AFTER last Friday’s column bemoaning the drought, I made my way over to Lucea, Hanover, via Montego Bay. Journeying by Knutsford Express is not unlike a plane flight. Quick, efficient, and riding high above the road, you can see far and wide. At a juncture of the Rio Cobre, stones which usually lie hidden below the river surface appeared to be sunbathing. In other sections, water lilies clung together, as if choking in the drought-struck surroundings. On either side of the road stood trees with leaves burned brown, as if fires had just been put out.

Anybody who doesn’t understand what drought means must be living in a world of their own. In one village up in the hills through which we drove, scorched trees, burnt-up grass and other foliage occupied most of the space in the yards and pastures. After the big bus carefully manoeuvred its way down the road to Ocho Rios, via Fern Gully, the cool air was gratefully accepted in addition to the air-conditioning.

All the way along the coast, heading further and further West, the sight of scorched foliage and shimmering heat waves reminded us that we were not on a picnic. We can make all the criticisms about whose fault brought the heat, who scorched the earth and stole the water, or blame it all on the politicians. We must know that drought has been with us for far longer than we imagine…centuries, in fact.

A friend of mine who has served in the agricultural sector for many years drew to my attention the record of drought years and its effects on our island. Research on agricultural development, highlighting particular crops and their contribution, revealed the challenges which had to be overcome on the journey towards nationhood.

Journals which were publications of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries have placed emphasis on what I would call “nature and development” from the 18th century on. The studies have been useful sources of knowledge, which should be more widely known.

My journey of discovery started with records from 1740. That year, by all accounts, the weather went wild, destroying Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, with a tidal wave. How many of us know that today? By 1744, it was recorded that severe drought, as well as a violent storm, joined in battering the island. By 1768, there was drought from October that year onwards.

In May 1770, the result was a severe shortage of food islandwide. One year later, in 1771, the title “Severe drought” emerged again recording another round of food shortage adding to the sufferings of the people. My curiosity was aroused as to how did the people find food? Did they receive external assistance, and if so, where from? The period 1776-79 recorded that Jamaica was affected by the US War of Independence and trade embargoes in which France and America joined up against Great Britain, who was at odds with the Americans. It was a time of war. And, in another round, Britain and Spain were at odds. As time passed, Jamaica had to feed itself and not depend on external aid. It couldn’t have been easy. Severe drought imposed a range of inconveniences, the history says.

As the seasons passed, the title “Severe drought” emerged more and more often. Besides drought, there was added the notation of “several hurricanes”. The death toll was heavy. Status of the weather began to be listed as “a sharp drought”. In 1782-1786 too, forces of nature were again identified, “Hurricane following drought”. Question: Could we, today’s people, have survived, seeing how attached we have become to whining and moaning, and spreading blame?

Moving on to 1795, it was not only the weather which hit hard. Note was made of how Montego Bay was destroyed by fire and a slave uprising. Year after year after year the drought story went on, bringing pain and suffering. All the way from the 1800s to the 1900s, the people of Jamaica caught hell between the weather and the changing social order. Oh, yes, Politics were there. When part-freedom was granted to the enslaved in the 1800s, and when slave owners were forced to free their slaves, they received millions of pounds in compensation. The enslaved paid the price with their blood, sweat and tears. As for their compensation, they got nothing. No wonder the reparations story continues, even if descendants of the former slaves still can’t get the meaning. Strange, eh?

The records show that after the joy of being declared free, people had to deal with apprenticeship, a new hell of exploitation in their own land. The nexus between the ongoing introduction of plants and animals and the mission of church, school and other new organisations, contributed to a remarkable chapter of our history of the people and the physical development of the land. All this, I believe, should be

on the curriculum in our schools. Why not?

The last of the short dive into the blend of agriculture and people development took me up to the 1900s. One entry includes the dry note: “Three American astronauts circled the moon December 1968.” What was the significance? If we had the opportunity to enquire of people of another age, would they have believed that the appalling weather conditions they endured were caused by interference with the moon? Don’t laugh. Anything could have happened then and is happening now. Right now, today’s scientists are poking and prodding, as we speak, at the former Planet Pluto. Did you know that a Jamaican scientist helped to remove its planet status a few years ago?

MOBAY MADNESS: The visit to the West was not long, a matter of hours actually. Montego Bay was boiling hot and overstuffed with traffic. Rising crime, and especially the involvement of youthful criminals, was the topic of discussion. Why? Nobody seems to know why scamming and blood-thirst get worse every day. Why has “The Bay” become a killing ground, the most frightening aspects of which are the legends of youth killing to assuage craving for ill-gotten gain or getting killed when things went wrong for them? The madness has got to stop!

I was visiting Hanover for the first in a long time. The occasion evoked memories of time spent with grandparents and numerous cousins sharing the wonders of the countryside. All too sadly, the cancer of crime, reinforced by violence, has changed what used to be a land we loved and treasured. Can it be restored? Can the plague of crime which now torments our people ever be conquered? Our drought continues…The rain withholds its bounty. Imagine water every other day?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Thanks to the source of information shared by a kind friend about Jamaica’s development in times past. Credit to the persons from whose publication we acquired special knowledge — B McClair Hutchinson, who edited, and D W Rodrigues, who did the research. The work was published by the Agricultural Information Services in 1969.

gloudonb@yahoo.com