Derelict Sugar Works, Jamaica, ca.1875-ca.1940

Photograph of a disused sugar works in Jamaica. The building, a white stone structure, lies empty and has no roof. There are palm trees and a hill in the background. Sugar cane, which was first introduced to Jamaica in the 16th century, remains an important part of the economy.; This belongs to a series of Church of Scotland Foreign Missions Committee lantern slides relating to Jamaica. In 1800 the Scottish Missionary Society sent three missionaries to Jamaica. Two died of yellow fever within weeks of arrival but the third became a pioneer missionary. In 1824 a second venture travelled to Jamaica by invitation of local planters to instruct their slaves. Scottish missionaries worked at Montego Bay in the 19th century and in 1836 the first presbytery of the Jamaican Church was constituted here.