Jamaica as it is, 1903 — A Closer Reading

First Impressions and the Traveler’s Lens

The opening chapters introduce Pullen-Burry’s method: she records fellow passengers, local customs, and the landscape with a reporter’s eye. In Chapter II, she notes the “laziness of the negro” as a topic of conversation among travelers, revealing the racial attitudes of her era. Her observations are often filtered through the opinions of white residents, such as the M—— family, who describe the “amusing ways of the blacks.” The author’s voice is that of an outsider, curious but bound by colonial assumptions. She describes the Constant Spring Hotel and the journey from Port Antonio, blending practical advice—such as suitable clothing—with scenic description. The reader should note how Pullen-Burry’s perspective shifts between that of a tourist and an ethnographer, never fully committing to either.

Plantation Life and the Legacy of Slavery

A central excerpt describes a visit to a “pen” (a plantation estate) where the author meets an elderly black woman who “remembered slave times.” The woman’s speech is rendered in dialect: “just de same, missus,” when she was a “picaninny.” Pullen-Burry records the layout of the “storm-house,” built after the 1722 hurricane, and notes the polished cedar floors and the servants who “sing as they work.” The M—— family, described as “a clergyman’s daughter” and the son of a naval commander, discuss the island’s economic recovery after the sugar depression. This section reveals how the author relies on white informants for interpretation, while the voices of Black Jamaicans appear only in brief, quoted fragments. The reader should attend to who speaks and who is spoken about.

Obeah, Maroons, and the Island’s Hidden Histories

Chapter XIV is titled “Obeahism and Coffee-Planting,” signaling the author’s interest in Afro-Jamaican spiritual practices. The catalog lists “Obeah (Cult)” as a subject, and the text likely describes rituals and beliefs that Pullen-Burry encountered or heard about. Similarly, Chapter XV covers the “Cockpit Country” and the Maroons, communities of escaped slaves who maintained autonomy in the island’s interior. The author’s treatment of these topics is filtered through a colonial lens, often sensationalizing or pathologizing practices she does not fully understand. Readers should compare her descriptions with the matter-of-fact tone she uses for plantation visits. The contrast highlights how the book categorizes certain aspects of Jamaican life as exotic or dangerous, while others are normalized.

Structure, Voice, and the Limits of the Excerpts

The book is organized as a series of chapters with descriptive titles, moving from Mandeville to Kingston and beyond. Pullen-Burry’s prose is straightforward, with occasional literary flourishes. She quotes Ruskin and references other travel writers, positioning herself within a tradition of British travelogues. However, the excerpts provided are incomplete; the full text likely includes more on the “mumpish melancholy” of Jamaica (Chapter IX) and the cuisine on the E—— (Chapter X). The reader should be cautious about inferring the book’s overall argument from these fragments. The author’s stated aim is to promote tourism, but the excerpts suggest a more complex work that documents social hierarchies, economic conditions, and cultural encounters. The absence of a conclusion in the excerpts leaves the book’s final stance uncertain.

Readers approaching Jamaica as it is, 1903 should treat it as a primary source for early twentieth-century colonial attitudes rather than a neutral guide. Pullen-Burry’s observations are valuable for what they reveal about the author’s assumptions and the society she describes. Pay attention to the gaps: the voices of Black Jamaicans are mediated, and the island’s interior is often romanticized. The book rewards a critical reading that distinguishes between description and interpretation.

Reading Pullen-Burry's Jamaica felt less like history and more like a slow afternoon spent among strangers who don't know they're being watched. Plantation routines, quiet Obeah whispers, Maroon settlements—all captured with a traveler's honest confusion. It reminded me of something older, almost companionable: The New English Canaan of Thomas Morton with Introductory Matter and Notes — A Reader’s Guide, where another outsider's gaze lingers on a land he never quite owned. Both left me with that strange, tender ache of seeing a place through eyes that missed so much.