This page originally appeared as "St. Ann's Bay Survey," by Robin P. Woodward, INA Newsletter 9.1 (1982): 5-7
Edited for online publication January 2003.

Images are clickable thumbnails

During the latter part of the 1981 Jamaica Project, INA Research Associate Roger C. Smith assembled a team of five graduate students to conduct a land and marine survey of St. Ann's Bay, on the island's north coast west of Ocho Rios.  Several of the potentially most important archaeological sites of the Spanish Caribbean are located in the environs of St. Ann's Bay: the ruins of Sevilla la Nueva, which was the earliest Spanish settlement on Jamaica, and the two caravels abandoned by Christopher Columbus in 1504.

The history of Jamaica, and of St. Ann's Bay in particular, is closely entwined with the Columbus dynasty.  Christopher Columbus discovered the island during his second voyage to the New World.  Entering present-day St. Ann's Bay, which he named "Santa Gloria," on May 5, 1494, he declared that the island was "the fairest that eyes had beheld."  The discoverer returned to the bay in 1503 while on his fourth voyage.  Unable to make sufficient headway on the return passage to Hispaniola due to the waterlogged condition of his ships, he beached the caravels at Santa Gloria and remained there with his crews until their rescue a year later.  In 1509 Diego Colon, his eldest son and newly appointed Governor of the Spanish West Indies, laid personal claim to Jamaica by establishing the town of Sevilla la Nueva near the place where his father had been marooned.  Although Jamaica lacked the lucrative mineral resources to attract large numbers of Spanish settlers, it did have fertile soil and an abundant supply of native labor.  The island played an important role in early colonizing ventures into Central America by supplying foodstuffs and animals to the Spanish conquistadors and their troops.  At the height of its prosperity Sevilla la Nueva had a population of 80 and contained a fort, a Governor's palace, a sugar mill, and a cathedral, the construction of which was never completed.  Documentary sources state that the town site was moved a short distance in 1519, but the relocation did not bring increased affluence. 

Sevilla la Nueva's "castle fort" ruins,  with coconut plantation in background.   Photo: INA

Sevilla la Nueva was abandoned in 1534, when its few remaining inhabitants moved to the south coast of the island.  Historic accounts point to the unhealthy environment of the surrounding mangrove swamps as the cause of the town's demise; the actual reasons, however, may have been economic.  By the third decade of the sixteenth century the main Spanish shipping routes were diverted to Jamaica's south coast, making it unprofitable to maintain a major port and center of administration in the north.

During the 1981 INA study of St. Ann's Bay Texas A&M University nautical archaeology graduate students Bruce Thompson and I surveyed the overall Sevilla la Nueva site using equipment kindly loaned by the Jamaican Department of Surveys and the UCLA archaeological team working at nearby Drax Hall.  The contour maps we produced enabled us for the first time to plot the three partially excavated Spanish structures in the area on existing topographic maps.  Our work was greatly facilitated by the machete skills of National Trust wardens Percy White and Philip Robinson, for much of the town site is now situated in an overgrown coconut plantation.

Tom Oertling and Denise Lakey prepared precise architectural drawings of a "castle/fort" and an associated brick structure.  This task proved more difficult than originally planned, as Tom, armed only with a helmet, tape measure, and clipboard, was required to descend into the bowels of a vaulted cistern to record its dimensions.

Partially excavated remains of  brick structure: cistern in foreground.  Photo: INA

Roger Smith and Sub. Lt. Guy Harvey of the Jamaican Defense Force conducted a thorough underwater reconnaissance of the outer reef, channel, and shallow waters of the bay.  They also obtained core samples of sediment in the mangrove swamp bordering the beach, in an effort to discern any significant changes in the shoreline since the Spanish occupation of the region.  Roger and sedimentologist Dr. John Gifford have recently completed more extensive core sampling and another underwater survey in preparation for the 1982 field season.

Father Francis Osborne, S.J., a noted historian and keen amateur archaeologist visited the INA team early in the project.  His knowledge of Jamaican history and local folklore appeared boundless as he retraced the steps of earlier archaeological endeavors at St. Ann's Bay.  Father Osborne returned to the site each day with an armful of maps, and guided us on tours of nearby Arawak middens and English and Spanish deposits close to the beach.  His enthusiastic assistance proved invaluable throughout the project.

Father Osborne introduces Woodward and Smith to local archaeological features.   Photo: INA

A report on the 1981 survey, including an outline of Sevilla la Nueva's history and recommendations for its protection and future development, has been submitted to the Jamaican Government, and this past summer's research has already generated considerable interest outside the Institute of Nautical Archaeology. In addition to the proposed 1982 INA survey for historic shipwrecks in St. Ann's Bay, the Texas A&M University Department of Anthropology is planning a three-year field school to investigate the cultural impact of Spaniards and Africans on native Arawak populations.  The Sevilla la Nueva town site is presently being re-excavated by la Universidad Complutense de Madrid under the direction of Professor Lorenzo Lopez.  These three projects are being coordinated in conjunction with the Museums and Archaeology Division of the Institute of Jamaica by Mr. Roderick Ebanks and Mr. Tony Aarons.

The Institute of Nautical Archaeology expresses its sincere appreciation to Mr. Aarons of the Port Royal Project, and to the Government of Jamaica, particularly Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Edward Seaga, for fostering a spirit of international cooperation and an interdisciplinary approach to the Hispanic period of Jamaican history. The St. Ann's Bay projects promise to provide significant research opportunities and a wealth of knowledge that will advance all facets of Caribbean archaeology.

-Robyn P. Woodward

Bibliography 

The following publications will be of interest to readers seeking further information on the history of St. Ann's Bay and the town of Sevilla la Nueva:

Cotter, C. S., 1970, “Sevilla Nueva, the Story of an Excavation.” Jamaica Journal 4(2): 15-22.

Cundall, F., and J. L. Pietersz, 1919, Jamaica under the Spaniards: abstracted from the Archives of Seville. Kingston, Institute of Jamaica.

Morales Padrón, F., 1952, Jamaica Española. Sevilla, Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americano de Sevilla.

Morison, S. E., 1942, Admiral of the Ocean Sea: a life of Christopher Columbus.  Boston, Little, Brown.

Robyn P. Woodward
2003, St. Ann's Bay Survey, Jamaica 1981
Edited by Ralph K. Pedersen
URL, http://ina.tamu.edu/stannsbay/stannsbay.htm