The Story of the Jamaican People

by Philip Manderson Sherlock, Hazel Bennett

The Story of the Jamaican People is the first general history of Jamaica to be written in almost forty years. It differs significantly from earlier "imperial" histories which have been written from the perspective of the coloniser and which have relegated Jamaicans to an inferior and passive role. In this book, the authors offer a new interpretation of Jamaica's history. The central theme is the long struggle of the African-Jamaican against subjugation, injustice, economic deprivation, and the fight for full freedom. They recount the epic resistance to slavery; from the acts of sabotage on the estates, the legendary exploits of Maroon heroes Cudjoe, Nanny and Tacky, to the final blow delivered by Sam Sharpe which ended slavery in Jamaica.

An underlying theme throughout the book is the centrality of Africa, the original homeland of the African-Jamaican. The memory of Africa's ancient civilisations, its diverse tribes, languages, cultures and religions, sustained the African-Jamaican throughout slavery and remains a positive influence on modern-day Jamaican culture.

Although the focus of the story is on African-Jamaica, the authors recognise the significant role played by other ethnic groups - East Indians, Chinese, Lebanese, Syrians and Jews - in the development of modern Jamaica.

The Story of the Jamaican People is told in a powerfully evocative and poetic style in which the images of creative writers and artists are blended with extensive quotations from anthropological, sociological and historical sources. The book is copiously illustrated and has an extensive bibiliographical and reference section as well as a useful index.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

434 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Sir Philip Manderson Sherlock (February 25, 1902 - December 4, 2000) was a historian, civil leader, and vice chancellor of the University of the West Indies.

Reviews

[Donna Rigg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thorough history but quite repetitive and circular. It tries to counter the Eurocentric view of past Jamaican historians but ends up going too far in the other direction by being too pro Afro-Jamaicans and not critical, nor objective enough in discussing Africa, the African involvement in the slave trade nor anything to do with black Jamaicans. For example, there is no critical discussion of prominent Jamaican leaders/figures; all are portrayed as perfect heroes. But it was still worth reading despite the Afro-bias to counter the mostly Eurocentric views of Jamaican history. I wish the book also touched upon the large migration of Jamaicans to England and the US in the latter half of the 20 century.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️ An excellent and very thorough history. Only thing that stopped me giving it a full 5 star review is because I would have liked to read a chapter on emigration particularly the Windrush generation.

[Sammy Boursiquot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely thorough, so there was a lot for me to learn in the history in and around Jamaica, to the point of frequently finding myself researching to learn more about some of the topics the book touches on, I.e. the United fruit company. Definitely a worthy, if not long, read.

Do wish it had been considerably more critical, in general and on the leaders it presents, the connectedness between Africa and its diaspora, even the adoption of Christian religion. I understand that would’ve contrasted the thesis of the book somewhat, but I feel it would’ve been valuable to state why building national pride and patriotism through an “accurate” lens of Jamaican history is a worthy goal despite negatives and downsides.

[Faloni © · Rating 5 out of 5]

🌴☀️ Great shit today. 💕💙🤞 🙂
🇯🇲💕💓👶🏼🧘🏽‍♀️👧🏽💓💕 🇯🇲

[Food4 Thought · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely book about the history of the Jamaican people. I would encourage you to buy it and read it-🙂.

[Julian Haigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very much focused on the history up to the 1962 independence with emphasis on the development of a national consciousness.