In 1879, then governor of Jamaica, Sir Anthony Musgrave, was instrumental in creating the Institute of Jamaica. This institution was similar to the other colonial structures formed to collect, preserve and codify the histories in the colonies of the British Empire. These histories had hitherto been largely ignored by the colonisers in the country under their rule. Only in those countries where the indigenous peoples were still intact were vestiges of their history and culture retained under colonialism.

Jamaica was bereft of a comprehensive documented history. Its indigenous people, the Tainos, decimated by the colonial experience, had left history in the form of petroglyphs, but these had not been translated and recorded by historians, anthropologists and archaeologists. Those who had settled freely or had been brought over in slavery created little written history of their past or even their settlement. The Spanish colonial period had seen much of the evidence of its settlement destroyed or built over by the subsequent English occupation, although many of its records were retained in Spain.

mission statement

The actual motto or mission statement of the Institute of Jamaica at its founding was (and still is) 'For the encouragement of literature, science and art in Jamaica', the mandate being to collect, record and develop these disciplines. The role of the Institute of Jamaica as the collector and keeper of the heritage remained until 1958 when this role was modified due to the creation of the Jamaica National Trust Commission. On December 9, 1958, the Right Excellent Norman Washington Manley, then the chief minister of the emerging Jamaica nation state, supported the bill to create the Jamaica National Trust Commission, introduced by the minister of works in his government, the Honourable A.G.S. Coombs. Manley stated:

"I agree with what everybody has said about the significance of an awareness of their own history and the growth of their own traditions. It is one of the most powerful forces in the development of the character of the people and therefore when we witness in Jamaica today what we have done for the last 10 years, young men and young women creating a truly and natural Jamaican art, young writers whose inspiration are the national movement in the life and field of their country; when you look around and see the remarkable developments in literature and art, you realise that to give those things a strong foundation to raise on, it is necessary to cherish, preserve and develop all that you have here, and it is for this reason that I am gratified to see this growing interest and awareness of our historical past."

interesting articles

Abstract from the article: 'The Jamaica National Heritage Trust: Reflections on the first 50 years.' The conclusion of this and other interesting articles on Port Royal and the Palisadoes can be found in Jamaica Journal Vol 31 No. 3.

All correspondence and subscription requests should be addressed to: The Institute of Jamaica, 10-16 East Street, Kingston

Telephone: (876)922-0620-6 Fax: (876)922-1147 Email: pr.ioj@mail.infochan.com website: www.instituteofjamaica.com.