Montego Bay
Montego Bay | |
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Overlay of 876; active as of November 2018) |
Montego Bay is the capital of the
Montego Bay is a popular tourist destination featuring
Toponymy
Christopher Columbus named the bay of Montego, Golfo de Buen Tiempo ("Fair Weather Gulf"). The name "Montego Bay" is believed to have originated as a corruption of the Spanish word manteca ("lard"), allegedly because during the Spanish period it was the port where lard, leather and beef were exported.[3]
History
The Arawak tribe of South America are Jamaica's first known inhabitants and were there to greet Columbus when he ventured to the island in 1494.[4] Jamaica was a colony of Spain from 1511 until 1655, when Oliver Cromwell's Caribbean expedition, the Western Design, drove the Spanish from the island. After the British removed the Spanish rule, along with the majority of all buildings and infrastructure, the colonials established the Parish of St. James which directly influenced the area in becoming a huge contributor of sugar cane. In fact, during this period of British governing, Montego Bay was the largest producer of sugar cane on the island of Jamaica, giving the region more value than originally anticipated.[3]
Throughout the duration of slavery, from the mid-17th century until 1834, and well into the 20th century, the town of Montego Bay functioned primarily as a sugarcane port. The island's last major slave revolt, the Christmas Rebellion or Baptist War (1831–1832) took place in and around the area of Montego Bay. The rebellion set estates and plantations to flame and was the start of a broader political push toward emancipation.[3] Retribution was quickly sought by British leaders and many were hanged for their attempts at revolt; the leader of the revolt, Samuel Sharpe, was hanged there in 1832. Recognition was later given, and Sharpe was proclaimed a national hero of Jamaica in 1975, and the main square of the town was renamed in his honor. Eventually, Jamaica was emancipated on August 1, 1834 which granted all new children born or children under the age of six "free", but held individuals outside of that parameter to be apprentices and work forty hours a week in compensation to their previous or original owners. It was not until four years after these restrictions were put in place that all slave and apprentices were given the status of full freedom.[5] After the half decade emancipation process, Montego Bay and its sugar cane industry took a hit. Therefore, it branched out and took root in expanding into exporting bananas and coffee as well.[3]
Montego Bay's city status prior to British rule was debated; however, it had its city status revoked during Jamaica's British colonial period. It was re-proclaimed a city by act of parliament in 1980, but this has not meant that it has acquired any form of autonomy, for it continues to be an integral part of the parish of St. James.[6]
Today, Montego Bay is known for
The infrastructure of the city is going through a series of modernizations which once completed, aims to keep Montego Bay as a top destination in the region. The Montego Bay Convention Centre, built on a large site near to the Rose Hall estate, was opened by Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding on 7 January 2011.[7]
Demographics
The majority of the city's population is of
There is a minority of Europeans, some descending from immigrants from Germany (the city is a 90-minute drive from German settlements such as German Town in Westmoreland) and Great Britain (who own most of the land in the city from as far back as the days of the slave trade).
The city is home to many immigrants from Hispanic countries such as Mexico, Cuba and Spain as well as many French, Russians and Italians (who mostly own homes or beachfront properties in the area).
The city also is home to many Americans and Canadians, who work the tourism or business process outsourcing (BPO) industries.
Religion
There are a wide variety of
The city also has communities of Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims.[8]
Economy
Montego Bay is pivotal to Jamaica's economy. The city holds most of the weight of the country's tourism sector. Most of the country's visitors arrive and depart from Montego Bay's airport or port. Many international companies have resorts in the city including
Institutions
The city hosts many financial institutions such as
The city is home to many health institutions such as the Cornwall Regional Hospital as well as the recently opened, Hospiten, a Spanish-owned, private hospital located in Rose Hall.
Education in the city can be found from Pre-K up to Tertiary. The city has many Pre-K and Basic Schools. Beyond this, the city has many Primary and Preparatory Schools. Secondary Education is also provided in the city most notable of which are the
Tertiary Institutions in the city are namely the
Transport
Roads
The North Coast Highway runs through the city of Montego Bay, with 2 lanes in each direction within the city, terminating at the Queen's Drive and resuming at the intersection of the Alice Eldemire Drive and Barnett Street.
Another major road within the city is the
The Government of Jamaica announced that a tolled bypass to the city has been planned to be built in order to reduce traffic congestion and travel times. The bypass is to begin at Westgate and end at Ironshore. The bypass is expected to cost around USD $200 Million.[16]
Rail
The now disused
Air
Montego Bay is served by Jamaica's largest airport, the Sangster International Airport. The airport has the distinction of being the busiest airport in the English-speaking Caribbean, serving 4.3 million passengers in 2017.[19]
The airport was the hub of Jamaica's former national airline Air Jamaica.[20] The airline also had its reservations, Western Jamaica sales & ticketing office, as well as its vacations division in the city until its purchase by Caribbean Airlines in 2011, when they moved their offices to Kingston. The site is now the headquarters for Island Routes, a company owned by the Sandals-ATL Group, which in the past was affiliated with the airline.
The airport is served by several North American and European airlines, connecting the island with the United States, the United Kingdom,
Port
There is a
Communications
Fixed voice and broadband
Fixed voice and broadband services in Montego Bay is provided by
Mobile voice and broadband
Mobile voice and broadband services in Montego Bay is dominated by both incumbents, FLOW & Digicel. Both carriers provide GSM, EDGE, 3G HSPA & HSPA+ connectivity in and around the city.
Currently,
In popular culture
The city was the subject of a namesake song by Bobby Bloom in 1970, which became a Top Ten hit in the United States for Bloom. It was covered by Jon Stevens in 1980 and by Amazulu in 1986, becoming minor hits for both.
Several scenes from the 1973 James Bond film Live and Let Die (in which Roger Moore appeared as Bond for the first time) were filmed around Montego Bay.[23]
Montego Bay was featured in the song Santechnikas iš Ukmergės by Lithuanian singer Vytautas Kernagis.
Climate
Montego Bay has a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification Am), with a wet season and a drier season and the temperature being warm or hot year-round. The average annual high temperature is 29.8 °C (85.6 °F), while the average annual low temperature is 23.7 °C (74.7 °F). The hottest time of year is from June to September. August has the highest average high at 31.4 °C (88.5 °F). July and August have the highest average low at 24.8 °C (76.6 °F). January and February have the lowest average high at 27.9 °C (82.2 °F). February has the lowest average low at 22.1 °C (71.8 °F).
Montego Bay receives 1,140 millimetres (45 in) of rain over 127 precipitation days, with wetter and drier months. The dry season is fairly short, lasting from January to April. July also sees a dip in precipitation. October, the wettest month, receives 164 millimetres (6.5 in) of rainfall over 14 precipitation days on average. Humidity remains consistently high year-round. Montego Bay receives 2788 hours of sunshine annually (7.6 hours per day) on average, with the sunshine being distributed fairly evenly across the year.
Climate data for Montego Bay | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 32.8 (91.0) |
33.3 (91.9) |
34.2 (93.6) |
37.8 (100.0) |
38.9 (102.0) |
37.8 (100.0) |
35.6 (96.1) |
36.1 (97.0) |
36.2 (97.2) |
35.0 (95.0) |
34.7 (94.5) |
32.5 (90.5) |
38.9 (102.0) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 27.9 (82.2) |
27.9 (82.2) |
28.7 (83.7) |
29.4 (84.9) |
30.3 (86.5) |
31.1 (88.0) |
31.3 (88.3) |
31.4 (88.5) |
31.1 (88.0) |
30.4 (86.7) |
29.4 (84.9) |
28.4 (83.1) |
29.8 (85.6) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 25.1 (77.2) |
25.0 (77.0) |
25.7 (78.3) |
26.3 (79.3) |
27.2 (81.0) |
27.8 (82.0) |
28.1 (82.6) |
28.1 (82.6) |
27.9 (82.2) |
27.4 (81.3) |
26.8 (80.2) |
25.7 (78.3) |
26.8 (80.2) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.3 (72.1) |
22.1 (71.8) |
22.6 (72.7) |
23.2 (73.8) |
24.0 (75.2) |
24.5 (76.1) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24.6 (76.3) |
24.4 (75.9) |
24.1 (75.4) |
22.9 (73.2) |
23.7 (74.7) |
Record low °C (°F) | 13.3 (55.9) |
12.8 (55.0) |
14.7 (58.5) |
15.3 (59.5) |
19.2 (66.6) |
19.4 (66.9) |
18.3 (64.9) |
19.7 (67.5) |
20.0 (68.0) |
17.2 (63.0) |
18.3 (64.9) |
16.4 (61.5) |
12.8 (55.0) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 89 (3.5) |
64 (2.5) |
35 (1.4) |
57 (2.2) |
104 (4.1) |
120 (4.7) |
65 (2.6) |
96 (3.8) |
129 (5.1) |
164 (6.5) |
115 (4.5) |
102 (4.0) |
1,140 (44.9) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 11 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 127 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
77 | 76 | 75 | 74 | 76 | 78 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79 | 79 | 78 | 77 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 229.4 | 217.5 | 251.1 | 252.0 | 251.1 | 237.0 | 254.2 | 238.7 | 210.0 | 217.0 | 213.0 | 217.0 | 2,788 |
Mean daily sunshine hours | 7.4 | 7.7 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 8.1 | 7.9 | 8.2 | 7.7 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 7.6 |
Source: Deutscher Wetterdienst[24] |
Notable people
- Corey Ballentine, football cornerback and kick returner for the Atlanta Falcons
- Steve Bucknor, Test cricket umpire
- Violet Brown, Jamaican supercentenarian
- Ian Goodison, Jamaican footballer
- Richard Hart, Jamaican politician
- Richard Hill, lawyer and abolitionist
- Donovan Ricketts, Jamaican footballer
- Musashi Suzuki, Japanese footballer
- Ruby Turner, singer and actress
- Nicholas Walters, professional boxer
See also
- List of cities in the Caribbean
- Railway stations in Jamaica
References
- ^ Population and Housing Census 2011 Findings
- ^ "Montego Bay Marine Park".[permanent dead link]
- ^ a b c d "Montego Bay travel". Lonely Planet.
- ^ "Montego Bay History". soulofamerica.com.
- ^ "Emancipation Day in Jamaica | Loop Jamaica". Loop News.
- ^ "Montego Bay — a city making progress in some areas, but struggling in others". Jamaica Observer.
- ^ "Industry News & Facts - MONTEGO BAY CONVENTION CENTRE OPENS". Jamaican Tourist Board. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 6 March 2011.
- ^ a b "Montego Bay". city-facts.com. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
- ^ "Hard Rock Café coming to MoBay". jamaica-gleaner.com. 7 August 2016.
- ^ "Starbucks". stories.starbucks.com. Archived from the original on 4 May 2017.
- ^ "Starbucks". stories.starbucks.com.
- ^ "North Coast Highway" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
- ^ "North/South Leg of Highway 2000 to be Completed Early 2016 - Jamaica Information Service". 21 April 2015.
- Directorate of Overseas Surveys1:50,000 map of Jamaica sheet C, 1959.
- ^ "Wikimapia - Let's describe the whole world!". wikimapia.org.
- ^ "US$200 Million Bypass to be Built in Montego Bay - Jamaica Information Service". 17 June 2016.
- ^ Montego Bay Railway Station Archived 8 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Jamaica National Heritage Trust.
- ^ The rise and fall of railways in Jamaica, 1845-1975 - Pg18 Journal of Transport History - March 2003
- ^ "Facts & Statistics". Montego Bay Jamaica Airport.
- ^ "MONTEGO BAY TO BE HUB FOR AIR JAMAICA". joc.com.
- ^ "Sangster International Airport, Jamaica". World Travel Awards.
- ^ TeleGeography. "FLOW Jamaica begins 4G deployment".
- ^ "Live and Let Die (1973)". IMDb.
- ^ "Klimatafel von Montego Bay / Jamaika" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961-1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 7 September 2016.