Botanical Gardens were laid out on approximately of this land with the assistance of personnel from the Kew Gardens in England.
In the 1950s, the Queen, after visiting the island and being pleased with the state of the gardens, gave permission for it to be called the Royal Botanical Gardens, Hope. The Gardens have many exotic species along with some endemic trees of Jamaica. Over the years, the ravages of hurricanes and other disasters have resulted in the loss of a significant number of species. However, there are still some prominent trees and popular sites to be viewed in the Gardens. At Hope Gardens, visitors can view a number of other features including the Coconut Museum, the Sunken Gardens, the Orchid House, the Lily Pond, the Maze and Palm Avenue.
The Hope Gardens has an adjoining zoo referred to as Hope Gardens Zoo. The gardens and zoo are undergoing redevelopment to improve the physical landscape and the animal inventory as a part of Bring Back The Hope campaign.
Transport
Road
The
St William Grant Park (Parade) in the heart of downtown Kingston is the starting point for three of
Jamaica's four A roads, namely the A1 (Kingston to
Lucea), the A3 (Kingston to
Saint Ann's Bay
Saint Ann's Bay is a settlement in Jamaica, the capital of Saint Ann Parish. It had a population of 10,961 at the 1991 census.
Musicians Floyd Lloyd and Burning Spear, and Marcus Garvey were born in the town.
History
When Christopher Columbus ...
) and the A4 (Kingston to
Annotto Bay
Annotto Bay is a town in the parish of Saint Mary in Jamaica. It was once an active port on the north side. This town was previously named ‘Guayguata’ by the Tainos, it is named from the abundance of the Annatto trees in the area. The Spani ...
), while the city itself is provided with a dense network of trunk, main, secondary and minor roads. It also consists of the
Highway 2000, Jamaica which runs through
Portmore,
Ocho Rios
Ocho Rios (Spanish for "Eight Rivers") is a town in the parish of Saint Ann on the north coast of Jamaica, and is more widely referred to as ''Ochi'' by locals. Beginning as a sleepy fishing village, Ocho Rios has seen explosive growth in the ...
and
Mandeville. A new section of
Highway 2000, Jamaica (called "T3") was recently opened to the public. It has greatly reduced the travel time between Kingston and Montego Bay from 4 hours to a mere hours.
Kingston is served well by a modern bus system, mini buses and taxis, which operate throughout the city with major hubs at Parade,
Cross Roads,
Half Way Tree
Half Way Tree is a neighbourhood in the city of Kingston, Jamaica. It is the parish capital of St. Andrew.
Half Way Tree is served by the Kingston 10 post office.
In recent years, as a result of crime and violence in Downtown Kingston and Cr ...
and elsewhere.
[Table 3.12 (PDF page 66) ff.](_blank)
, Annual Transport Statistics Report: Jamaica in Figures 2003–2004, Jamaica Ministry of Transport and Works.
Buses
In June 1898, the existing mule car service was phased out and a transition to electric trams, initially operated by the West India Electric Company and later by the Jamaica Public Service Company, was undertaken. This transition to the electric tram was completed on 31 March 1899. This service continued to operate, but the inflexibility of a tram service could not keep pace with a growing city, and the tram service ceased to operate on 7 August 1948.
Between 1948 and 1953 a motor bus service was operated by a company called Jamaica Utilities. The government revoked its franchise in 1953.
From 1953 to 1983 the
Jamaica Omnibus Service
The Jamaica Omnibus Service (JOS), operated a municipal bus service for the Kingston Metropolitan Area, from 1953 until it was wound up in 1983.
Pre JOS
In June 1898, the existing mule car service in Kingston was phased out and a transition to ...
operated a service, which at its peak consisted of over 600 buses and served an area spanning Spanish Town, Border, Mt. James, Bull Bay and Port Royal. It was wound up by the government in 1983 after being nationalised in 1974.
Kingston is served well by a modern bus system, the
Jamaica Urban Transit Company
The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) is the government owned public transport service operating within the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR), Spanish Town and Portmore.
The company is headquartered in Spanish Town with its prima ...
(JUTC), mini buses, and taxis, which operate throughout the city with major hubs at Parade,
Cross Roads,
Half Way Tree
Half Way Tree is a neighbourhood in the city of Kingston, Jamaica. It is the parish capital of St. Andrew.
Half Way Tree is served by the Kingston 10 post office.
In recent years, as a result of crime and violence in Downtown Kingston and Cr ...
and elsewhere.
Rail
The now disused
Kingston railway station served the
Kingston to Montego Bay main line with branches from
Spanish Town to Ewarton,
Bog Walk to Port Antonio,
Linstead to New Works and
May pen to Frankfield.
The railway station opened in 1845 and closed in October 1992 when all passenger traffic on Jamaica's railways abruptly ceased.
[The rise and fall of railways in Jamaica, 1845–1975 – Pg18](_blank)
, ''Journal of Transport History'', March 2003.
Air
Kingston's international airport is
Norman Manley International Airport
Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country ...
while
Tinson Pen Aerodrome
Tinson Pen Aerodrome in Kingston, Jamaica is the largest of Jamaica's three domestic airports. It is located on Marcus Garvey Drive, a major highway that links Kingston to the nearby residential community of Portmore. The airport is also loc ...
provides domestic services.
Sea
Historically, the Kingston waterfront was Jamaica's main port with many
finger piers at which freighters and passenger liners could dock. More recently, with the
containerisation
Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers (also called shipping containers and ISO containers). Containerization is also referred as "Container Stuffing" or "Container Loading", which is the pro ...
of freight, the port has moved to Newport West.
Law enforcement
Jamaica's police force, the
Jamaica Constabulary Force
The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is the official police force of Jamaica.
Role
The force is the arm of the Ministry which is responsible for the maintenance of law and order, the prevention and detection of crime, the investigation of all ...
, is based on Old Hope Road near
Liguanea
Liguanea ( ) is an area of the island of Jamaica. Its name came from the language of the Yamaye people who currently inhabit some of the island's rural areas in Cornwall County, Jamaica, Cornwall County. and named it after the iguana lizard that ...
. Smaller police stations, such as Hunt's Bay, Matilda's Corner and Half-Way-Tree, are dispersed across the Corporate Area. The Supreme Court of Jamaica is also located in Kingston. Other courts, such as the Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate's Court,
Gun Court
The Gun Court is the branch of the Jamaican judicial system that tries criminal cases involving firearms. The court was established by Parliament in 1974 to combat rising gun violence, and empowered to try suspects ''in camera'', without a jury ...
, Traffic Court and Family Court, make Kingston their home. The
Jamaica Defence Force
The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is the combined military of Jamaica, consisting of an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The JDF is based upon the British military model, with ...
(JDF) has its headquarters at
Up Park Camp
Up-Park Camp (often Up Park Camp) was the headquarters of the British Army in Jamaica from the late 18th century to independence in 1962. From that date, it has been the headquarters of the Jamaica Defence Force. It is located in the heart ...
near New Kingston and Cross Roads. The JDF also operates a major naval base at Port Royal.
Fire service
Fire response in Kingston is provided by the
Jamaica Fire Brigade, the national fire service. The service operates from fire stations spread throughout the Corporate Area. Fire stations are located at
*York Park (HQ)
*Half-Way-Tree
*Rollington Town
*Port Royal
*
Norman Manley International Airport
Norman Manley International Airport , formerly Palisadoes Airport, is an international airport serving Kingston, Jamaica and is located south of the island away from the centre of New Kingston. It is the second busiest airport in the country ...
*Stony Hill
*Trench Town
*
Kingston Harbour
Kingston Harbour in Jamaica is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the world. It is an almost landlocked area of water approximately long by wide. Most of it is deep enough to accommodate large ships, even close to shore. It is bordered to th ...
(Fire Boat)
Media
The
Gleaner Company
The Gleaner Company Ltd. is a newspaper publishing enterprise in Jamaica. Established in 1834 by Joshua and Jacob De Cordova, the company's primary product is ''The Gleaner'', a morning broadsheet published six days each week. It also publishes ...
, the ''
Jamaica Observer
''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...
'' and the ''Sunday Herald'', three of Jamaica's large newspaper companies, make their home in Kingston. Several television and radio stations including
Television Jamaica
Television Jamaica is one of Jamaica's two major television stations. It is a subsidiary of the RJRGleaner Communications Group. Television Jamaica has a number of managers, the general manager being Claire Grant who was appointed the position in ...
(TVJ), CVM TV,
RJR 94 FM
Radio Jamaica, also known as RJR 94 FM, and formerly Real Jamaican Radio, is a broadcast company in Jamaica with headquarters in Kingston.
History
On 9 July 1950, a commercial license to operate as a subsidiary of the British Rediffusion Grou ...
,
TBC Radio
TBC Radio is a Christian radio station in Kingston, Jamaica, broadcasting on 88.5 MHz FM. It is owned by Tarrant Baptist Church.
TBC Radio airs a variety of Christian programs including programs that are locally produced and syndicated ...
88.5 FM, Hitz 92 FM, FAME 95 FM, LOVE TV, ZIP 103, Kool 97 FM and LOVE FM, are all based in Kingston.
Sports
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, including Test matches, is played at
Sabina Park
Sabina Park is a cricket ground and the home of the Kingston Cricket Club, and is the only Test cricket ground in Kingston, Jamaica.
History
Sabina Park was originally a Pen (urban residence and adjoining land of a wealthy merchant, shopkeep ...
.
The capital is home to five
association football
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
teams who play in Jamaica's
National Premier League
The National Premier League, also known for sponsorship purposes as the Red Stripe Premier League, is sanctioned by the Jamaican Football Federation as the top division for men's association football in Jamaica. Contested between 12 clubs, it op ...
. The teams are
Arnett Gardens,
Boys' Town,
Harbour View,
Maverley Hughenden and
Waterhouse. Olympic Sprinter
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce Order of Distinction, OD, Order of Jamaica , OJ (née Fraser; born December 27, 1986) is a Jamaican track and field Sprint (running), sprinter competing in the 60 metres, 60 metres, 100 metres, 100 m and 200 m ...
also was born and raised in Waterhouse
Telecommunications
Fixed voice and broadband
Fixed voice and broadband services in Kingston are provided by either
FLOW and
Digicel
Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide.
Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Ja ...
(via their new Digicel Play service which is exclusive to the Kingston Metropolitan Area). FLOW uses a
Hybrid Fibre and Coaxial network to provide IPTV, VoIP & POTS and broadband capable of speeds up to 100 Mbit/s. FLOW also uses a Copper network to provide
POTS and
ADSL
Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. ...
capable of speeds up to 12 Mbit/s. Digicel uses a
GPON
G.984,
commonly known as GPON (gigabit-capable passive optical network), is a standard for passive optical networks (PON) published by the ITU-T. It is commonly used to implement the outermost link to the customer (last kilometre or last mile) o ...
fibre-optic network, providing IPTV, VoIP and broadband speeds of up to 200 Mbit/s. Digicel's Fibre-optic network boasts capacity of up to 10 Gbit/s.
Mobile voice and broadband
Mobile voice and broadband services in Kingston are dominated by incumbents,
FLOW and
Digicel
Digicel is a Jamaican and Caribbean mobile phone network and home entertainment provider operating in 33 markets worldwide.
Digicel has operated in several countries, including Guyana, Fiji, Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Ja ...
. Both carriers provide GSM, EDGE, HSPA, HSPA+ and LTE connectivity in and around the city.
FLOW offers HSPA+ of up to 21 Mbit/s on 850 MHz and 1900 MHz. FLOW also offers DC-HSDPA (commonly known as DC-HSPA+) allowing capable devices speeds of up to 42 Mbit/s on contiguous 1900 MHz spectrum.
Digicel also offers 21 Mbit/s HSPA+ however, they also offer DC-HSDPA (commonly known as DC-HSPA+) allowing capable devices speeds of up to 42 Mbit/s on contiguous 850 MHz spectrum. Digicel was also first to market with LTE in Jamaica. Their network covers all of Kingston Parish and most of the populous areas in the Kingston Metropolitan Area, capable of speeds of up to 75 Mbit/s on 10 MHz of Band 17 spectrum.
FLOW also offers LTE in Kingston. FLOW's LTE network is accessible on Band 4 or AWS spectrum. Due to the network delaying its rollout to acquire more spectrum, its network is theoretically faster than both Digicel and Caricel, to the tune of 150 Mbit/s (20 MHz of Bandwidth) with further plans to add low band spectrum, possibly increasing theoretical speeds up to 225 Mbit/s.
Kingston is also home to Caricel, Jamaica's newest telecoms operator, which deployed its LTE network first to the Kingston Metropolitan Area.
In addition, both carriers have their Jamaican head offices in the city (with the exception of Digicel, which has its company headquarters in Kingston rather than a regional office there as is the case with FLOW, which is based in Miami).
Postal service
Postal services in Kingston and throughout the island are provided by the Postal Corporation of Jamaica, the national post office of Jamaica. Services include domestic and international mail delivery, post office boxes, registered mail, priority mail (local courier), parcel delivery, express mail service (international courier), advertising mail and provision of post office boxes.
Kingston is divided in several postal zones enumerated as follows;
Institutions
Kingston, as the capital, is the financial, cultural, economic and industrial centre of Jamaica. Many financial institutions are based in Kingston, and the city boasts the largest number of hospitals, schools, universities and cultural attractions of any urban area on the island. Notable Kingston landmarks include the
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...
,
Jamaica Defence Force
The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is the combined military of Jamaica, consisting of an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The JDF is based upon the British military model, with ...
Museum, and 56 Hope Road, Bob Marley Museum. A United Nations agency, the International Seabed Authority is headquartered in Kingston.
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Kingston is Twin towns and sister cities, twinned with:
* Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States
* Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
* Topeka, Kansas, United States
* Gibraltar (United Kingdom)
* Coventry, England, United Kingdom
* Guadalajara, Mexico
* Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
* Panevėžys, Lithuania
* Windhoek, Namibia
Notable people
See also
* List of metropolitan areas in the West Indies
* Roy Anthony Bridge
* Trenchtown
References
Bibliography
External links
Kingston & St Andrew Corporation website
{{Authority control
Kingston, Jamaica,
Populated places in Jamaica
Populated coastal places in Jamaica
Capitals in the Caribbean
Capitals in North America
Populated places established in 1692
Port cities in the Caribbean
1692 establishments in the British Empire