
The House of Assembly was the
legislature
A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...
of the
British colony of Jamaica.
It held its first meeting on 20 January 1664 at
Spanish Town
Spanish Town ( jam, label= Jamaican Creole, Panish Tong) is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the historic county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. T ...
.
[ Cundall, Frank. (1915]
''Historic Jamaica''.
London: Institute of Jamaica. p. 15. As a result of the
Morant Bay Rebellion
The Morant Bay Rebellion (11 October 1865) began with a protest march to the courthouse by hundreds of people led by preacher Paul Bogle in Morant Bay, Jamaica. Some were armed with sticks and stones. After seven men were shot and killed by t ...
, the Assembly voted to abolish self-governance in 1865. Jamaica then became a direct-ruled
crown colony.
Originally there were twelve districts represented.
For many years, a high property qualification ensured that the House of Assembly was dominated by the
White Jamaican
White Jamaicans also known as European-Jamaicans are Jamaican people whose ancestry lies within the continent of Europe, most notably Great Britain and Ireland. There are also communities of people who are descendants of people who arrived from ...
planter class
The planter class, known alternatively in the United States as the Southern aristocracy, was a racial and socioeconomic caste of pan-American society that dominated 17th and 18th century agricultural markets. The Atlantic slave trade permitted ...
. However, to elect these representatives, the bar was lower for "freeholders", who just had to be white men with a house, pen or plantation, and owned black slaves.
[Christer Petley, ''White Fury'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018), p. 42.]
A law passed in 1840 allowed some blacks and mixed-race men to vote in elections to the Assembly, though they had to own property, so the white planters continued to dominate it.
See also
*
Jamaican general elections, 1677–1863
Jamaican may refer to:
* Something or someone of, from, or related to the country of Jamaica
* Jamaicans, people from Jamaica
* Jamaican English, a variety of English spoken in Jamaica
* Jamaican Patois, an English-based creole language
* Culture ...
*
List of speakers of the House of Assembly of Jamaica
This is a list of speakers of the House of Assembly of Jamaica (1664-1865). Cundall, Frank. (1915''Historic Jamaica''.London: Institute of Jamaica. pp. xvi-xviii.
17th century
* 1664. Robert Freeman
* 1664. Sir Thomas Whetstone
* 1671. Samuel ...
*
Parliament of Jamaica
The Parliament of Jamaica is the legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. It consists of three elements: The Crown (represented by the Governor-General), the appointed Senate and the directly elected House of Representatives.
The S ...
References
{{Jamaican elections, state=collapsed
Colony of Jamaica
Historical legislatures
Politics of Jamaica
Political organisations based in Jamaica
1664 establishments in Jamaica
1865 disestablishments in Jamaica
Members of the House of Assembly of Jamaica
Speakers of the House of Assembly of Jamaica