Historic Jamaica

This volume offers a detailed tour of Jamaica’s historic landscape, compiled by the Institute of Jamaica’s longtime secretary and librarian. Drawing on decades of research and official records, the author lists monuments, buildings, and sites parish by parish, noting their significance and ownership. Written in the early 1910s, the work reflects a period when colonial officials and scholars began to champion preservation of the island’s heritage.

Listeners will be guided through the island’s earliest inhabitants, the Arawak culture, the Spanish and English occupations, and the dramatic events that shaped places like Port Royal, St. Catherine, and the many forts that still dot the coast. Illustrated with fifty‑two period images, the narrative blends architectural detail with stories of pirates, earthquakes, and colonial politics, inviting both locals and visitors to appreciate the layers of history beneath modern Jamaica. The book aims not only to inform but also to inspire care for these aging structures before they fade.