Abstract
OF all the West Indian Colonies appertaining to the British Crown, that of the Island of Jamaica can claim to be the largest in area, the most numerous in population, and the wealthiest in revenue. Within half a century of being the oldest of the English possessions in the new world—Barbadoes was settled in 1605; Jamaica was capitulated in 1655—it has, though with many vicissitudes, been the most successful, and it has always shown strong signs of a healthy life, in that it has recovered promptly and well from its periods of misfortune. The extreme length of this fertile island is about 144 miles, while its greatest width is 49, and its least width 21 miles. Its surface is extremely mountainous, attaining a maximum in the Blue Mountain Peak of some 7360 feet. Of its superficial area of 4139 square miles only about 646 are flat, consisting of marl, alluvium, and swamps. It possesses numerous rivers and springs, and a fertile soil. Its total of population in 1861 was 441,264; in 1871, 506,154.
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Jamaica . Nature 25, 152–154 (1881). https://doi.org/10.1038/025152c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/025152c0