Pree History

The Caribbean had a food supply problem for their enslaved population. Planters petitioned the government to bring back breadfruit trees from the newly "discovered" Polynesian islands- namely Tahiti. Capt Bligh was tasked to undertake this long mission to bring back seedlings on his plant nursery ships. The mission went terribly wrong the first try before he gave it another go. This expedition introduced many beloved foods which are now staples in the Jamaican diet.

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Just a rundown of how the parishes evolved over time and fast facts on St. Elizabeth, Clarendon and St. Thomas.

• https://www.nlj.gov.jm/history-notes/History%20of%20Clarendon.pdf
• http://www.jnht.com/site_Bath_Botanic_Garden.php
• European Migration to Jamaica, 1655-1780. Trevor Burnard. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2947143
• Morant Bay Rebellion - History Uncovered. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEH7fBz4K00
• Hidden Textures of Race and Historical Memory: The Rediscovery of Photographs Relating to Jamaica's Morant Bay Rebellion of 1865. Mimi Sheller. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.72.2.0533
• https://jis.gov.jm/information/parish-profiles/parish-profiles-st-thomas/
• https://jis.gov.jm/information/parish-profiles/parish-profile-st-elizabeth/
• https://jis.gov.jm/information/parish-profiles/parish-profile-clarendon/

Trinidadian-born musical prodigy, Hazel Scott made waves during the 1930s to 1940s with her jazzed up classical numbers. She wowed the nightclub scenes with her musical rendition, used her influence to elevate how black people were portrayed in films and married the first black congressman from New York. Hazel Scott was a model of African American success until her career crumbled due to false accusations of communism. 

• Hazel Scott: A Career Curtailed. https://www.jstor.org/stable/20064068?read-now=1&seq=2#metadata_info_tab_contents. 
• What Ever Happened to Hazel Scott? - YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_WJ4PpxWaE 
• https://www.wnyc.org/people/hazel-scott/ 
• https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/hazel-scott 
• https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/scott-hazel-1920-1981 
• https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/american_originals/eleanor.html 
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/hazel-scotts-lifetime-of-high-notes-145939027/

In this we cover Thomas-Alexandre's military career, his captivity in Naples and his falling out with Napoleon which got progressively worse. Sources: The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo. Tom Reiss. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexandre-Dumas-French-general https://www.businessinsider.com/thomas-alexandre-dumas-france-first-black-general-napoleon-bonaparte-2018-3

Thomas-Alexandre would one day become the father of Alexandre Dumas, infamous writer of classics such as The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte-Cristo. Much of his life would inspire his son's characters and story beats, and no wonder as Thomas-Alexandre was born as a slave on a French colony and eventually rise to become the first black generals in the French Army. This is part 1 of 2 exploring his family background up to his early life in Paris. Sources: The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo. Tom Reiss. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alexandre-Dumas-French-general https://www.businessinsider.com/thomas-alexandre-dumas-france-first-black-general-napoleon-bonaparte-2018-3

Welcome to a very special episode. We will cover the origins of the Chinese Jamaican community and the difficulties they faced as new immigrants to the country. As American Asians experience an increase in violence and hostility we should remember the history of such incidents and ensure we do not repeat them and educate ourselves on the different groups who make up our community.

Slave rebellions were pretty frequent in Jamaica's early colony years. We take a quick look at the early ones including Cudjoe's rebellion and how it led to the formation of Maroon communities across the island.

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In the weeks after the American Civil War, urbanites were going crazy for a new sport- pedestrianism. Fred Hart an immigrant from Haiti would snatch the championship and fame while setting a path for future black racewalkers who participated in a nearly deadly 84-day long footrace across America during the Jim Crow era.

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We'll wrap up the final years of the Golden Age of Piracy with the pirate queens Anne Bonny and Mary Read and their captain Calico Jack Rackam. There's a lot of legend mixed in with the facts but they forever left their mark on pirate lore to this day.

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Henry Morgan, revered pirate turned pirate hunter, kept himself busy being a terror to the Spanish on the high seas. This episode covers his most daring expedition of all, capturing Panama, a key source of Spain's wealth in the New World. His trips would lead to the complete destruction of Panama City and loosen the grip of Spain on the Americas. He also returned home a hero and turned his back on his pirate brethren without hesitation. This is Henry Morgan, who helped shaped Jamaica's early years as a pirate haven and English colony.

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Mary Seacole took what she learned from her "doctress" mother who cared for the British army in Jamaica and her adventures in Panama during a cholera epidemic to care for her boys during the Crimea War. Mary didn't let others, including contemporaries like Florence Nightingale, discourage her from serving the front lines.

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George Stiebel didn't have an easy life being half-Jewish and mixed race but he fought and won an uphill battle to make a comfortable life for his family by trying everything and never giving up. Follow George as he became a school dropout, carpenter, trader of legal and illegal goods, prisoner and stranded in South America before making big bucks. All while this went on, his heart was with his family who would bring him great joy and great tragedy. George would live on in Jamaica's heart forever as the builder of Devon House, a national treasure.

In the 1770's travelers who passed too close to Edinburgh Castle, Jamaica, frequently disappeared. No one seemed willing to make the suspected murderer, Lewis Hutchinson, take responsibility for his sadistic actions until a feud with a neighbor got out hand.

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