Trelawny JAMAICA
In 1770, the wealthy planters in St James and St Ann succeeded in having sections of those parishes become
the parish of Trelawny as they were too far from administrative centres. Trelawny was named after Sir William Trelawny,
the then Governor of Jamaica. The first capital was Martha Brae located two miles inland from Rock Bay.
Trelawny is best known or its sugar estates and sugar factories.
It had more sugar estates than any other parish, so there was need for a sea coast town to export it.
Falmouth became a thriving seaport and social centre. The town had two of its own newspapers;
The Falmouth Post and The Falmouth Gazette.
Trelawny was also home to the largest group of Maroons in the island.
A 1739 treaty between the Maroons and the English gave the Maroons freedom and land,
which effectively put a stop to their raids on the plantations. However, a second Maroon uprising in 1795,
led to over 600 Maroons being exiled to Nova Scotia, Canada and later to Sierra Leone in Africa in 1800.
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Trelawny is located at latitude 18°15'N, longitude 77°46'W. It has an area of 874 sq km,
making it the fifth largest parish on the island. It has a population of 74,000.
Most of the parish is flat,
with wide plains such as Queen of Spain's Valley, 750 feet above sea level, and Windsor, 580 feet above sea level.
Most of southern Trelawny at 750 feet above sea level.
The highest point in the parish is Mount Ayr which is 3,000 feet above sea level.
The southern section of Trelawny is part of the Cockpit Country, and is uninhabitable.
It is therefore a natural reserve for flora and fauna; most of Jamaica's 27 endemic bird species can be found there,
along with the yellow snakes, and the giant swallowtail butterfly, the largest butterfly in the western hemisphere.
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