ipl-logo

Great Depression In Jamaica

1602 Words7 Pages

It was strongly stated that “The sun never set on the British Empire”. This statement was undoubtedly true for decades. In the Caribbean, the time period between between the Great Depression (1929-1939) and the onset of World War II marked the high age of decolonization. Poverty in Jamaica, which was at the time a colony of Great Britain, was a widespread epidemic. During the 1930s majority of the Jamaican population was either unemployed or underemployed. Housing standards and living standards were extremely primitive and wages of workers were extremely low. A report from the Labour Department of Jamaica in 1939 recorded the results of two surveys conducted on August 9th and October 6th 1939. The survey took into consideration 486 households …show more content…

This topic is worthy of investigation because it shows the tremendous effects of the Great Depression on Jamaica and it explores how the Great Depression set the stage for Jamaica to be decolonised and granted independence from Great Britain. Personally this topic is of high significance to me because I am Jamaican and this is my history which I will be investigating. I will use a wide range of sources to investigate my chosen topic as thoroughly as possible and to come to precise conclusion. My main sources will be a book called “Towards Decolonisation: Political, Labour and Economic Developments in Jamaica 1938-1945” written by Historian Richard Hart and “Freedom's Children: The 1938 Labor Rebellion and the Birth of Modern Jamaica” written by Colin A. Palmer. This essay will demonstrate to what extent did the Great Depression set the stage for the decolonisation of Jamaica by analyzing different key aspects and events that took place in Jamaica because of the Great …show more content…

Strikes and rebellions started to emerge all over the island. Each strike and rebellion sparked an inspirational feeling to other workers who wanted and were demanding more rights. Strikes by fellow workers inspired other workers to strike also. On 27 December 1937 workers on Serge Island sugar estate in St Thomas in eastern Jamaica, dissatisfied with prevailing rates of pay, indicated their unwillingness to start reaping the crop. The Labour strikes continued through 1938 with its most detrimental effects in Jamaicas capital Kingston, where there was unrest in several parts of the city. Richard Hart in his book Rise and Organise describes the rebellions as one of the major pushing forces of the eventual decolonization of Jamaica. After many strikes and arrest and imprisonment of workers the strikes withered down in the later part of 1938 but due to these strikes, emerged Alexander Bustamante. Bustamante who was arrested in 1938 but released by demand of the Jamaican workers, was determined to help and fight alongside the workers for workers rights. Bustamante originally decided to from five workers unions but quickly added two more to have a total of seven. Subsequently, Bustamante decided to have only one union which would organise all categories of workers and

Show More
Related

  • How Did The Great Depression Put People Into Poverty?

    444 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Great Depression was without a doubt, a rough time for America and the American economy. Whilst the economy was severely damaged, it affected the people the most. The vast majority, if not all of the citizens had been forced into poverty, struggling to support themselves, where others have family to care for. A wide majority of the citizens resorted to getting multiple jobs. Yet despite this, those whom participated in multiple careers had no reliable income.

    Read More

  • R. B. Bennett's Relief Camps During The Great Depression In Canada

    502 Words  | 3 Pages

    The roaring twenties and the dirty thirties were an extremely versatile period for Canada based on economy. Many turning points during this period helped develop Canada for example the relief camps. When the Great Depression began, many migrant workers lost their jobs and traveled across the country (‘riding the rods’) leaving their family because of the financial stress to find work. Many people viewed these unemployed men as dangerous people to the peace and safety of their communities. Due to this, Prime Minister R.B. Bennett developed a solution.

    Read More

  • Robert Mcielvaine The Great Depression

    754 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Great Depression by Robert S. McElvaine is pretty straightforward. In the beginning, the book compares the economic crisis of 2008 with the roots of the Great Depression in 1929. He believed that politicians in the twentieth century did not learn their lesson from before. The book also depicts the lives of people during The Roaring Twenties and how the downfall of the economy and overproduction lead to mass unemployment and struggling families. McElvaine’s point of view on the Great Depression was considerably biased.

    Read More

  • Hoover's Response To The New Deal

    957 Words  | 4 Pages

    Britain had been less dreadfully affected by the Great Depression but Britain 's industrial and export sectors continued to be seriously depressed until World War II. By 1931 many other countries had already been affected by the Depression. Almost all of the nation 's looked to protect their domestic production by imposing tariffs, increasing current tariffs, and placing quotas on foreign imports. The outcome of the restrictive measures put into place were to tremendously decrease the volume of international trade. The nation 's economic health slowly worsened as the president and business leaders attempted to convince the citizenry that rehabilitation from the Great Depression was imminent.

    Read More

  • Great Depression Dbq

    608 Words  | 3 Pages

    Roderick Karami History 118 Professor Bowerman November 16, 2015 Mid Term / Essay Number Two . The Great Depression in the United states started October 29, 1929 also known as “Black Tuesday” which was when the American stock market which was doing very well ended up crashing, causing the country into its biggest economic fall to this day. President Franklin Roosevelt took over office in 1933, he acted immediately to stabilize the economy and provide jobs to those that were in need. Upon the next eight years the government experienced programs relatively known as the New Deal that aimed to restore the economy.

    Read More

  • Out Of This Furnace Sparknotes

    917 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Knights of Labor, founded by Terence Powderly and Uriah Stephens in 1869, helped create a union contract with Carnegie’s Braddock Mill. While the Knights of Labor were trying to have broad social reform around the country, they created a lockout in the Braddock Mill. Workers like Kratcha did not care as much about the union’s goals, instead they wanted the mills to be open so that they could earn money (25). Large business owners, like Carnegie, tried, and usually succeed, at breaking strikes and unions in their mills. In Homestead and Braddock, Kratcha experienced the effects of strikes, and they were not positive.

    Read More

  • The Great Depression: An Economic Downfall

    1218 Words  | 5 Pages

    Home The Great Depression:A Conflict Over An Economic Downfall THE GREAT DEPRESSION CAUSED EXTREME POVERTY AND JOB LOSS THROUGHOUT AMERICA DURING THE 1930'S. THIS ECONOMIC DOWNFALL LED TO THE ABANDONMENT OF THE GOLD STANDARD, FDR'S NEW DEAL PROGRAMS, AND AN INCREASED SIZE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. ALTHOUGH THESE METHODS HELPED COMBAT THE DEPRESSION THE UNITED STATES WOULD NOT GET OUT OF THE DEPRESSION UNTIL WWII.Sophia Bosi Junior Division Individual Website Total Words On Website:1,035 words Process Paper: 367 words Before the Depression The government before the Depression Before the Great Depression, the average American had little contact with the federal government besides the post office. The policies and actions of the Federal government

    Read More

  • The Great Depression In Canada

    1313 Words  | 6 Pages

    The great depression in Canada started in 1929 and ended in 1939. This essay is going to talk about how the great depression had affected Canada economically, socially as well as politically. The Great Depression had affected Canada significantly as there was a drop in the economy, the economic drop had also affect the citizens living in Canada by a wide margin. A lot of other political systems and parties were also created due to the Great Depression. Thus, to a great extent, the great depression had affected Canada economically, socially as well as politically, as there was an economic job, population changed occurred, and new political parties were created.

    Read More

  • Black Tuesday: The New Deal

    1083 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Great Depression was a period of prolonged economic recession that began on October 1929 and was preceded by the economic boom of the 1920s. The Depression gravely devastated the country and was by far the worst economic crisis of the 20th century, lasting for a decade, till the end of the 1930s. The Depression, though widely debated upon, can be considered the result of an untimely clash of unfavourable economic factors that began with the Wall Street crash of October 24th, 1929. The damage was extended on Tuesday, October 29, 1929, thus the name ‘Black Tuesday’.

    Read More

  • Industrial Revolution Dbq

    453 Words  | 2 Pages

    Furthermore the citizens lived in overcrowded areas that were very dirty and filled with pollution. Unfortunately the workers were subjected to horrible and even dangerous working conditions. They worked as much as six days a week and ten to fourteen hours a day. There were many safety hazards including dangerously high temperatures, along with numerous accidents and a scarce amounts protection against

    Read More

  • Great Depression Dbq

    692 Words  | 3 Pages

    What Caused the Great Depression? The Great Depression was a devastating tragedy that changed our economy. In the U.S, the Great Depression shortly happened after the stock market crash in 1929. This sent Wall Street into a great panic and wiped out millions of investors.

    Read More

  • The Effect Of The Great Depression On Canada

    248 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929 and went on to 1939. This was the longest and worst depression experienced by the western world which caused fundamental changes in economic institutions, macroeconomic policy, and economic theory. It originated in the United States but the Great Depression caused rises in unemployment rates, declines in output, and deflation in almost every country. The timing and harshness of the Great Depression was different for every country, some were more affected than others

    Read More

  • Racism In Jamaica Kincaid's A Small Place

    909 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jamaica Kincaid 's A Small Place examines the historical/social context of how Antiguans dealt racism through slavery after an oppressive European colonization. Kincaid reveals that European colonization resulted in Antigua dealing with injustice such as corruption and poverty. She argues Europeans and Americans traveling to Antigua are focused on the beautiful scenery, which is not a correct representation of the day to day lives of Antiguans. Although racism has many negative effects, Kincaid seemed to state the benefits of Europeans’ colonialism and how it contributed to her life such by introducing the English language and the library that helped her to become a writer. Kincaid states that we “cannot get over the past, cannot forgive and cannot forget” (26); therefore, Kincaid feels that the past influences the present.

    Read More

  • A Small Place Analysis

    1241 Words  | 5 Pages

    A Small Place authored by Jamaica Kincaid is consistent with these words. Her work showed great passion illustrated through rude language to demonstrate her experiences. She, one of many people, experienced struggle and pain throughout her childhood. Now she shares the story of Antigua, her home. By viewing through the Postcolonial, Marxist, and New Criticism lenses, the reader is able to perceive Jamaica Kincaid’s perspective on the changes.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Social Mobility In The Caribbean

    1705 Words  | 7 Pages

    Introduction In the Caribbean, each territory has a unique social stratification systems which have been developed over the past centuries. This encouraged the people of these many cultures within the region to advance their social status - or his/her ‘social well-being,’ and the status of their family through the movement of social mobility. In this paper, it is my contention that social mobility is possible in the Caribbean since it allows persons to move in the social stratification system; secondly – to briefly address the current situation of social mobility within the Caribbean region, specifically in the countries of Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Guyana. And finally, that social mobility has shaped better opportunities in the Caribbean.

    Read More

More about Great Depression In Jamaica

Open Document