Hanover, Jamaica

Hanover, (capital Lucea), is a parish, located on the north western tip of the island of Jamaica. It is a part of the county of Cornwall, bordered by St. James in the east, and Westmoreland in the south, and, with the exception of Kingston, it is the smallest parish on the island. Hanover is the birth parish of The Right Excellent Sir William Alexander Bustamante (d. 1977), one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes.

Brief history

Hanover was established on November 12, 1723, and given the family name of the English monarch, who was from the House of Hanover in Germany. In the early colonial days, Lucea, the main town, was an even busier town than Montego Bay. By the mid-18th century, Lucea was the hub of an important sugar growing region and the town was prosperous as a sugar port and market centre. Jews from Europe settled in the parish as merchants, store keepers, haberdasher, shoe makers and goldsmiths, and it became a free port.

Related Topics:
November 12 - 1723 - Family name - English - Monarch - Germany - Colonial - Town - Montego Bay - 18th century - Sugar - Jews - Europe - Merchants - Store keepers - Haberdasher - Shoe makers - Goldsmiths - Port

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After emancipation in 1834, the free peasants prospered and supplied produce to much of the rest of Jamaica. The harbour was used to export bananas until after the 1960s. A deep-water pier was built, but this was restricted to the shipping of molasses and is no longer in use. In 1983, the port was closed, but the old Fort Charlotte still stands at one side of the entrance to the harbour. It was never used.

Related Topics:
Emancipation - 1834 - Produce - Jamaica - Harbour - Export - Bananas - 1960s - Pier - Molasses - 1983

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