Tag Archives: Simon Taylor
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 8 May 1782
08/05/1782
The victory of Sir George Rodney over the combined French and Spanish fleet at the Saintes on 12 April 1782 ensured that Jamaica would not face an invasion. Taylor remained fearful of the number of enemy troops who remained in the region and worried about the diminution of the white population of Jamaica. Nevertheless, with […]
Posted in Armed forces, Army, France, Kingston, Militia, Navy, North America/USA, Spain, St Domingue/Hispaniola, The Letters, War Also tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 8 May 1782
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 8 May 1782
08/05/1782
During the early 1780s, Simon Taylor’s already tense relationship with John Kelly, the overseer of Chaloner Arcedeckne’s Golden Grove plantation, worsened. Arcedeckne was persuaded to dismiss Kelly in favour of his friend, Taylor. Here Taylor bemoans Kelly’s mismanagement of Golden Grove and ill-treatment of the estate doctor, before thanking Arcedeckne for trusting him over Kelly. […]
Posted in Enslaved people, Kingston, Plantation management, The Letters Also tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, John Kelly Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 8 May 1782
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 19 March 1782
19/03/1782
An invasion scare in Jamaica was at its height during the early part of 1782. The new Lieutenant-Governor, Archibald Campbell, made detailed plans for a defence of the island against attack by French and Spanish troops. These were time consuming and expensive. White men were obliged to serve in the militia, and Taylor, as a […]
Posted in Armed forces, Cuba/Havana, Disease/health, Enslaved people, France, Lyssons (plantation), Militia, Spain, St Domingue/Hispaniola, The Letters, War Also tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 19 March 1782
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 26 November 1781
26/11/1781
By the end of November 1781, news of the British capitulation at Yorktown had reached Jamaica. In Taylor’s formulation, the failure of British forces in America, combined with the new high duties on sugar, amounted to a catastrophe for Jamaican planters. This war with the whole world must and will involve Britain and her dependencies […]
Posted in British Government, Kingston, Navy, North America/USA, Sugar, Taxes/duties, The Letters, War Also tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 26 November 1781
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 26 November 1781
26/11/1781
Taylor saw enslaved people as little other than units of production but understood the necessity of enforcing routines that were conducive to efficient and sustained work. Here he talks about the value of having a medical doctor resident at Arcedeckne’s Golden Grove estate and critiques the practices of the white overseers who superintended the daily […]
Posted in Disease/health, Enslaved people, Food/provisions, Jobbing, Kingston, Plantation management, Slave trading, The Letters Also tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 26 November 1781