Westmoreland is the westernmost

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 ...

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 Hispan ...

, located on the south side of the island. It is situated south of

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, southwest of

Saint James Saint James or St. James may refer to: People Saints *James, brother of Jesus (died 62 or 69), also known as James the Just *James the Great (died 44), Apostle, also known as James, son of Zebedee, or Saint James the Greater **Saint James Matamoro ...

, and northwest of Saint Elizabeth, in the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlan ...

. The chief town and capital is Savanna-la-Mar.

Negril Negril is a small (pop. 6,900) but widely dispersed beach resort and town located in Westmoreland and Hanover parishes at the far western tip of Jamaica, southwest from Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. Westmoreland is the we ...

, a famous tourist destination, is also situated in the parish.

History

The earliest inhabitants of Westmoreland were 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 ...

and Ciboney Indians. The Ciboney were first to arrive, from the coast of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

, around 500 BC. Known as "cave dwellers", they lived along the cliffs of

. The labyrinth of caves and passageways beneath what is now the

Xtabi Xtabi is a cove on the cliffs of Negril, in Westmoreland, Jamaica. It consists of a labyrinth of caves and passageways carved from solid rock over millennia of ocean water striking it. An eponymous hotel sits atop the cliffs. History The first ...

Hotel in Negril are one of the first known settlements of Ciboney Indians in Jamaica.

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 ...

stopped at what became Westmoreland on his second voyage when he landed in Jamaica. One of the first Spanish settlements was also built at present-day

Bluefields Bluefields is the capital of the South Caribbean Autonomous Region in Nicaragua. It was also the capital of the former Kingdom of Mosquitia, and later the Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Regio ...

in this parish. The English took over the island from Spanish rule in 1655. Colonists named the parish ''Westmoreland'' in 1703, for it was the most westerly point of the island. In 1730, Savanna-la-Mar, a coastal port, was designated to replace Banbury as the capital of the parish. A fort was built in the 1700s to defend the port against pirates. Today it is one of the historic sites of the parish. In the mid-18th century, Westmoreland was, acre for acre, one of the most profitable territories, not only in Jamaica, but throughout the British empire. The plains of Westmoreland were densely populated with sugar plantations, and by the time of Tacky's War Westmoreland had about 15,000 slaves labouring on more than 60 sugar plantations, many of them owned by leading men of the island, such as William Beckford and Arthur Forest. The name ''Westmoreland'' appears to stem from Dr John Drummond (1744-1804) who had several plantations on the island (foremost being the Drummond Estate) plus vast lands at Savanna-la-Mar which had been owned by his parents. He was surgeon to the Westmoreland Regiment of Foot from 1784. This British regiment was officially on the island from 1802 to 1813 but the name appears to pre-date this, for John Drummond refers to his "Westmoreland estate" in his will of 1793. In 1938,

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property target ...

s at the Frome sugar

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...

changed the course of Jamaica's history. In the wake of these riots, the legislature passed legislation for universal adult suffrage in 1944, as well as a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

, which was approved by the Crown. This put Jamaica on the road to self-government and eventually

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the s ...

. The two national heroes, Sir Alexander Bustamante and Norman Washington Manley, emerged as political leaders during this time.

Geography

Westmoreland has an area of , making it Jamaica's eighth-largest parish. Westmoreland's population of 144,817 is made up of a large percentage of ethnic East

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

ns, descendants of indentured laborers who came to Jamaica from India to work after Britain abolished

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

in 1834 and the demand for labor remained high. Many intermarried with

people of African descent The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were ...

, and their multi-racial descendants are known locally as " half indian". There are over of morass land, the largest part of which is called the Great Morass. This contains plant and animal material collected over centuries. The morass can be mined as

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and is the most efficien ...

, an excellent source of energy. The marsh serves as a natural and unique

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a s ...

for a wide variety of Jamaican

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted f ...

and birds. The remaining area consists of several hills of moderate elevation, and alluvial

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands. ...

s along the coast. Numerous rivers run through the parish. The Cabaritta River, which is 39.7 km long, drains the George's Plain and can accommodate ships weighing up to eight tons. Other rivers include the

, New Savanna, Morgan's, Gut, Smithfield, Bowens, Bluefields, Robins, Roaring, Great and Dean. The westernmost tip of the island, Negril Point, is the site of the Negril Lighthouse.

Education

Westmoreland is home to several secondary schools include Manning's School, Frome Technical High School, Grange Hill High School, and others.

Commerce

As a result of the fertile plains, the parish thrives on

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 peop ...

, mainly sugarcane, which offers direct employment. Other agricultural products include

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry (botany), berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa (genus), Musa''. In some countries, Cooking banana, bananas used for ...

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 ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of ...

cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

, pimento,

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...

, and

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family (Moraceae) believed to be a domesticated descendant of '' Artocarpus camansi'' originating in New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Phil ...

Pastoralism Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as " livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands ( pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The ani ...

is also practised; the rearing of

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 ...

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

s, and mules, as well as

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques ...

—there are 19 fishing beaches with over 90 boats engaged in the industry. Manufacturing is the third largest sector. Manufactured items include food and drink,

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ch ...

, animal feeds,

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not t ...

and textile products.

is one of the main tourist destinations in Jamaica. Since the 1950s

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 ...

has been the fastest-growing sector. The major

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

s are Couples Swept Away (the northern half of which is technically in

), Poinciana Beach Resort and Negril Beach Club. There are another 200+ resorts and 200+ bars and restaurants. ;Attractions * Bridgewater *

Mayfield Falls Mayfield Falls is a waterfall in Jamaica that comprises twenty one widely spaced small cascades on the Mayfield River, a tributary of the Cabarita River The Cabarita River, originally the Cabaritta, is a river in Jamaica. The Mayfield River is a ...

* Petersfield * Roaring River Park * Savanna-la-Mar * Seaford Town

References and sources

;References ;Sources
Parish Information

External links