Michael Manley

Violence

Manley was Prime Minister when Jamaica experienced a significant escalation of its political culture of violence. Supporters of his opponent Edward Seaga and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and Manley's People's National Party (PNP) engaged in a bloody struggle which began before the 1976 election and ended when Seaga was installed as Prime Minister in 1980. Seaga's Jamaica Labour Party has been accused of complicity in the shooting of reggae star Bob Marley who was felt to be a Manley sympathiser. While the violent political culture was not invented by Seaga or Manley, and had its roots in conflicts between the parties from as early as the beginning of the two-party system in the 1940s, political violence reached unprecedented levels in the 1970s. Indeed, the two elections accompanied by the greatest violence were those (1976 and 1980) in which Seaga was trying to unseat Manley.

Related Topics:
Edward Seaga - Jamaica Labour Party - People's National Party - 1976 - 1980 - Reggae - Bob Marley - Two-party system - 1940s - 1970s

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Violence flared in January 1976 in anticipation of elections. A State of Emergency was declared by Governor-General Florizel Glasspole in June and some prominent members of the JLP were accused of trying to overthrow the government and were detained in a specially-created prison at the Up-Park Camp military headquarters. Elections were held on 15 December that year. The PNP was returned to office. The State of Emergency continued into the next year. Extraordinary powers granted the police by the Suppression of Crime Act of 1974 continued to the end of the 1980s.

Related Topics:
State of Emergency - 15 December - 1974

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Violence continued to blight political life in the 1970s. Rival gangs armed by the two parties fought for control of urban constituencies. In the election year of 1980 around 800 Jamaicans were killed. While the murder rate in Jamaica has long been high, meaning that all these deaths cannot be linked exclusively to political violence, Jamaicans were particular shocked by the violence at that time.

Related Topics:
1970s - Gangs

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Seaga's JLP won and he became Prime Minister.

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