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Jamaica in the Age of Development: Petitions, Small Farming, And

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Jamaica in the Age of Development: Petitions, Small Farming, And Title Page Jamaica in the Age of Development: Petitions, Small Farming, and Agricultural Planning, 1895-1972 by José Andrés Fernández Montes de Oca B. A. in History, Universidad de Costa Rica, 2013 M. A. in History, University of Pittsburgh, 2016 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2020 Committee Membership Page UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by José Andrés Fernández Montes de Oca It was defended on November 25, 2020 and approved by Dr. George Reid Andrews, Distinguished Professor, Department of History Dr. Michel Gobat, Professor, Department of History Dr. Scott Morgenstern, Professor, Department of Political Science Thesis Advisor/Dissertation Director: Dr. Lara Putnam, Professor, Department of History ii Copyright © by José Andrés Fernández Montes de Oca 2020 iii Abstract Jamaica in the Age of Development: Petitions, Small Farming, and Agricultural Planning, 1895-1972 José Andrés Fernández Montes de Oca, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2020 This dissertation analyses the development models pursued in Jamaica from 1895 to 1972. It is concerned with three lines of inquiry throughout different historical junctures from the late nineteenth century to the late 1960s. To what extent did colonial and post-colonial ideas around the peasantry’s role within the island’s economic development change over the course of the twentieth century? In what ways did the colonial and national development policies, drafted throughout the different historical junctures, reflect those changing ideas? Whose voices were heard and whose needs were met in the articulation of the policies on the ground? By reconstructing the evolving models of development in the island, this dissertation illustrates the significant role of small and middle-sized growers, tenants, and agricultural laborers in the political process. Based on records from the Jamaican National Archives in Spanish Town, the U.S. National Archives, official government reports, and contemporary newspapers and journals, I map how the visibility and salience of each of these groups changed over time. I contend that these rural inhabitants shaped island-wide development visions and rhetoric in Jamaican society. Building on recent literature on international development, I also demonstrate how the participation of various political, social, and economic actors in small-scale, bottom-up spaces helped define the outcomes and subsequent transformations of colonial and post-colonial development agendas. I conclude that ‘development’ was not a top-down process formulated iv abroad and applied in Jamaica, rather that actors on the ground in the island molded colonial and national development over time. v Table of Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................ ix 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Historical Findings ......................................................................................................... 4 1.2 Scholarly Context ......................................................................................................... 12 1.3 Chapter Outline ............................................................................................................ 30 2.0 The Politics of Representation: Middle Farmers and the Rural Masses, 1895-1929 ............................................................................................................................................... 34 2.1 The Emergence of the Rural Masses and Middle Farmers, 1838-1895 ................... 37 2.2 “Peasant Proprietors” and Agricultural Diversification, 1895-1920 ....................... 45 2.3 Branch Societies and Petitions, 1920s ......................................................................... 56 2.4 Land Redistribution for Small and Tenant Farmers in Upper Clarendon ............ 64 2.5 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 72 3.0 Petitions and Protest: Colonial Development and the Small Independent Landowners, 1929-1940 ....................................................................................................... 74 3.1 Export-oriented Agriculture and Small Landowners, 1929-1937 ............................ 78 3.2 ‘Noisy and Unruly’ Petitioners, 1935-1940 ................................................................ 89 3.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 105 4.0 Building a New Jamaica: The Emergence of State’s Social and Agricultural Planning Platform, 1937-1950 .......................................................................................... 107 4.1 “We are out to build a new Jamaica,” 1937-1940 .................................................... 111 4.2 Colonial Development and Welfare, 1940-1943 ....................................................... 121 vi 4.3 Developing the State’s Planning Organizations ....................................................... 129 4.4 Client-Patron Dynamics in Colonial Development and Welfare ........................... 140 4.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 150 5.0 “Good Farmers, Progressive Farmers”: Small-Farming and Mining, 1945-1960 ........ 153 5.1 Agricultural Planning and Industrialization, 1945-1952 ........................................ 157 5.2 Coordinated Small Farming Development, 1951-1960 ........................................... 173 5.3 Bauxite Development Model ...................................................................................... 184 5.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 194 6.0 “The Spirit of an Independent Jamaica:” Commercial Agriculture and Rural Development Planning, 1960-1972 ................................................................................... 196 6.1 Commercial Agricultural and Employment ............................................................ 200 6.2 Rural Development and Planning ............................................................................. 217 6.3 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 231 7.0 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................... 233 Appendix A Tables .................................................................................................................... 238 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 245 vii List of Tables Table 1 Number of Landholdings under 50 Acres, 1838-1930 ............................................. 238 Table 2 Shares of Jamaican Exports, 1832-1930.................................................................... 239 Table 3 Sale of Crown Lands, 1897-1900................................................................................ 239 Table 4 Branch Societies, Membership, and Instructors of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, 1896-1955 ....................................................................................................................... 240 Table 5 Number and Acreage of Banana Contractors, 1929 to 1935 ................................... 240 Table 6 Emigration and Return of Jamaican Labour, 1881 and 1934 ................................ 241 Table 7 Subdivision of Properties on Land Settlement Schemes, 1929-1949 ...................... 242 Table 8 Growth of Village and District Organizations under Jamaica Welfare ................ 242 Table 9 Farm Development Scheme Expenditure of Grants by September 1959 .............. 243 Table 10 Percentage Jamaican Exports for the Years 1952-1956 ........................................ 243 Table 11 The Acreage of Properties Acquired by Bauxite Companies up to December 1956 ................................................................................................................................ 244 viii Acknowledgments This dissertation would not have been possible without the unconditional support of family, friends, and faculty. My advisor, Lara Putnam, tirelessly and patiently guided me since the day I first set foot in her office in August 2014. It has been my great privilege to work with her all these years. I have also been honored to work with an outstanding committee: George Reid Andrews, Michel Gobat, and Scott Morgenstern. My heartfelt thanks to this team for their guidance in developing my project from proposal, throughout my research year, and during the writing process. They all contributed with invaluable thoughtful comments on the final version of this dissertation and advice in the next steps ahead. I owe my gratitude to the Department of History faculty and staff at the University of Pittsburgh. It was an absolute honor to work with George Reid Andrews, Bill Chase, Urmi Engineer Willoughby, Niklas Frykman, Michel Gobat, Laura Gotkowitz, Bernie Hagerty, Diego Holstein,
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