1788-Aug.-12: The Savanna-la-Mar Gazette in Jamaica began reporting on the increasing presence of “masterless” individuals in the port, reflecting a growing …
1788-Aug.-12: The Savanna-la-Mar Gazette in Jamaica began reporting on the increasing presence of “masterless” individuals in the port, reflecting a growing regional concern over mobile populations. Julius S. Scott identifies the town of Savanna-la-Mar as a significant site for the meeting of diverse maritime cultures, including sailors, higglers, and runaway slaves. The newspaper reports from this period underscore the difficulty colonial officials faced in policing a population that lived outside the traditional plantation hierarchy. These “masterless” men and women utilized the local geography to create a vibrant underground economy and information network. Such port-side activities were the primary conduits for the “common wind” of revolutionary ideas.