King's Square, St. Jago de la Vega (Spanish Town), 1820-21 from James Hakewill's A Picturesque Tour of the Island of Jamaica (1825).[3]Wesleyan Chapel, Spanish Town.Modern view of the former House of Assembly, now the Town Hall.
The Spanish settlement of Villa de la Vega was founded by the Spanish in 1534 as the capital of the colony. Later, it was also called Santiago de la VegaorSt. Jago de la Vega.[4] 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 in honour to the original Spanish root of this 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 13 miles from Kingston on the main road. Its history was shaped by two significant colonial periods: Spanish rule from 1534 to 1655 and the English from 1655 to 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 flanked by two guns from the French ship Ville de Paris (1764),[5] and the façade of the Old King's House, which was the residence of the governor until 1872.
Spanish Town is the site of an early cast-iron bridge, designed by Thomas Wilson and manufactured by Walker and Company of Rotherham, England. Spanning the Rio Cobre, the bridge was erected in 1801 at a cost of £4,000.[6] Its four arched ribs are supported on massive masonry abutments. After the abutments deteriorated, endangering the structure, it was listed in the 1998 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund.[7]
A restoration project began in 2004, with funding provided by American Express through World Monuments Fund.[8] Progress was slow until 2008, when a renewed restoration effort was made. A first phase of restoration was completed in April 2010, when the repair of the abutments allowed the bridge to be reopened for the public.[9] More recently, violence in the area has prevented the bridge from achieving the status of a UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.[10]
In 2009 the population of Spanish Town was estimated to be about 160,000.[2] The population of Spanish Town, like the rest of the St. Catherine, has been growing rapidly.
It is sometimes referred to colloquially as "Spain" or "Prison Oval" within Jamaica. The latter nickname is a reference to the cricket pitch or oval located just outside the St. Catherine District Prison, where some inmates can get a limited view of the sport through their cell windows. Association football is also played at the Prison Oval; Rivoli United F.C. is the major team.
The town had one of the first Spanish cathedrals to be built in the New World, constructed around 1525. Many Christian denominations have churches or meeting halls in the town, including a Roman Catholic church and Wesleyan, Baptist and Seventh-day Adventist chapels. There is also a mosque.[11]
Standing untouched in character is a historic alms-house, public hospital, and a penal institution built in the eighteenth century. The town contains a factory that manufactures dyes from logwood, a salt factory, and a rice processing plant. In the neighbourhood are five large sugar estates, a milk condensary, and a large textile mill.
