~THE HISTORY OF MONTEGO BAY- My birth city~ When Christopher Columbus for the first time visited the island in 1494, he named the bay Golfo de Buen Tiempo (Fair Weather Gulf). The name Montego Bay is believed to have originated as a corruption of the Spanish word manteca (lard), allegedly because during the Spanish period it was the port where lard, leather, and beef were exported. Jamaica was a colony of Spain from 1511 until 1655, when Oliver Cromwells Caribbean expedition, the Western Design, drove the Spanish from the island. During the epoch of slavery, from the mid-17th century until 1834, and well into the 20th century, the town functioned primarily as a sugar port. The islands last major slave revolt, the Christmas Rebellion or Baptist War (1831–1832) took place in the area around Montego Bay; the leader of the revolt, Samuel Sharpe, was hanged there in 1832. In 1975, Sharpe was proclaimed a national hero of Jamaica, and the main square of the town was renamed in his honor. In 1980, Montego Bay was proclaimed a city by act of parliament, but this has not meant that it has acquired any form of autonomy as it continues to be an integral part of the parish of St. James. Today, Montego Bay is known for its large regional hospital (Cornwall Regional Hospital), port facilities, second homes for numerous upper class Jamaicans from Kingston as well as North Americans and Europeans, fine restaurants, and shopping opportunities. The coastland near Montego Bay is occupied by numerous tourist resorts, most newly built, some occupying the grounds of old sugar cane plantations with some of the original buildings and mill-works still standing. The most famous of these are the White Witchs Rose Hall and Tryall, both of which now feature world-class golf courses. The infrastructure of the city is going through a series of explosive modernizations which once completed, aims to keep Montego Bay as a top destination in the Caribbean and the world. The Montego Bay Convention Centre, built on a large site near to the Rose Hall estate, was opened by Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding on 7 January 2011. Roads Montego Bay is on the main A1 (Kingston to Lucea) road and the B15 (Montego Bay to Falmouth) road. It is well served by buses, mini buses and taxis, which operate from the Montego Bay Transport Centre. Rail The now disused Montego Bay railway station served the Kingston to Montego Bay main line. The station opened c1894and closed in October 1992 when all passenger traffic on Jamaica Gleanercas railways abruptly ceased. Air Montego Bay is served by Jamaicas largest airport, the Sir Donald Sangster International Airport. Air Jamaica and several North American and European airlines run their Caribbean hub in MoBay (Sangster International Airport) connecting the island with the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada. The southern U.S. city of Miami can be reached within 70 minutes. The southern U.S. cities of Charlotte, Houston, Atlanta, and Tampa can be reached by nonstop flights in less than three hours. Other locations like Philadelphia, New York City, Toronto, Washington D.C., and Montreal can be reached in under four hours. Port There is a free port and cruise line terminal on a man-made peninsula jutting into the bay. In popular culture The city was the subject of the namesake song by Bobby Bloom in 1970, later covered by Jon Stevens ten years later, and was revived by Amazulu who became a minor hit in the U.S. in September 1986. Several scenes from the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die (in which Roger Moore appeared as Bond for the first time) were filmed around Montego Bay.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Mar 2014 01:24:21 +0000
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