By Claudia Gardner:
I have been to the remote rural community of Seaford Town, commonly called ‘German Town’ in Westmoreland, just once so far in my life.
But, I must say it is one of the places that I instantly fell in love with, not only because of the topography, of this gorgeous, mountainous place, but because of the warmth of the people, and, as a military person, the interesting history behind it.
Added to that, being a country girl, Seaford Town also won my heart, as the community is considered one of the best pineapple farming areas in Jamaica.
I had always heard plans for the redemption of the community’s museum being discussed at Negril Resort Board meetings, and yearned to visit.
When I did visit in the summer of 2017, Seaford Town proved to be even more beautiful and charming than I had expected, and yes, with a flair of modernity.
Disbanded German soldiers
Based on the history told to me by community historian, Fitzroy Chambers, who himself is black, but of Afro-German ancestry, Seaford Town was established by disbanded soldiers who came to Jamaica as indentured workers, after their period of conscription to the German armies had ended.
Historical records show that these immigrants were a portion of more than 1000 Germans sailed to Jamaica with the promise of being granted house, land, and employment.
As we drove up the hill towards the community square, we saw white subsistence farmers on their way to the ‘bush’ outfitted with their machetes and working boots.
To me, this was a peculiar sight, as the only small or subsistence farmers I had ever seen in Jamaica, up to then, were black.
The community which lies approximately 25 miles from Montego Bay, was named after one Lord Seaford, the owner of the property who gave 500 acres of land towards the settlement of the immigrants, after being urged by two German brothers who had settled in St. Ann.
Lord Seaford, was also owner of Montpelier Estate and Shettlewood Pen in neighbouring St. James.
Importation of Labour from Germany
Incidentally, the arrival of the Germans followed the Sam Sharpe Rebellion, in 1831, which saw many of the sugar estates in western Jamaica being destroyed.
At that time, many planters saw an impending shortage of labour, and looked to importing people from Germany to settle, as a means of solving the problem.
No riches, just bushes
So, anyway, Mr. Chambers told me that The Germans ex-soldiers landed at Reading Wharf in Montego Bay, but did not encounter the riches they were told awaited them.
Instead, they had to hack their way through thick forests in that unfamiliar territory to get to Seaford Town, the reality of which, plunged many of them into disillusionment and despair.
I found too, from speaking with residents, including an elderly lady, whose name I can’t recall right now, that the German culture was lost overtime, as people assimilated. However there were some German retentions, which have been preserved in the museum in the community, which was still closed.
There are several beautifully-retained buildings in Seaford Town, which have retained varying aspects of German architecture. There is a Seventh Day Adventist Church there, but the Catholic faith remains predominant.
In Seaford Town today, the main reminder of the German immigrants’ presence lies in only a few descendants who appear to be full-blooded Germans and the many fair-skinned or bi-racial residents, due to inter-racial marriages. The use of the German language died, and only a few words have remained.
“There is no one here who can trace their roots back to Germany, unless they are going to do it through the Registrar General’s Department or a website they have named Ancestry or something like that,” Mr. Chambers told me as we sat under a tree at the community basic school, at the time of my visit.
In fact, when I spoke to a group of teenagers of German descent, whom I met at a shop, as to whether they would like to visit Germany, they only giggled, and said their choice would be to visit the United States if they were to ‘fly out’.
“I have never met a person who can say ‘I have a cousin in Germany’ who is in Berlin or anything like that,” he Mr. Chambers said, noting that when the mini museum was up and running there were a lot of visitors from that European country.
For some reason, Germans seem to like staying in Negril, and ‘a lot of the bus drivers and tour operators know about Seaford Town’. Mr. Chambers also told me that sometimes there were visitors from as far away as Ocho Rios and that “every Germany Ambassador to Jamaica, has visited Seaford Town.
Pineapples thrive in Seaford Town
On the agriculture side, on my way back home, we stopped at a pineapple and papaya farm and spoke with a gentleman, considered a ‘big farmer’, based on the size of his plantation, and rapped with his staff members who gave me a mini-tour.
The very hospitable farmer gave me a huge pineapple with several suckers to plant in my backyard. This is expected as farmers are generally calm and kind people.
Prior to that, Mr. Chambers also led us to another section of the community where an elderly German lady lived. He introduced me to a type of pepper I had never seen before, which he said was named ‘Dash weh Yuh Pot’.
He joked that the burgundy-coloured pepper was so named, because it was so hot, that those who did not use it sparingly would have to throw away their food because the fiery spice made it inedible as it would burn the daylights out of you.
For me, Seaford Town is among one of the treasures of Jamaica. In fact, it is the only example I think there is where the Jamaican motto “Out of Many One People” is alive and well, where I truly saw no class or colour divisions, or prejudices; just beautiful rural folk going about their business.
I know another visit is long overdue.
