St Thomas, Jamaica
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Saint Thomas, once known as ''Saint Thomas in the East'', is a suburban
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 or m ...
situated at the south eastern end 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 ...
, within the
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
of Surrey. It is the birthplace of the Right Honourable
Paul Bogle Paul Bogle (1822– 24 October 1865)Dugdale-Pointon, T. Military History Encyclopedia good on the Web, 22 September 2008. was a Jamaican Baptist deacon and activist. He is a National Hero of Jamaica. He was a leader of the 1865 Morant Bay pr ...
, designated in 1969 as one of Jamaica's seven
National Heroes A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''hero ...
.
Morant Bay Morant Bay is a town in southeastern Jamaica and the capital of the parish of St. Thomas, located about 25 miles east of Kingston, the capital. The parish has a population of 94,410. During the nineteenth century, the parish was an area of sug ...
, its chief town and
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 ...
, is the site of 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 ...
in 1865, of which Bogle was a leader. Representative
George William Gordon George William Gordon (1820 – 23 October 1865) was a wealthy mixed-race Jamaican businessman, magistrate and politician, one of two representatives to the Assembly from St. Thomas-in-the-East parish. He was a leading critic of the colonial ...
, a wealthy
mixed race 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 ...
businessman and politician from this district, was tried and executed in 1865 under martial law on suspicion of directing the rebellion. Governor Eyre was forced to resign due to the controversy over his execution of Gordon and violent suppression of the rebellion. Gordon was designated in 1969 as a National Hero.


Brief history

Saint Thomas was densely populated by the
Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...
/
Arawak The Arawak are a group of indigenous peoples of northern South America and of the Caribbean. Specifically, the term "Arawak" has been applied at various times to the Lokono of South America and the Taíno, who historically lived in the Greater ...
when
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
first came to the island in 1494. The
Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...
established
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...
ranches A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...
at Morant Bay and Yallahs. In 1655, when the English captured
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 ...
, they organised their new territory into a number of parishes. This was when Saint Thomas Parish was established, administering part of what is now
Portland Parish Portland, with its capital town Port Antonio, is a parish located on Jamaica'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 ...
, which was not established until 1722, and excluding what is now the western part of the parish, which was in the historic Saint David Parish. The Crown invited residents from other British
colonies In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
to settle here. About 1600
colonists A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settle ...
, mainly from
Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Ne ...
 – including the Governor of Nevis, his wife, children – settled there. In a short time, however, two-thirds of them died of tropical
fevers Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a temperature above the normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature set point. There is not a single agreed-upon upper limit for normal temperature with sources using val ...
. The colony began to rebuild. They imported enslaved
Africans African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...
to work the sugar cane plantations developed in the area. In 1674, the French
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...
Du Casse, sailed from
Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...
and landed at Morant Bay on 17 June. For a month, he raided local settlers, killing many and carrying off their slaves. Later, bands of
Maroons Maroons are descendants of African diaspora in the Americas, Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples, eventually ethnogenesi ...
settled in the mountains of St. Thomas.


Saint Thomas in the East

In 1676, when Saint Thomas in the Vale Parish, the parish became known as "Saint Thomas in the East Parish". It retained this name until 1 May 1867 when the parish system of colonial administration was reformed by Governor
John Peter Grant Sir John Peter Grant, GCMG, KCB, (28 November 1807 – 6 January 1893), was a British colonial administrator who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal (1859–1862) and as Governor of Jamaica. Life John Peter Grant was born in London on 28 N ...
who introduced A Law to Reduce the Number of Parishes (1867/No.20). In the 18th century they joined with the Maroons in
Portland parish Portland, with its capital town Port Antonio, is a parish located on Jamaica'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 ...
to form the Windward Maroons. Slaves long constituted the majority of the population of the parish. In 1834 the British government abolished slavery, ending it fully in 1838 after a four-year "apprenticeship." But decades later, freedmen struggled to gain land to cultivate and generally worked at very low wages. As they generally could not afford to pay the
poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments fr ...
, so were excluded from voting.


Morant Bay Rebellion

In October 1865, the Morant Bay rebellion took place in St Thomas. Formerly enslaved people and their descendants all over
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 ...
were discontented about the social injustices, particularly on the question of land
tenure Tenure is a category of academic appointment existing in some countries. A tenured post is an indefinite academic appointment that can be terminated only for cause or under extraordinary circumstances, such as financial exigency or program disco ...
. Baptist deacon and preacher
Paul Bogle Paul Bogle (1822– 24 October 1865)Dugdale-Pointon, T. Military History Encyclopedia good on the Web, 22 September 2008. was a Jamaican Baptist deacon and activist. He is a National Hero of Jamaica. He was a leader of the 1865 Morant Bay pr ...
of St. Thomas parish led a delegation of small farmers who walked to present their grievances to
Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in Whipsnade, Bedfordshire, shortly before his family moved to ...
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 ...
of Jamaica in the capital
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 ...
, but they were denied an audience. Angered after a case in which a peasant was convicted of trespass on a long-abandoned plantation, on 11 October, Paul Bogle and his followers, armed with sticks and
machetes Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...
marched to the Court House in Morant Bay where a
vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...
meeting was being held. The authorities read the
Riot Act The Riot Act (1 Geo.1 St.2 c.5), sometimes called the Riot Act 1714 or the Riot Act 1715, was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain which authorised local authorities to declare any group of 12 or more people to be unlawfully assembled and o ...
, but the protestors ignored it. A few people began to throw stones at the volunteer
militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
, who fired into the crowd and killed seven people. Later the
mob Mob or MOB may refer to: Behavioral phenomena * Crowd * Smart mob, a temporary self-structuring social organization, coordinated through telecommunication Crime and law enforcement * American Mafia, also known as the Mob * Irish Mob, a US crimin ...
reorganized and returned, setting fire to the
Court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...
House and nearby buildings. When the custos, Maximillian von Ketelhodt, and others tried to leave the burning building, the mob killed them. A total of 25 people died on both sides that day. During the next two days the peasants took over St. Thomas parish. The governor declared
martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...
in the parish and ordered troops to suppress the rebellion. More than 430 people were killed outright by soldiers in suppression of the rebellion, and more than 1,000 homes were burned to the ground, leaving thousands of people homeless. They arrested more than 300, executing some and punishing many innocent people.Clinton Hutton, "Review: '' 'The Killing Time': The Morant Bay Rebellion in Jamaica'' by GAD Heuman, ''Social and Economic Studies'' Vol. 44, No. 1 (MARCH 1995), pp. 191-205, published by Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies; via JSTOR; accessed 13 July 2016
/ref> Representative
George William Gordon George William Gordon (1820 – 23 October 1865) was a wealthy mixed-race Jamaican businessman, magistrate and politician, one of two representatives to the Assembly from St. Thomas-in-the-East parish. He was a leading critic of the colonial ...
, who was in touch with Paul Bogle, spoke out for the workers in the
House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...
in Kingston. The governor ordered him arrested and returned to Morant Bay, where he was tried under martial law for
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
and
hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...
on 23 October. The following day Bogle was captured by
Jamaican Maroons Jamaican Maroons descend from Africans who freed themselves from slavery on the Colony of Jamaica and established communities of free black people in the island's mountainous interior, primarily in the eastern parishes. Africans who were ensla ...
from
Moore Town Moore Town is a Maroon (people), Maroon settlement located in the Blue Mountains (Jamaica), Blue Mountains and John Crow Mountains of Portland, Jamaica, accessible by road from Port Antonio. The easternmost Maroon town, Moore Town is located in ...
, handed over to the authorities, and hanged. A public outcry in Great Britain led to the appointment of a Royal Commission to investigate events. Although Eyre was forced to resign and twice charged with murder, his case never went to trial. In 1969, the Right Excellent
Paul Bogle Paul Bogle (1822– 24 October 1865)Dugdale-Pointon, T. Military History Encyclopedia good on the Web, 22 September 2008. was a Jamaican Baptist deacon and activist. He is a National Hero of Jamaica. He was a leader of the 1865 Morant Bay pr ...
was named a
National Hero of Jamaica The Order of National Hero is an honour awarded by the government of Jamaica. It is a part of the Jamaican honours system that has been in place since 1969. Description The highest of the five Jamaican Orders of the Societies of Honour, the Order ...
, as were
George William Gordon George William Gordon (1820 – 23 October 1865) was a wealthy mixed-race Jamaican businessman, magistrate and politician, one of two representatives to the Assembly from St. Thomas-in-the-East parish. He was a leading critic of the colonial ...
,
Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...
,
Sir Alexander Bustamante Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante (born William Alexander Clarke; 24 February 1884 – 6 August 1977) was a Jamaican politician and labour leader, who, in 1962, became the first prime minister of Jamaica. Early life and education He was ...
, and
Norman Washington Manley Norman Washington Manley (4 July 1893 – 2 September 1969) was a Jamaican statesman who served as the first and only Premier of Jamaica. A Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the 1920s. Manley was an advocate ...
.


Geography and demography

Saint Thomas is located at
latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
18°05'N,
longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...
76°40'W, to the south of
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 the east of
St. 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 ...
. With an area of , it ranks as Jamaica's ninth-largest parish. It is very mountainous, with ranges that include the Port Royal Mountains, stretching from above Newcastle in St Andrew, to Albion in St Thomas; the Queensbury Ridge, between the Yallahs and Negro rivers; and to the extreme south, an isolated ridge called Yallahs Hill, with its highest elevation 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 standardised g ...
. The Blue Mountains form the northern border of the parish. The parish contains large
wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
areas, comprising the coastal area between Morant Bay and Hector's River. There are also many cliffs and beaches. There are three main rivers in the parish; the Yallahs River, measuring long; the Morant River, measuring long; and the
Plantain Garden River The Plantain Garden River is a river in the parish of St Thomas on the island of Jamaica. It is the only major river in Jamaica that does not flow in a northerly or southerly direction. See also *List of rivers of Jamaica *Enriquillo–Plantain G ...
, measuring long. The latter is the only eastward flowing river in the island. The total population of the parish is 94,410. The ethnic makeup of Saint Thomas is 88.2% Black, 7.6% Asian, 3.2% White, and 1% Other. "The parish has a relatively youthful population. Approximately 54.7% of the parish’s population was 29 years or younger: children under 0-14 years accounted for 27% of the population, youths of 15 to 29 years accounted for 27.7%. The working-age population (15-64 years) accounted for 64.1%, reflecting the national distribution. The elderly, 65 years and over, accounted for 8.9%; this figure is lower than the national proportion of 11.1% reported by the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica (2010).""Morant Bay/St. Thomas Parish Council, Jamaica"
Prime Business Destinations, 2016; accessed 13 July 2016


Commerce

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...
plays a vital part in the
economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...
of Saint Thomas.
Sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
and
banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
s were the main items produced for
export An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...
.The St. Thomas Parish sugar mill Golden Grove closed in July 2019. Most small farmers produce domestic and orchard crops, which provide the main source of employment. Serge Island Dairies is located in the parish. St. Thomas also has many
factories A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...
for food processing and electrical equipment. Current efforts are being made by Upliftment Jamaica to create, support and provide opportunities to the people of St. Thomas, and to encourage economic and social transformation on a community and county-wide basis. Over 10,000 people benefit annually from this organization, via year-round projects and events, with numbers rapidly increasing.


Transportation


Roads

The coast of St. Thomas is skirted by the A4, which runs from
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, ...
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 ...
. The primary secondary road runs east to west along the foot of the Blue Mountains from Golden Grove to
Richmond Vale Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...
, with north-south connecting roads linking it to the A4 at Pleasant Hill,
Port Morant Port Morant is a town in Saint Thomas Parish, southeastern Jamaica. It was, in the early years of European settlement, one of the island's chief ports, with export of bananas and production of rum being major industries. Following the English ...
,
Morant Bay Morant Bay is a town in southeastern Jamaica and the capital of the parish of St. Thomas, located about 25 miles east of Kingston, the capital. The parish has a population of 94,410. During the nineteenth century, the parish was an area of sug ...
, Church Corner,
Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa *Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zim ...
,
Yallahs Yallahs is a city located on the southeastern coast of Jamaica in the parish of St Thomas and is home to Jordan 1don ( who is also recognized as the wealthiest person in the parish ) Yallahs has an estimated 10,000 inhabitants. The city was ...
,
Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...
and Eleven Mile.


Rail

Rail transport in St. Thomas was formerly limited to estate light railways, such as the one serving the former Bowden banana shipment port.Aerial view
All have ceased operation.


Sea

The
Morant Point Lighthouse Morant Point Lighthouse is on the easternmost tip of Jamaica, and is the oldest lighthouse on the island. Description Erected in 1841 by Kru men from Africa (who were among the free Africans brought to Jamaica in the period following emancipation ...
guards the easternmost tip of the parish and the island.


Attractions

* Bath Botanical Gardens - one of the oldest
botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...
s in the western hemisphere. Located in the town of
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
* Bath Fountain - mineral spring located in the town of
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
* Blue Mountains - mountain range extending over a portion of St. Thomas parish * Judgement Cliff - sheer cliff face near Easington created in 1692 by the same earthquake that destroyed
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 ...
*
Morant Bay Fort Morant is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Angela Morant (b. 1941), English actress * Blake Morant, Dean of George Washington University School of Law * Breaker Morant, (1864–1902), Australian drover, horseman, bush poet and ...
- fort dating back to 1773 * Stony Gut - site of
Paul Bogle Paul Bogle (1822– 24 October 1865)Dugdale-Pointon, T. Military History Encyclopedia good on the Web, 22 September 2008. was a Jamaican Baptist deacon and activist. He is a National Hero of Jamaica. He was a leader of the 1865 Morant Bay pr ...
's former chapel, burned during suppression of the rebellion * Lyssons Beach - public beach located in the town of
Lyssons Lyssons is a largely residential community located in the parish of St. Thomas, Jamaica. It lies east of the capital, Morant Bay, and neighbors the communities of Retreat, Prospect and Leith Hall. Brief history Lyssons is named after Nicholas Lyc ...


Education

St. Thomas is home to several secondary institutions of education.
Morant Bay High School Morant Bay High School in Morant Bay, Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, St Thomas, Jamaica was founded in 1961.History
. M ...
, established in 1961, was the first of its kind in the parish of St. Thomas. High schools in St. Thomas include: *
Morant Bay High School Morant Bay High School in Morant Bay, Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, St Thomas, Jamaica was founded in 1961.History
. M ...
* Paul Bogle High School * Robert Lightbourne High School * Seaforth High School * St. Thomas Technical High School * Yallahs High School


Politics

Saint Thomas Parish is part of two
parliamentary constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region Administra ...
;
Saint Thomas Eastern Saint Thomas Eastern is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Representatives of the Jamaican Parliament. It covers the eastern part of Saint Thomas Parish. Fenton Ferguson was the MP but lost his seat in the 2020 general e ...
and
Saint Thomas Western Saint Thomas Western is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Representatives of the Parliament of Jamaica, Jamaican Parliament. It covers the western part of Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, Saint Thomas Parish. It has been repres ...
.


Notable people

* Isaac Barrant - Politician *
Winston Blake Winston "Merritone" Blake OD (19 November 1940 – 27 February 2016) was a Jamaican sound system operator, record producer, nightclub owner, promoter, and occasional recording artist, working under the pseudonyms Blake Boy and Judge Wincheste ...
- Sound system pioneer, music producer, founder of Merritone Music *
Paul Bogle Paul Bogle (1822– 24 October 1865)Dugdale-Pointon, T. Military History Encyclopedia good on the Web, 22 September 2008. was a Jamaican Baptist deacon and activist. He is a National Hero of Jamaica. He was a leader of the 1865 Morant Bay pr ...
- Baptist preacher, Leader of the 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion, Jamaican National Hero * Hanif Brown - Spelling Bee Champion and Spelling Bee Coach * Bushman - Reggae artist * Chronic Law - Reggae artist *
Juliet Cuthbert Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn (born 9 April 1964) is a Jamaican politician and retired track and field sprinter who competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres. As an athlete, Cuthbert-Flynn competed at four Olympic Games, winning two silver medals at ...
- Olympic and IAAF World Championships medalist *
Len Garrison Lenford Alphonso (Kwesi) Garrison (13 June 1943 – 18 February 2003) was an educationalist, community activist and historian whose life's work was to catalogue the development of the black British identity and its history and promote the works o ...
- Co-founder of the Black Cultural Archives *
George William Gordon George William Gordon (1820 – 23 October 1865) was a wealthy mixed-race Jamaican businessman, magistrate and politician, one of two representatives to the Assembly from St. Thomas-in-the-East parish. He was a leading critic of the colonial ...
- Businessman and politician, representative to the House of Assembly, associated with the 1865
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 ...
and Jamaican National Hero * Jermaine Hue - Former Jamaican national football player * Dionne Jackson-Miller - Lawyer and journalist *
Natty King Natty King, (born Kevin Christopher Roberts; 1977), is a Jamaican roots reggae artist. He is known for the singles " Mr.Greedy" and " No Guns To Town", both from the 2003 ''No Guns To Town'' album. After a short break in his career, King released ...
- Reggae artist * Robert Lightbourne - Politician *
Morgan Heritage Morgan Heritage is a Grammy-winning Jamaican reggae band formed in 1994 by five children of reggae artist Denroy Morgan, namely Peter "Peetah" Morgan, Una Morgan, Roy "Gramps" Morgan, Nakhamyah "Lukes" Morgan, and Memmalatel "Mr. Mojo" Morgan. ...
- Reggae band *
Hansle Parchment Hansle Parchment (born 17 June 1990) is a Jamaican track and field athlete, competing in the 110 metres hurdles. He is the reigning Olympic champion in the event. Parchment is an alumnus of the University of the West Indies, Kingston and won a ...
- Olympic and World Championships medalist *
Popcaan Andrae Hugh Sutherland (born 19 July 1988), known professionally as Popcaan, is a Jamaican singer. In 2008, Popcaan joined Vybz Kartel's Gaza Music Empire. In 2010, he released his breakthrough international hit "Clarks" with Kartel, an ode t ...
- Reggae artist *
Alvas Powell Alvas Elvis Powell (born 18 July 1994) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Major League Soccer club FC Cincinnati. A native of the parish St. Thomas, he attended Paul Bogle High School and gained recognition in t ...
- National football player *
Tarrus Riley Omar "Tarrus" Riley (born April 26, 1979, Bronx, New York, United States) is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and member of the Rastafari movement.Kenner, Rob (2009)Reggae Singer With a Legacy, a Following and a Mission. ''New York Times''. 21 ...
- Reggae artist *
Toni-Ann Singh Toni-Ann Singh (born February 1996) is a Jamaican beauty queen who won Miss World 2019. She was previously crowned Miss Jamaica World 2019 and is the fourth woman from Jamaica to win Miss World. She is also the longest-reigning Miss World in th ...
- Singer and
Miss World 2019 Miss World 2019, the 69th edition of the Miss World pageant, was held on 14 December 2019 at the ExCeL London in London, United Kingdom. Vanessa Ponce of Mexico crowned her successor Toni-Ann Singh of Jamaica at the end of the event. Backgro ...
*
Skillibeng Emwah Warmington (born December 23, 1996), known professionally as Skillibeng, is a Jamaican dancehall Deejay "DJ" and rapper from Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica, St. Thomas, noted for his works with Vybz Kartel, DJ Khaled, Sean Paul, Nicki Minaj, ...
- Reggae artist *
Stein Stein is a German, Yiddish and Norwegian word meaning "stone" and "pip" or "kernel". It stems from the same Germanic root as the English word stone. It may refer to: Places In Austria * Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Austr ...
- Reggae artist * Stevie Face - Reggae artist *
Barrington Watson Basil Barrington Watson (9 January 1931 – 26 January 2016) was a Jamaican painter. Biography Born in 1931 January 9th in Lucea, Barrington Watson made his original mark in Jamaica as a football player for Kingston College. However, he ultima ...
- Jamaican painter who maintained a residence at Orange Park near
Yallahs Yallahs is a city located on the southeastern coast of Jamaica in the parish of St Thomas and is home to Jordan 1don ( who is also recognized as the wealthiest person in the parish ) Yallahs has an estimated 10,000 inhabitants. The city was ...
in St. Thomas


See also

*
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
*
Bull Bay Bull Bay is an area located on the southeast coast of Jamaica, to the east of Kingston on the border between St Andrew and St Thomas, beside Cow Bay. According to folklore, both bays were so named because cattle once roamed the whole area and ...
* Easington * Dalvey * Duckenfield * Golden Grove *
Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...
*
Lyssons Lyssons is a largely residential community located in the parish of St. Thomas, Jamaica. It lies east of the capital, Morant Bay, and neighbors the communities of Retreat, Prospect and Leith Hall. Brief history Lyssons is named after Nicholas Lyc ...
*
Morant Bay Morant Bay is a town in southeastern Jamaica and the capital of the parish of St. Thomas, located about 25 miles east of Kingston, the capital. The parish has a population of 94,410. During the nineteenth century, the parish was an area of sug ...
*
Port Morant Port Morant is a town in Saint Thomas Parish, southeastern Jamaica. It was, in the early years of European settlement, one of the island's chief ports, with export of bananas and production of rum being major industries. Following the English ...
* Seaforth * Trinity Ville * Wilson Gap / Richmond Vale *
Yallahs Yallahs is a city located on the southeastern coast of Jamaica in the parish of St Thomas and is home to Jordan 1don ( who is also recognized as the wealthiest person in the parish ) Yallahs has an estimated 10,000 inhabitants. The city was ...
*
White Horses ''The White Horses'' is a 1965 television series co-produced by RTV Ljubljana (now RTV Slovenija) of Yugoslavia and German TV (''Südwestfunk''). Plotline The story follows the adventures of a teenage girl Julia (Helga Anders) who leaves Belgrad ...


References


Parish InformationThe statistical Institute of Jamaica


External links



{{coord, 17, 54, N, 76, 26, W, display=title, region:JM_type:adm1st_source:GNS-enwiki Parishes of Jamaica