1. Alexander Bustamante was born to Mary Clarke, a woman of mixed race, and her husband, Robert Constantine Clarke, the son of Robert Clarke, a White Irish Catholic planter, in Blenheim, Hanover.
19 Facts About Alexander Bustamante
1. 2.
Alexander Bustamante returned to Jamaica permanently about 30 years later in the 1930s.
3.
Alexander Bustamante became a leader in activism against colonial rule and gained recognition by writing frequent letters on the issues to the Daily Gleaner newspaper.
4.
Manley and released from prison in 1943, Alexander Bustamante founded the Jamaica Labour Party the same year.
5.
Alexander Bustamante became the unofficial government leader, representing his party as Minister for Communications.
6.
In 1953, Alexander Bustamante became Jamaica's first chief minister.
7.
Alexander Bustamante held this position until the JLP was defeated in 1955.
8.
Alexander Bustamante agitated for Jamaica to become independent of Great Britain.
9.
Alexander Bustamante said that the JLP would not contest a by-election to the federal parliament.
10.
Two days later, Alexander Bustamante retired, and Sangster became Jamaica's second prime minister.
11.
Leonard Howell and Alexander Bustamante had a contentious relationship rooted in ideological differences.
12.
Alexander Bustamante's government engaged in a campaign against Howell, viewing his messages and activities as seditious following significant unrest among the working-class populations in Jamaica.
13.
Alexander Bustamante classed Howell as dangerous, equating Rastafarian identity with lawlessness and rebellion, particularly after events like the Coral Gardens incident in 1963, which intensified state violence against Rastafarians.
14.
Alexander Bustamante's parents were Robert Constantine Clarke, and wife Mary nee Wilson.
15.
Alexander Bustamante was commended in 1955 for his public services in Jamaica.
16.
Alexander Bustamante was awarded an honorary LLD degree from the Fairfield University in 1963.
17.
On 9 June 1967, Alexander Bustamante was appointed a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire.
18.
In 1969, Alexander Bustamante became a Member of the Order of National Hero in recognition of his achievements, this along with Norman Manley, the black liberationist Marcus Garvey, and two leaders of the 1865 Morant Bay rebellion, Paul Bogle and George William Gordon.
19.
Alexander Bustamante died in 1977 at the Irish Town Hospital and was buried in the National Heroes Park in Kingston.