Race and the Economics of Colonialism: A View of Island of Jamaica, and the City of Kingston, around the Year 1900.
This paper examines the social, political, religious and economic life of Jamaica around the year 1900. Particular emphasis is placed upon how its primate city -Kingston - grew as a migration point for rural poor in search of work; a migration which encapsulates the issues of land policy and income distribution at the turn of the century. Kingston represents both a colonial capital and the key transfer point for the exchange of staple exports from the island's interior to ships for manufactured goods from abroad. Within this context, it is argued that the overriding question in Jamaican society in 1900 was that of race. Race and racism defined Jamaican social, economic, and even religious life to a profound degree; a fact which resonates in the Jamaica of today. 12 pgs. 27 f/c. 6b.
