A Brief History
In 1494 Christopher Columbus sailed into the bay and named it "el Golfo de Buen Tiempo" or Fair Weather Bay. The Spaniards hunted the herds of wild hogs that used to roam the hills and produced and exported 'hog butter' or lard. The name Montego derives from the Spanish "manteca" meaning lard, and Montego Bay is shown on some ancient maps as Lard Bay.
By the end of the eighteenth century, Montego Bay had become a busy port visited by about 150 ships each year - more than use it now. Sugar Cane was what fueled the economy but this changed when sugar slumped during the nineteenth century. Things improved with the development of banana plantations but it was as a tourist resort that Montego Bay really came into its own. The property Doctors Cave is said have been integral to the birth of the tourist industry and it was donated to the town as a bathing club in 1906. During World War 2 a landing strip was built in the mangrove swamp and after the war, an airport was opened. Montego Bay rapidly became a mecca for the rich and famous. Today, the modern Donald Sangster airport (named after a former Prime Minister) handles tens of thousands passengers annually. |
