Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante GBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
,
Order of National HeroThe Order of National Hero is an honour awarded by the government of Jamaica. It is a part of the Jamaican honours system that has been in place since 1969.-Description:...
, PC (February 24, 1884 - August 6, 1977) was a
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n politician and labour leader.
He was born as
William Alexander Clarke to an
IrishIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
Roman CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20060225T150000-0500_99450_OBS_BUSTAMANTE_S_RISE_TO_PROMINENCE_.asp planter, Robert Constantine Clarke, and wife Mary nee Wilson, who was of mixed race.
Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante GBEThe Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions...
,
Order of National HeroThe Order of National Hero is an honour awarded by the government of Jamaica. It is a part of the Jamaican honours system that has been in place since 1969.-Description:...
, PC (February 24, 1884 - August 6, 1977) was a
JamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width, amounting to 11,100 km
2. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harboring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n politician and labour leader.
He was born as
William Alexander Clarke to an
IrishIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
Roman CatholicThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/html/20060225T150000-0500_99450_OBS_BUSTAMANTE_S_RISE_TO_PROMINENCE_.asp planter, Robert Constantine Clarke, and wife Mary nee Wilson, who was of mixed race. He claimed that he took the name Bustamante to honour an
IberianThe Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France. It is the westernmost of the three major southern European peninsulas—the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas...
sea captain who befriended him in his youth.
After travelling the world, including working as a policeman in
CubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island country in the Caribbean. It consists of the island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city. Cuba is home to over 11 million people and is...
and as a dietician in a
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
hospital, he returned to Jamaica in 1932 and became a leader of the struggle against colonial rule. He first brought himself to public attention as a writer of letters to the
Daily GleanerGleaner may refer to:*Gleaner Company, a newspaper publishing enterprise in Jamaica.*Gleaner Manufacturing Company, a manufacturer of combine harvesters.*Gleaning, the collection of crops leftover after harvest....
newspaper; in 1937 he became treasurer of the Jamaica Workers' Union which had been founded by labour activist Allan G.S. Coombs. During the 1938 labour rebellion he quickly became identified as the spokesman for striking workers. Coombs' JWU became the
Bustamante Industrial Trade UnionThe Bustamante Industrial Trade Union is a trade union center in Jamaica established by Sir Alexander Bustamante. It is affiliated to the global union federation - International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Association....
(BITU) after the revolt, and Bustamante became known as "The Chief".
He was imprisoned for subversive activities in 1940. However, the anti-colonial effort resulted in the granting of
universal suffrageUniversal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and noncitizens...
to Jamaica. He was released from
prisonA prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Other terms are penitentiary, correctional facility, and jail , although in the United States "jail" and "prison" refer to different subtypes of correctional facility...
in 1942 and founded the
Jamaica Labour PartyThe Jamaica Labour Party is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica. It is considered more to the right than its main rival, the People's National Party....
, in 1943. His cousin,
Norman ManleyNorman Washington Manley MM QC National Hero of Jamaica , was a Jamaican statesman. A Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the 1920s...
, founded the JLP's chief rival, the
People's National PartyThe People's National Party is a democratic socialist Jamaican political party, founded by Norman Manley in 1938. It is the oldest political party in the Anglophone Caribbean and one of the main two political parties in Jamaica. Out of the two major parties, it is considered more to the left than...
. Bustamante's party won 22 of 32 seats in the first House of Representatives elected by universal suffrage, making Bustamante the unofficial government leader (as Minister for Communications) until the position of
Chief MinisterA Chief Minister is the elected head of government of a sub-national state, provinces of Pakistan, notably a state of India, a territory of Australia or a British overseas territory that has attained self-government...
was created in 1953. He held this position until the JLP was defeated in 1955. In 1947 and 1948 he also served as
mayor"Mayor" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government....
of
KingstonKingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica and is located on the southeastern coast of the island country. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
.
Though initially a supporter, he came to be an opponent of the Federation of the West Indies and agitated for Jamaica to become an independent state. It was Bustamante's decision that the JLP would not contest a by-election to the federal parliament that resulted in his rival and cousin, Premier
Norman ManleyNorman Washington Manley MM QC National Hero of Jamaica , was a Jamaican statesman. A Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the 1920s...
, calling the referendum in 1961 that led to Jamaica's withdrawal and the break-up of the Federation.
Jamaica was granted independence in 1962 and Bustamante served as the independent country's first
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Bruce Golding. Bruce Golding was elected as the new leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party and succeeded Portia Simpson-Miller to become Jamaica's eighth Prime Minister on 11 September 2007...
until 1967. However, in 1965 he withdrew from active participation in public life, and real power was held by his deputy,
Donald SangsterSir Donald Burns Sangster was a Jamaican politician and the second Prime Minister of Jamaica. He entered politics in 1933 at the age of 21 with his election to a local parish council. In the Parish of St Elizabeth, Jamaica...
.
In 1969, Bustamante was proclaimed a 'National Hero of Jamaica', along with Norman Manley, the black liberationist
Marcus GarveyMarcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH , was a publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, Black Nationalist, Pan-Africanist, and orator...
and two leaders of the 1865
Morant Bay rebellionThe Morant Bay rebellion began on October 11, 1865, when Paul Bogle led 200 to 300 black men and women into the town of Morant Bay, parish of St. Thomas in the East, Jamaica. The rebellion and its aftermath were a major turning point in Jamaica's history, and also generated a significant political...
,
Paul BoglePaul Bogle was a Baptist Deacon and a Jamaican rebel. He was a leader of the 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion, and was captured in October 24 and executed by the United Kingdom . He was later named a National Hero of Jamaica with the title Rt. Excellent Paul Bogle. He is depicted on the heads side of the...
and
George William GordonGeorge William Gordon was a Jamaican businessman and politician. On the centenary of his death, he was proclaimed a National Hero of Jamaica. Gordon is the 2nd of 7 children born to a white planter, Joseph Gordon and a mullato slave, Ann Rattray in April 1815 although many accounts give his...
.
Bustamante died in 1977 and was buried in the
National Heroes ParkNational Heroes Park is a botanical garden in Kingston, Jamaica. The largest open space in Kingston at 20 hectares in size, National Heroes Park features numerous monuments, and is the burial site of many of Jamaica's National Heroes, Prime Ministers, and cultural leaders.-History:Founded by...
in Kingston.
Bustamante backbone
There is a
Jamaican cuisineCuisine of Jamaica includes a mixture of cooking techniques, flavors, spices and influences from the indigenous people on the island, and the Spanish, British, African, Indians, and Chinese who have inhabited the island. The cuisine includes various dishes from the respective cultures brought to...
candy named after Bustamante called the
Bustamante backbone. It is a hard grated coconut and sugar confection "which is said to represent his firmness of character." Bustamante was considered a "buster", "a champion of the common man and tough article."
GizzadaGizzada or Gizzarda, also known as pinch-me-round, is a Jamaican cuisine pastry. The tart is made in a small, crunchy, tart shell with a pinched crust and filled with a sweet and spiced coconut filling.-External links:**...
is a sweet that has some similarities.
External links