Spanish town was the capital of Jamaica until 1872, during which the colony was under British rule (History of Jamaica, Wikipedia).  Around the time Jane Eyre was written, slavery in Jamaica was abolished, disrupting the plantation system, leading to an overhaul of previous social and economic models (History of Jamaica, Embassy of Jamaica).  Major contributors to the emancipation of West African slaves were British Christian missionaries; However, shortly after the abolishment of slavery, people from India and China began arriving in Jamaica as Indentured Servants (History of Jamaica, Embassy of Jamaica). 

Under British Rule the economy of the colony changed drastically; their main export of sugar became less important, and droughts and disease led to rebellions.  In the mid-19^th-century, the British administration focused on the development of agriculture in the colony (Colony of Jamaica).  While sugar declined in importance, banana trade and production increased, helping the economy. 

Many of the characters in Jane Eyre have business in the West Indies, of which Jamaica is considered to be a part, and this may be likely because of the changing economy and social structure in the region.  In the 1840’s, when the novel would have been written, British colonialism would have been a popular topic within the news, which may be why Brontë included it as a part of her novel. 

An interesting analysis of the relationship between Mr. Rochester and Bertha Mason discussed in an article on the Victorian Web is that Bertha is a colonized subject, and Rochester the metaphorical colonizer, a dynamic in which his social, gender, and racial status play important roles (Graves).   

Works Cited

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. 1847.

"Colony of Jamaica." Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colony_of_Jamaica. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.

Graves, Benjamin. "The Illustrated London News, Colonialism, and Jane Eyre." The Victorian Web, 1996, victorianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/bg2.html. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.

"History of Jamaica." Embassy of Jamaica Washington, DC, www.embassyofjamaica.org/about_jamaica/history.htm. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.

"History of Jamaica." Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Jamaica. Accessed 21 Mar. 2023.