Portland, with its capital town

Port Antonio Port Antonio is the capital of the parish of Portland on the northeastern coast of Jamaica, about from Kingston. It had a population of 12,285 in 1982 and 13,246 in 1991. It is the island's third largest port, famous as a shipping point for b ...

, is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

located on

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 northeast coast. It is situated to the north of St Thomas and to the east of St Mary in Surrey County. It is one of the rural areas of Jamaica, containing part of the Blue Mountains, where the Jamaican Maroon communities of Moore Town and Charles Town are located.

Geography and demography

The parish is situated at latitude 18°10' N and longitude 75°27'W. It extends from the highest peaks of the Blue Mountains, above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

, down to the north coast, and is noted for its fertile soil, scenery, and beaches. The parish lies in the direct path of the northeast

trade wind 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 ...

s, and the Blue Mountain ridge to its south traps the moisture. This parish has the highest rainfall in the island.

, its chief town and capital, has two harbours, the western one being sheltered by a small islet, Navy Island. Portland covers an area of 814 square kilometers, making it Jamaica's seventh-largest parish. The parish has a variety of complex landforms; the entire coastline is dotted with caves, bays, rivers, waterfalls and hills. There are fourteen caves, which include those at Buff Bay, Orange Bay, Hope Bay, Port Antonio, Boston Bay, Long Bay, Innis Bay and Nonsuch. There are also 17 rivers which form a network throughout the parish. The largest are the Rio Grande, Buff Bay and Hectors rivers. The population of Portland is an estimated 82,183, 15,000 of whom live in the capital town. Its people are 89.8% black, 1.2% white, 5.3% Asians, 2.6% mixed race, and 1.1% other. It includes the separate Maroon communities of

Charles Town, Jamaica Charles Town is one of four official towns of the Jamaican Maroons. It is located on Buff Bay River in Portland Parish."The Charles Town Maroons today", Jamaica Observer 12 November 2018 http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/observer-north-east/the-charle ...

and Moore Town.

Commerce

Agriculture

The parish is a leading producer of bananas, coconuts, breadfruits,

coffee Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

mangoe A mango is an edible drupe, stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in ...

s and

ackee The ackee, also known as ankye, achee, akee, ackee apple or ayee (''Blighia sapida'') is a fruit of the Sapindaceae ( soapberry) family, as are the lychee and the longan. It is native to tropical West Africa. The scientific name honours Captain ...

which are grown for export as well as local consumption. Portland has very rich land on its coastal strips that is suitable for any kind of cultivation, so many domestic crops are grown. Manufacturing is a small sector of the economy, with about 18 factories. They also do farming.

Tourism

A number of tourist facilities exist in the area, including Trident Villas and Hotel, Jamaica Palace, Dragon Bay Villas, Goblin Hill Hotel, Jamaica Crest, Fern Hill Club, and Mocking Bird Hill.

Attractions

Because of its natural environment,

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

has often flourished in the parish. It is noted for its beaches, such as Frenchman's Cove,

Boston Beach Boston Beach is a coastal community on the north coast of the island of Jamaica, with a public beach which is one of the few beaches in Jamaica attracting surfers. It is located nine miles east of the town of Port Antonio. History Around 1870 t ...

, Winifred, and Dragon Bay. The Blue Mountains are also located in Portland; two Maroon communities are located there. The internationally known Blue Lagoon is in this parish; it is believed to be the crater of an extinct

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the Crust (geology), crust of a Planet#Planetary-mass objects, planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Ear ...

. The lagoon is an almost landlocked cove with approximately 55 m (180 ft) of water. Rafting on the Rio Grande is also a tourist attraction. Boston Jerk Centre in Portland is an area well known for its "jerked" foods, including

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

, fish and

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

. Jerked foods are foods made with

Jamaican jerk spice Jamaican may refer to: * Something or someone of, from, or related to the country of Jamaica * Jamaicans, people from Jamaica * Jamaican English, a variety of English spoken in Jamaica * Jamaican Patois, an English-based creole language * Culture ...

and traditional technique.

Other activities

Since the early 1950s, more than 782 film or screen productions have been shot in Portland. Two of the most popular are ''

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' (french: Vingt mille lieues sous les mers) is a classic science fiction adventure novel by French writer Jules Verne. The novel was originally serialized from March 1869 through June 1870 in Pierre- ...

'', by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

(USA) in 1954 and '' The Harder They Come'' by Vista Productions (Jamaica) in 1972. Scenes from the film '' Cocktail,'' starring Tom Cruise, were shot at the bar on the beach at the Dragon Bay resort. An early film edition of the 1963 version of ''Lord of the Flies'' was largely shot at Frenchman's Cove; the 1990 remake by Harry Hook was filmed at Frenchman's Cove and Snow Hill. Barbadian singer Rihanna filmed the video for her song "Man Down" in various locations throughout the parish in April/May 2011. American singer

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. '' Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, S ...

filmed the video for her song "

Disparate Youth "Disparate Youth" is a song from American musician Santigold. The track was released in the United States on 14 February 2012 as the lead single from the artist's second studio album, ''Master of My Make-Believe'' (2012). In September 2012, "Disp ...

" in the parish. The video was released in March 2012.

Politics

Portland Parish is part of two parliamentary constituencies;

Portland Eastern Portland East is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Representatives of the Jamaican Parliament. It elects one Member of Parliament MP by the first past the post system of election. It is represented by Labour MP Ann-Mari ...

and

Portland Western Portland West is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Representatives of the Jamaican Parliament. It elects one Member of Parliament MP by the first past the post system of election. The constituency consists of the western par ...

Places

Towns

* Buff Bay *

Cattawood Springs Cattawood Springs is a place in Portland Parish, Jamaica located at latitude 18 04' 00", longitude 76 26' 00". Originally this was a Maroon settlement. Its name probably derives from the Twi word ''katá'' which means to cover conceal or prot ...

Hope Bay Hope Bay (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Bahía Esperanza'') on Trinity Peninsula, is long and wide, indenting the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and opening on Antarctic Sound. It is the site of the Argentinian Antarctic settlement Esperanza Ba ...

* Manchioneal *

, Capital * St. Margaret's Bay * Norwich * Snow Hill * Boston * Drapers * Fruitful Vale * Shrewsbury * Coopers Hill * Moore Town *

* Fellowship * Mount Pleasant

Rivers

* Buff Bay River * Daniels River *

Hectors River The Hectors River is a river of Jamaica. See also * Jasper Hall * List of rivers of Jamaica This is a list of rivers of Jamaica, arranged from west to east, with respective tributaries indented under each larger stream's name. North Coast *So ...

* Rio Grande * Spanish River * Swift River * Reach Falls * Somerset Falls * Danny River

Islands

Navy Island, Jamaica Navy Island is a small (64 acres) uninhabited island off the coast of Port Antonio in Portland Parish, Jamaica. Navy Island's most famous owner was the film actor Errol Flynn, who reportedly hosted many parties there. Until fairly recently, the ...

* Pelew (Monkey) Island * Ship Rock Island (Lord of the Flies, 1992) * Wood Island * Christmas Island

Beaches

* Long Bay Beach * Frenchman's Cove * Winifred's Beach * San San Beach * San shy Beach * Pt. Antonio Pier * Titchfield beach

Notable residents

* Edward Baugh (b. 1936) - Jamaican writer and lecturer, resided in Portland and attended

Titchfield High School Titchfield High School is a secondary high school in Port Antonio, Jamaica, in the northern part of Portland Parish. The school was established in January 1786, and is the fifth-oldest high school in the country, after Wolmer's Boys', one of the Wo ...

. *

Errol Flynn Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...

(1909–1959) - American film and screen star, made Portland his home with an expansive estate to the east of the parish. His wife Patrice Wymore Flynn resided there until her death on 22 March 2014. * Duke Reid (1915–1975) - Jamaican disc jockey and record producer *

Roy Reid Roy Reid (21 December 1937 – 10 January 2009) was a Jamaicans, Jamaican painter active from 1968 to 2009. He was best known for his paintings depicting the Jamaican people and dress and those with themes of devastation such as fires, whic ...

(b. 1937) - Jamaican painter, grew up in Portland. *

Rustie Lee Rustie Lee (born 22 May 1949) is a Jamaican television personality, television chef, actress and singer. She participated on the Channel 5 reality-television show '' Celebrity Super Spa'' in 2013; ITV's ''Who's Doing the Dishes?'', hosted by Bri ...

(b. 1949) - Jamaican television personality, television chef, actress, singer and former politician.

References

External links

Profile of PortlandPortland, Jamaica Official Instagram Page
{{coord, 18, 08, N, 76, 32, W, display=title, region:JM_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki Parishes of Jamaica