Saint Elizabeth Parish

Saint Elizabeth
Location latitude 18°15'N,
longitude 77°56'W
Capital town Black River
Other Towns Santa Cruz, Malvern, Junction,
Balaclava, Prospect, Southfield
Bordering Parishes Manchester, Trelawny, Saint James, Westmoreland
County Cornwall
Area 1,212.4 km2 (468.1 sq mi)[1]
Rank Jamaica's second largest parish (see below)[2]
Population 148,000 in 2001
Commerce Tourism, Agriculture,
Bauxine Mining Manufacturing

St. Elizabeth, one of Jamaica's largest parishes, is located in the southwest of the island, in the county of Cornwall. Its capital, Black River, is located at the mouth of the Black River, the longest on the island.

History

Saint Elizabeth originally included most of the south-west part of the island, but in 1703 Westmoreland was taken from it and in 1814 a part of Manchester. The resulting areas were named after the wife of Sir Thomas Modyford, the first English Governor of Jamaica.

There are also traces of Taíno/Arawaks existence in the parish, as well as Spanish settlements. After 1655, when the English settled on the island, they concentrated on planting sugar cane. Today, buildings with 'Spanish wall' (masonry of limestone sand and stone between wooden frames) can still be seen in some areas.

St Elizabeth became a prosperous parish and Black River an important seaport. In addition to shipping sugar and molasses, Black River became the centre of the logging trade. Large quantities of logwood were exported to Europe to make a Prussian-blue dye which was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Electric power was first introduced in Jamaica in a house called Waterloo in Black River in 1893.

Geography

The parish is located latitude 18°15'N, and longitude 77°56'W; to the west of Manchester, the east of Westmoreland, and to the south of St. James and Trelawny. It covers an area of 1212.4 km², making it Jamaica's second-largest parish, behind Saint Ann's 1212.6 km². The parish is divided into four electoral districts (constituencies), that is North-East, North-West, South-East and South-West.

Lovers' Leap, Saint Elizabeth

The northern and northeastern parts of the parish are mountainous. There are three mountain ranges —the Nassau Mountains to the north-east, the Lacovia Mountains to the west of the Nassau Mountains, and the Santa Cruz Mountains which, running south, divide the wide plain to end in a precipitous drop of 1,600 feet (490 m) at Lovers' Leap. The central and southern sections form an extensive plain divided by the Santa Cruz Mountains. A large part of the lowlands is covered by morass, but it still provides grazing land for horses and mules.

The main river in the parish is the Black River, and measuring 53.4 kilometres (33.2 mi), it is one of the longest rivers in Jamaica. It is navigable for about 40 kilometres (25 mi), and is supported by many tributaries including Y.S., Broad, Grass and Horse Savannah. The river has its source in the mountains of Manchester where it rises and flows west as the border between Manchester and Trelawny then goes underground. It reappears briefly in several surrounding towns, but reemerges near Balaclava and tumbles down gorges to the plain known as the Savannah, through the Great Morass and to the sea at Black River, the capital of the parish.

The geology of the parish is primarily alluvial plains to the south, and karstic limestone to the north. The karstic zones are known to contain over 130 caves (Jamaica Cave Register as of 2007 - from Fincham and JCO). These include Mexico Cave and Wallingford River Cave, near Balaclava, which are two associated sections of a major underground river that has its source in south Trelawny, as well as Yardley Chase Caves near the foot of Lovers' Leap, and Peru Cave, near Goshen, which has stalactites and stalagmites. Mineral deposits include bauxite, antimony, white limestone, clay, peat and silica sand which is used to manufacture glass.

Demography

The parish had an estimated population of 148,000 in 2001, 4000 of which live in the capital town. The distinct feature of this parish is that numerous ethnic groups can be found there; St Elizabeth probably has the greatest racial mixture in Jamaica. St. Elizabeth provides the best testimony of the Jamaican motto – "Out of many, one people". A distinct feature of this parish is the interesting racial or ethnic heritage of its inhabitants. The Meskito (corrupted to ‘Mosquito’) Indians brought to Jamaica to help capture the Maroons, were allowed to settle in southern St. Elizabeth in return for their assistance given land grants in this parish. The parish of St. Elizabeth can lay claim to Maroon, Dutch, Spanish, Indian, mulatto and white inhabitants from the 17th century onwards, with the result that there are those who feel that more people of mixed ancestry can be found here than in any other part of the island.

In the 19th century Irish, Spanish, Portuguese, Scots Germans Chinese and East Indians migrated to Saint Elizabeth, and this accounts for pockets of distinct racial mixtures in the parish including Mulatto and Creole notably found in the southeast.

Economy

Mining

The parish has been a major producer of bauxite since the 1960s. Port Kaiser, near a town called Alligator Pond, has a leading deep-water pier for bauxite export. The Alpart alumina refinery was constructed in the 1960s at Nain and produces nearly 2 million tonnes of alumina annually for export. The replacement cost of building the refinery is approximately $2 billion.

There are other alumina refineries close to the nearby town of Mandeville.

Agriculture

Apart from bauxite mining, the parish also produces a large quantity of Jamaica's sugar; there are two sugar factories in the parish. Fishing is a major industry in the parish, as is tomato canning; a plant is at Bull Savannah. The parish also cultivates crops such as cassava, corn, peas, beans, pimento, ginger, tobacco, tomato, rice sweet potatoes and coffee. As a result of the fertile soil that provide for grazing fields, pastoralism is possible. Livestock include goats, sheep, hogs, and cattle, horses.

Tourism

Since the 1990s, the parish has become a significant tourist destination, with most visitors going to the Treasure Beach area. The Appleton rum distillery, near Cockpit Country in the north of the parish, is also a tourist destination. Ecological tourism along the Black and YS rivers, and in the Great Morass has been developed in recent years.

Education

Places

Beaches

Towns and Villages

Caves

St. Elizabeth has approximately 44 caves:

Nain

Other Places of Interest

See also


References

Notes

  1. ↑ The title of largest parish in Jamaica has caused some confusion. The parishes of St. Catherine, Saint Elizabeth or St. Ann are usually ranked as the largest, depending on the source. The Gleaner, one of the nations most reputable newspapers, lists St. Catherine as the largest with an area of 1,260 sq km, St. Ann as the second largest with 1200 sq km, and St. Elizabeth third with 185 km² (Geography and History of Jamaica. The Jamaica Gleaner. Accessed 09-04-2009). However, The Jamaica Library Service database ranks St Ann the largest with an area of 1212.6 km² (Saint Ann. Jamaica Library Services. Accessed 09-04-2009), St. Elizabeth second with 1212.4 km² (St. Elizabeth. Jamaica Library Services. Accessed 09-04-2009), and St. Catherine third with 1192.4 km² (Saint Catherine. Jamaica Library Services. Accessed 09-04-2009).
  2. ↑ Saint Elizabeth. Jamaica Library Services. Accessed 09-04-2009
  3. ↑ http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Atrium/5460/Introduction/About_Lover_s_Leap/about_lover_s_leap.html&date=2009-10-25+09:58:25

Bibliography

External links

Coordinates: 18°03′N 77°47′W / 18.050°N 77.783°W