Portland's settlement was very slow. In 1721, people were given land grants as encouragement to settle in this northeastern part of the island. The Maroons (descendants of the slaves left behind by the Spaniards and runaway slaves) constantly raided the fledgling plantations. An Act passed in 1725 attempted to control rampant tropical diseases in Portland. In 1729 Fort George was built and in 1739 a treaty with the Maroons was signed. Settlers started to go to Portland to establish sugar estates but the climatic conditions were not suitable and, of the 138 sugar estates established by 1800, none remained a century later. Much of the land was taken over by peasant farmers who grew bananas, which had been introduced by the Spaniards, and other subsistence crops.
A devastating hurricane in 1871 brought Lorenzo Dow Baker, fruit shipping magnate, to Jamaica. His success in promoting the export of bananas put Port Antonio on the map and the town expanded rapidly, as did the planting of bananas island-wide. In the mountains of Portland, the abeng (the Maroon cow horn used for sending messages over long distances) was used to alert farmers in remote areas about the buying of bananas and the arrival of the banana boats. But the bulk of the new wealth remained in the hands of the wealthy. The Boston Fruit Company, which initiated the industry, eventually merged and became the United Fruit Company and dominated the banana trade in the West Indies and Latin America. By the 1930s the trade slowed and Port Antonio again became a sleepy rural town.
In the 1940's and 50's Portland was considered to be the cradle of Jamaica’s tourism. It was and still is the primary Jamaican destination for vacationing movie stars, famous musicians and artists, politicians and tycoons. It wasn’t until the airport at Montego Bay was built that Port Antonio became known as “the other side of the Island.” Clara Bow, Rudyard Kipling and Ginger Rogers were early devotees, drawn by the exotic lure of the island’s banana trade. Robin Moore, author of “The French Connection,” and “The Green Berets” chose to build his house at the Blue Lagoon to hide away while he wrote his famous stories.
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