Westmoreland

Westmoreland is the westernmost parish in Jamaica, located at the south facet of the island. It is situated south of Hanover, southwest of Saint James, and northwest of Saint Elizabeth, within the county of Cornwall. The chief city and capital is Savanna-los angeles-Mar. Negril, a well-known vacationer destination, is also situated inside the parish. The earliest inhabitants of Westmoreland have been the Arawak and Ciboney Indians. The Ciboney have been first to arrive, from the coast of South America, round 500 BC. Known as "cave dwellers", they lived alongside the cliffs of Negril. The labyrinth of caves and passageways underneath what is now the Xtabi Hotel in Negril are one of the first recognized settlements of Ciboney Indians in Jamaica.

Christopher Columbus stopped at what became Westmoreland on his second voyage when he landed in Jamaica. One of the primary Spanish settlements changed into additionally built at gift-day Bluefields on this parish. The English took over the island from Spanish rule in 1655. Colonists named the parish Westmoreland in 1703, for it became the most westerly factor of the island. In 1730, Savanna-l. A.-Mar, a coastal port, became targeted to replace Banbury as the capital of the parish.