I find this article interesting in that it depicts colonial violence from two different perspectives. The account given in the Cornwall Gazette adopts a view which seeks to justify the acts of the colonizers, while the pamphlet argues against the need for violent action. Overall, its a discourse between two unreliable narrators, both trying to depict the events in Trelawny in a light that supports their own views or interests. The pamphlet clearly depicts a sentimentalist view, as is evident by its frequent reference to christian ideologies as well as the assertion that the colonies are humane endeavors. Meanwhile, the excerpt from the Gazette displays a capitalistic view of events, justifying the skirmish as a necessary means to reclaim lost property.
I would argue that this article gives some insight into the way the Haitian revolt changed the view of colonization and slavery in the eyes of English citizens. Fear of the colonized's supposed propensity for violence was used as justification for use of militaristic force in the colonies, which in turn fueled the sentimentalist movement. In either case, the victims of colonization are not given autonomy, which is something we've encountered in Benito Cereno as well. Melville's text may well have been an attempt to critique the sentimentalist point of view, suggesting that while they claim noble motives, their view of events is just as cloudy and flawed as Amasa Delano's.
I think the self-justifying framework from The Gazette that you expose as an entirely unreliable yet "necessary means to reclaim lost property" shows how subtly the written word's violence can invert "Knowledge of the real or putative history of local places [to] form an important part of education ...This [education] formed part of the training of the military, for whom a knowledge of the landscape was essential... When we link the naming of parts or cities with the maiming of their displaced, effaced, and outcast populations we can further frame use of militaristic force in the colonies and discourse in sentimentalist movement as places in space where negotiations between whose suffering is made to be remembered or forgotten takes place.
ReplyDeleteIn 1770, the wealthy planters in St James and St Ann succeeded in having sections of those parishes become the parish of Trelawny as they were too far from administrative centres. Trelawny was named after William Trelawny, the then Governor of Jamaica. The first capital was Martha Brae located two miles (3 km) inland from Rock Bay.
Trelawny is best known for its sugar estates and sugar factories. It had more sugar estates than any other parish, so there was need for a sea coast town to export it. Falmouth became a thriving seaport and social centre. The town had two of its own newspapers; The Falmouth Post and The Falmouth Gazette.
Trelawny was also home to the largest group of Maroons in the island. A 1739 treaty between the Maroons and the English gave the Maroons freedom and land, which effectively put a stop to their raids on the plantations. However, a second Maroon uprising in 1795 led to over 600 Maroons being exiled to Nova Scotia, Canada and later to Sierra Leone in Africa in 1800.
Trelawny's sources of employment are based on agriculture, manufacturing, and tourism. Rum and sugar are Trelawny's principal products. Other crops include bananas, yams, strawberries, vegetables, pimento, coffee, ginger, and coconut. Though the fishing industry is declining, Trelawny still produces a large amount of fish. There are ten beaches along the coast, with more than 30 boats each, as well as 27 fish ponds.
There are 25 factories in the parish. These produce sugar, rum, and apparel, among other things. Two of the eight remaining sugar factories in Jamaica are in Trelawny —Hampden Sugar Factory, and Trelawny Sugar, formerly Long Pond Sugar Factory.
The tourism sector is still growing. Major hotels are Grand Lido Braco, Silver Sands Resort and the Royalton White Sands Resort (formerly the Breezes Trelawny Hotel). Other accommodations include Anita's Place in Kinloss, an eco-friendly lodge in the Cockpit Country area of Trelawny, en route to the Barbecue bottom trail. The Fisherman's Inn in Trewlany offers weddings, hotel, and Jamaican cuisine. The Fisherman's Inn is set on the coastal road just outside the commercial center of Falmouth Trelawny, immediately adjacent to the Luminescent Lagoon.