Hope Botanical Gardens

Botanical garden in Jamaica

Hope Botanical Gardens, Jamaica

Hope Botanical Gardens, also known as the Royal Botanical Gardens, is a 200-acre (81 ha) park and gardens located in St Andrew, Jamaica.

## History[edit]

Major Richard Hope's estate was established after 1655 when the British took over Jamaica from the Spanish.[1] Richard Hope was a commander in the British Army and received his estate due to his assistance in gaining control of Jamaica.[2] It was developed as a sugar plantation with a watermill.

In the 19th century the property was inherited by Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. According to the Legacies of British Slave-Ownership research centre at University College London, Buckingham was the beneficiary of payment as a slave owner in the aftermath of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 with the Slave Compensation Act 1837.[3]

The gardens were established in 1873 from a section of the estate.[4] They were initially used as a site for experimental cultivation, particularly of sugarcane, but also developed into public pleasure garden.[5] The gardens were closely connected with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, through regular correspondence and sharing of plants, research, and staff.[6] Hope became the headquarters of the Department of Botanical Gardens and Plantations in 1898, and of the Department of Agriculture in 1908.[7]

## Attractions[edit]

Attractions at the gardens include a palm grove, a cactus garden, an orchid house, and ornamental ponds.[2] This site is maintained by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (Jamaica).[8]

## References[edit]

1. ^ David Howard (2005). Kingston: A Cultural and Literary History. Signal Books. pp. 110–. ISBN 978-1-902669-37-3.
2. ^ a b "Kingston, Hope Gardens". Jamaica Travel and Culture .com. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
3. ^ "Richard Plantagenet Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos". Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slavery. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
4. ^ "Hope Botanical Gardens". Visit Jamaica. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
5. ^ Fawcett, William (1897). "The Public Gardens and Plantations of Jamaica". Botanical Gazette. 24 (5): 352–5. ISSN 0006-8071.
6. ^ McCracken, Donal P. (1997). Gardens of Empire: botanical institutions of the Victorian British Empire (1st ed.). London: Leicester University Press. pp. 18–19. ISBN 978-0-7185-0109-9.
7. ^ Nesbitt, Mark (19 April 2018), "Botany in Victorian Jamaica", Victorian Jamaica, Duke University Press, p. 216, doi:10.1515/9780822374626-032, ISBN 978-0-8223-7462-6, retrieved 30 October 2023
8. ^ "History". Hope Royal Botanical Gardens. Retrieved 30 October 2023.

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