The Cockpit Country located in Jamaica.
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| Cockpit Country | ||
| Parish | Trelawny | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents | unknown | |
no value for residents on Wikidata:  | ||
| no tourist info on Wikidata: | ||
| location | ||
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background
The Cockpit Country is a large limestone plateau southeast of Montego Bay that has been undeveloped for ages. Geologists put the age at 12 million years. At that time the entire interior of the island was covered with limestone mountains and moist limestone forest. Today only this area has been preserved in its original form, it has a size of over 650 km². The limestone plain was originally 600 m above sea level. Over the millennia, the rain has washed an unknown number of valleys evenly criss-cross into the limestone, with rounded, conical hills in between. The best way to describe it is: it looks like a giant egg tray.
Most of the Cockpit Country is south of Trelawny County, a slightly larger area includes St. James County to the southwest, and small areas cover north St. Elizabeth and west St. Ann. The towns of Auchtembeddle, Troy and Aenon Town are on the border with the administrative districts of Manchester and Clarendon, where water is sucked up like a giant sponge to bring it back to the daylight in large rivers. The Black River, Great River, and Martha Brea River are the larger rivers that have their source. They guarantee around two thirds of the island's fresh water supply.
Another uniqueness of the Cockpit Country are rivers that appear and disappear and continue to flow underground. The river Rio Bueno on the border between the administrative districts of Saint Ann and Trelawny has its source almost in the center of the island near Christiana as a cave river. Several times it disappears into the prous underground of the limestone cliffs and reappears. In those places it is then known as the Dornoch River and Quashie River.
Consequently, there are countless stalactite caves in the Cockpit Country. Around 1,100 caves have been counted across the island, most of which can be found here. But there are also former caves whose ceilings have collapsed, have been overgrown by the rich nature and are a great danger for every hiker. In the vicinity of Albert Town the Jamaican Caves Organization lists 12 caves, at Thornton there are ten caves and north of Spring Garden there are about 30. Some are only a few meters deep, others over 100 meters deep and still others several kilometers long. The most famous caves are Windsor Cave and Marta Thick Cave. Up to 50,000 bats live in some caves. Three quarters of all bird species on the island are found in Cockpit Country. 101 types of plants are known that only exist in this region, some of them are limited in their extent to a single limestone hill. The area is managed as a forest reserve by the Jamaica Forest Department. For some years now, however, there have also been efforts by large-scale industry to develop the Cockpit Country in order to mine aluminum ore there.
After the English invaded Jamaica in 1655 and drove the Spanish from the island, they left their slaves behind and in freedom. In the western part of the island they withdrew into the cockpit country. The former slaves who were cut off from the outside world and loitering around [English: maroon] were consequently referred to as "Maroons" in the future. In the various Maroon Wars they fought successful battles against the English troops. Not until 1738 was there a peace treaty between the English and the Maroons. Their small towns are still on the edge of the Cockpit Country and to this day they have special rights such as tax exemption, self-government and, to a certain extent, their own jurisdiction. As far as there are paths in the edge areas of the Cockpit Country, these lead to small areas that are used for agriculture. Across the Cockpit Country there are only two to three footpaths in a north-south direction, but you can only find them with a guide.
Localities
Accompong
This is a historic Maroon village. The name goes back to the leader of the runaway slaves, a head of an Ashanti family from Ghana, Africa. This remote community was first a retreat for the original Taino Indians of the Arawak tribe. After the escape of the Spanish conquerors from the English, it became a base for the African slaves that the Spanish left behind. In addition, there were other former slaves who were able to escape the new English landowners. There were real armed conflicts between the Maroons, who raided the plantations, and the soldiers of the government. In 1739 there was a first contract between these runaway slaves and the government. Fifty years later there was new fighting. Since the Accompong Maroons were neutral in these fights, they were left alone. Other maroon villages were destroyed and their residents returned to Canada and Africa. Every year on January 6th, the residents of Accompong celebrate the peace treaty of 1739. This treaty guarantees the Maroons almost complete autonomy. There has been no criminal act in the community for 250 years. Until the 1980s, the local access was closed by gates and visitors had to apply for a permit to enter the village.
Today around 1,000 people live there. There are a few shops to supply the population, a small history museum and a small shop where carvings, medicinal herbs and spices are sold to tourists.
Albert Town
This place in the southeast of the Cockpit Country is at an altitude of 600 meters above sea level. As a result, the climate is relatively pleasantly cool. Nevertheless, the peasantry is struggling to survive, agriculture is declining. Originally it was part of the Freemans Hall estate and was named after it Santa Hill, after the tree species Santa Maria (calophyllum calaba). It was not until the middle of the 19th century that the village was renamed after Prince Albert. These include the parishes of Queens-Land; Cotton tree; Butt up town; Foster and Dutch Hill. At that time the church was prosperous and technically advanced. Coffee was grown on the Durham Plantation. Sugar cane was grown on the Freemans Hall Plantation and the Belisle Plantation was known for its good rum at the time. Even then, sugar cane was brought to the factory by cable car from the distant Congo Hill Plantation. Today only the Yams Festival, which takes place once a year, is significant.
Flagstaff
The place was originally called Trelawny Town, after Governor Edward Trelawny (1738-1752). The name "Trelawny Negro Town" appears on at least one old map. Flagstaff was created by the fact that a flagpole was set up here when the second Maroon War broke out in July 1795. In 1771, the Saint James County was divided. The eastern part became the Trelawny administrative district. The border ran through Trelawny Town. This name was retained for the eastern part. The local area in the Saint James administrative district, a good one kilometer away, was named Furry's Town, today it is Maroon Town.
Ipswich
A little outside the Cockpit Country in the southwest is the town of Ipswich, about 10 km southwest of Elderslie, on the former railway line from Kingston to Montego Bay. He is listed here because there is a cave there. It had its own train station until the 1980s. Special trains going from Montego Bay to the Appleton rum factory made a stop for tourists to climb into the cave.
From the railroad tracks, an illuminated wooden staircase descends 75 m. The accessible cave is 137 m long. Opening times Tuesday to Thursday from 8.30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Maroon Town
Original name Furry's Town, named after the last Maroon village head "Furry". Today you won't find any Maroons there, they were all deported after the end of the Maroon Wars.
Mocho
Several places with this name can be found in Jamaica. Traditionally, English means: "the back of beyond". So a place that is remote, harsh and uncivilized. To describe someone who comes from the backwoods town of Mocho is called “dark” in Jamaican terminology - coming from the dark. Mocho can also come from the East Nigerian "Mgboko“And can be explained by the fact that these places were originally settled by slaves of the Ibo tribe.
Quickstep
This place is at the end of a drivable path deep in the cockpit country. It is the equivalent of Windsor in the north. The originality of this name is easy to understand and comes from the 18th century when English soldiers fought against the Maroons. It is closely related to nearby landscapes with the name "Land of Look Behind" and "Me No Sen You No Come“.
Quickstep means loosely translated: move faster so that the enemy does not hit you. Land of Look Behind says that for your own safety you should look around this area more often to avoid being attacked from behind. And “Me No Sen You No Come” is the most beautiful patois language: you don't see me, so don't even come here.
The Alps
This area lies on a significant geological fault that delimits the western end of the limestone plateau. This abrupt demolition of the limestone cliffs and the narrow, winding road reminded English colonists of Europe's Alps. The town's Baptist Church was built around 1835 and was originally a coffee drying room. According to the locals, there are seven caves there, three of which have not yet been explored.
Troy
In 1796, at the junction of a path and the Windsor Trail through the Cockpit Country, a base for the English troops who fought against the Maroons was established: Troy Post. At the time, this area was completely undeveloped and only inhabited by Maroons. It was not until after 1800 that a Mr. Knowles came here as the first civilian settler. His house is still at the intersection today.
Windsor
In Jamaica there are at least seven places Windsor, going back to Lord Windsor, Governor in 1661. The 2,225 hectare Windsor plantation came into the possession of John Tharp at the end of the 17th century. The plantation house was built in 1795 for the overseer, the plantation had about 200 slaves. To the south of the house there are also ruins, which presumably go back to accommodation for English soldiers during the Maroon Wars. In 1867 the plantation was sold in small plots. Since 1959 the area was owned by the Kaiser Bauxite Company, who settled farmers there whose land was used for aluminum ore mining.
In 1986 Michael Schwartz bought the rest of the plantation as a research station for scientists interested in Cockpit Country. If available, simple bedrooms can be rented in the plantation house, Tel. 997-3832.
The Windsor Great cave has been owned by the WWF since 1995. The caves are about 3 km long and partially flooded. When there is heavy rainfall, the water rises. The Martha Brea River has its source here. The caves are home to around 50,000 bats.
activities
There are several paths across the Cockpit Country where tourists can also go on guided hikes. The Southern Trelawny Environment Agency operates the Cockpit Country Adventure Tours as a non-profit organization. There you get the best support for such hikes. The organization currently offers six different hikes, prices range between US $ 55 and US $ 80.
- Cockpit Country Adventure Tours, 3 Grant's Office Complex, Albert Town. Tel.: 610-0818, Fax: 610-1676.
- Mr. & Mrs. Harris Cawley, Accompong. Tel.: 909-9222.
- Southern Trelawny Environment Agency (stea), 3 Grant's Office Complex, Albert Town. Tel.: 610-0818, Fax: 610-1676.
security
Hikes or trips with all-wheel drive vehicles through the Cockpit Country are something extraordinary. You should never do these tours without a local guide and never alone.
