Spanish Town, Jamaica - Folk Museum - postcard, stamps 1975 pmk

• Postcard

   

• Picture / Image:  Folk Museum, Spanish Town, Jamaica
• Publisher:  Colorcroft Studios, New York
• Postally used:  yes
• Stamp:  Jamaica 4c + 5c. definitives
• Postmark(s):  light postmar - hand dated 1975
• Sent to:  Manchester, England
• Notes / condition: 

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NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Spanish Town is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the Spanish and English/British capital of Jamaica from 1534 until 1872. The town is home to numerous memorials, the national archives, and one of the oldest Anglican churches outside England (the others are in Virginia, Maryland and Bermuda).

The Spanish settlement of Villa de la Vega was founded by governor Francisco de Garay in 1534 as the capital of the colony. Later, it was also called Santiago de la Vega or St. Jago de la Vega. Indigenous Taino had been living in the area for approximately a millennium before this, but this was the first European habitation on the south of the island.

When the English conquered Jamaica in 1655, they renamed the settlement as Spanish Town. Since the town was badly damaged during the conquest, Port Royal took on many administrative roles and functioned as an unofficial capital during the beginning of English rule. By the time Port Royal was devastated by an earthquake in 1692, Spanish Town had been rebuilt and was again functioning as the capital. Spanish Town remained the capital until 1872, when the seat of the colony was moved to Kingston.

Kingston had been founded in the aftermath of the 1692 earthquake. By 1755, serious rivalry from lobbyists caused increasing speculation about the continued suitability of Spanish Town as the capital. In 1836, Governor Lionel Smith observed that "the capital was in ruins, with no commercial, manufacturing and agricultural concern in operation."^{[citation needed]} To worsen the situation, following the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865, Sir John Peter Grant ordered the removal of the capital in 1872 to Kingston. As a larger port, it had come to be considered the natural capital of the island. After the seat of government was relocated, Spanish Town lost much of its economic and cultural vitality.

Built on the west bank of the Rio Cobre, the town lies thirteen miles from Kingston on the main road. Its history was shaped by two significant colonial periods: Spanish rule from 1534–1655 and the English from 1655–1872. After that the capital was relocated to Kingston. The Anglican Church took over the 16th century cathedral.

The historic architecture and street names mark the colonial history, such as Red Church and White Church streets, symbolic of the Spanish chapels of the red and white cross, as well as Monk Street, in reference to the monastery that once stood nearby. Nugent and Manchester streets were named for the British Colonial Governors, George Nugent and William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester. King Street runs past the King's House, the governor's residence, and Constitution Street, near to the Square, refers to the island's former administrative centre. Regency buildings in the town centre include the Rodney Memorial and the façade of the Old King's House, which was the residence of the governors until 1872.