Description
This brief history of Appleton Estate traces the ownership pattern of the property, from the land grant to Francis Dickinson, through William Hill, Alexander McDowell Nathan, Cecil Lindo and his brothers and heirs, down to J. Wray & Nephew Ltd and its present-day owners, the Campari Group of Italy. The book is a mere snippet of the vast history of the home of Jamaica’s famous rum brand that is said to have had its origins dating back to the English conquest of Jamaica in 1655, but, hopefully, fulfills the desire of the owners to have a more accurate account of Appleton Estate’s history, using the lens of the past to understand their present.
The publication is the outcome of a Research Project commissioned by J. Wray & Nephew Limited and carried out by a team from the Centre for Reparations Research (CRR) of The University of the West Indies. Its findings show how Appleton Estate’s history tracks closely with that of Jamaica’s, following the condensed trajectory of indigenous people’s settlement, European conquest and colonisation, chattel enslavement of Africans, emancipation, Asian indentureship, and concluding with the modern corporate enterprise.
The authors have used the findings of their research to pay respect to the enslaved men and women whose unpaid labour not only enriched the Dickinson family but laid the foundation for the development, financial success, and later fame of the iconic rum brand and its owners.
