For the third stop of our Summer Heritage Tour, the TEENage team travelled to St Mary to visit the Rio Nuevo Battle Site. It was on these grounds that the English won the final battle for control over Jamaica against the Spanish in 1658. The battle and the events that followed it are filled with enough important history that the site warrants a visit from anyone who lives in the area or happens to be passing through.

Though long considered a central part of Jamaican history, the Rio Nuevo Battle Site was only opened three years ago, and the onsite museum was built in August of 2009. When we first arrived we were greeted by our tour guide, Eldon. Our first stop was the museum which was filled with artefacts from Taino society, like the bones of sacrificed animals, as well as pieces of Spanish, English, and Maroon history.

Our tour guide Eldon explained to us the story of how the English took control of the island in this crucial battle. While historical accounts tend to be boring, this one proved quite interesting because of the unusual manner in which the battle unfolded. When the English arrived in Seville they had already taken over St Jago de la Vega, now known as Spanish Town, and Port Royal.

The lack of Spanish troops meant that the Spanish Governor, Arnaldo de Yssasi, had to hire reinforcements from Hispanola, Mexico, and other Caribbean islands. The young Spanish troops were no match for the English and were quickly defeated. As they were being routed, several of these soldiers jumped from the cliffs into the ocean, a spot you can visit today.

After the museum we saw a stockade erected to commemorate Edward D’oyley, the first English Governor of Jamaica, for capturing the fort as well as two genuine cannons from the 1600s. When we were done seeing everything at the site of the former fort, we headed down to the beach to see first-hand the places used by the English to invade Rio Nuevo.

To the eastern portion of the coast, the English landed in order to sneak through the forest and arrive behind the fort. We also saw the same fording that they had to traverse to reach the Spaniards. Afterwards we visited the site of the deaths of those who took their own lives so they wouldn’t be taken prisoner by the English.

The third stop on our Heritage Tour has a history closely linked to our second stop, Seville Great House, because the same family owned all of the land.

TEENage highly recommends that if you are in the area you stop at both of these sites to learn about the interesting history of Jamaica’s first capital.

After all, if events had turned out differently at the Battle of Rio Nuevo, we would all be speaking Spanish.