Book Review - Exploring the constitutional history of Jamaica

• Title: Aspects of Jamaican Constitutional History
• Authors: David P Rowe, Niyala Harrison and Jason Fredrick Emert
• Reviewer: Dwight Bellanfante

In this epic 451-page work, Professor David P. Rowe et al cover the constitutional history of Jamaica from the initial encounter between the new and the old worlds in 1494, to contemporary times.

He is ably assisted in this venture by co-authors, law students Niyala Harrison and Jason Frederick Emert in assessing Jamaica's constitutional history, the first such venture of its kind from beyond the country's shores.

Rowe weaves a rich tapestry of intriguing insights including pointing to the likelihood of Columbus disguising his being Jewish in order to avoid persecution and the dilemma, (at least to some) of whether the Spanish settled the island rather than conquered it, as they cannot in all honesty be credited with "discovering" it as the Tainos (Arawaks) were already here.

The period of Spanish rule followed by English conquest along with slavery, colonialism, pre- and post-Independence, and the consequent evolution of Jamaican law and the Jamaican Constitution is tracked and explored. There is a sense in which the book is both a recounting and explanation of the formation of Jamaican law and the Constitution, and a nuanced historical timeline - perhaps from Christopher Columbus to Christopher Coke.

Rowe brings his perspective as a scholar - he has been adjunct professor of law at the University of Miami Law School since 1988 and public commentator - to the book. David P. Rowe is regarded as a pioneer in the area of transnational law and has spent most of his 30 years career as a litigator in Florida.

He is one of the world's leading voices on the Law of the Commonwealth Caribbean and the political economy of the wider Caribbean region, and his scholarly work and quotations have appeared in periodicals around the world.

He was also the forerunner in developing a caribbean law programme upon the recommendation of the late A.R. Carnegie of the University of the West Indies at the University of Miami, and this has led to the development of other Caribbean law programmes in other American law schools.

Rowe also brings to bear his unique insights as the observant son of one of Jamaica's most distinguished jurists, Justice Ira DeCordova Rowe, QC, OJ, former president of the Courts of Appeal of Jamaica and Belize and a member of the Court of Appeal of The Bahamas, in explaining
defining moments in Jamaica's history and
jurisprudence.

The authors spend considerable time
exploring the key moments and events in Jamaica's history including the
early slave revolts and the cataclysmic and catalytic events of 1938,
which ushered in the trade union movement and the birth of Jamaica's two
major political parties, as well as other significant political parties
over the years. The pivotal contributions of leading individuals in
those processes are also dissected such as Paul Bogle, George William
Gordon, Marcus Garvey, Alexander Bustamante, St William Grant and Norman
Manley, counterpoised in relation to the times.

The
defining years of Jamaica's pre-Independence and early Independence are
viewed from a historical and socio-economic perspective, as well as the
years of the socialist "experiment" in the 1970s and the subsequent
return or retreat (depending on one's perspective) to more orthodox
prescriptions in economics and governance.

The
development of critical social legislation such as the No Bastardy Law
and the formation of lasting institutions such as the Urban Development
Corporation and the National Housing Trust are also tracked and
documented, including the evolution of some of Jamaica's leading
commercial entities and business
families.

Contemporary crises are also fully explored
and ventilated, including the rise and fall of various Ponzi schemes and
the Tivoli incursion and subsequent extradition of Christopher
Coke.

The work should be of use to both laypersons,
media practitioners, students of history, law and sociology in
particular and indeed anyone interested in understanding the
developments and motive forces behind Jamaican history, law and the
formation of the island's constitution. It is fresh and original in many
of its presumptions and observations and adds to the pantheon of
Jamaican historical scholarship.