Early Caribbean I
- Jacob Lyngsøe
- May 23
- 14 min read
Updated: Jun 5
Part I: The Halifax Experiment
Welcome to the Caribbean, Mon! According to Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) the region is host to almost half the world's cruise tourism volume, translating to roughly 14 million cruise visitors per year (2024 figure). Sail around this beautiful and exotic region for any amount of time and you cannot miss them - cruise ships in all shapes and sizes, often dwarfing the destinations they visit, often carrying more than the local population in visitors and often comprising the bulk of the islands' tourism economy. They are as ubiquitous to the region as white sand beaches, Calypso music and jerk chicken and have been for decades... but not always! Now, we have previously visited early Caribbean cruise history in my recounting of the United Fruit cruise adventure (read Going Bananas), but they were merely the largest US player in the Caribbean at the turn of the 20th century – they were not the first.
In 1492 the Caribbean was discovered… by Europeans, that is. The indigenous Taino and Arawak peoples of the islands had been well aware of it all along. The Spanish and the Portuguese (aka the Iberians) immediately called dibs on the new lands which prompted other European superpowers, primarily England, Holland and France, to also try to secure strategic and profitable new land overseas, either by beating the Iberians to it or by beating the Iberians to get it. This is why we have the French Antilles, the Dutch Antilles and the British West Indies on the Caribbean map today. Needless to say, no one got along; if they weren’t actively at war with each other, they were conducting clandestine raids on each other’s colonies and exposed supply lines by corsairs, buccaneers or freebooters – aka the Pirates of the Caribbean. In between bloody skirmishes, the colonial overlords established cities, forts and trading posts for the continued expansion, protection and enrichment of empire. They introduced agriculture on the islands, primarily sugar plantations, for which they imported thousands and thousands of captured African slaves as cheap labor, adding slave rebellions as yet another reason for the constant bloody skirmishes in the region.
A few Centuries later
This wasn’t intended as a comprehensive Caribbean history lesson, so let’s just say by the time Caribbean history approaches our point of interest in the late 19th century, things have calmed down considerably. A lot of former colonies have gained their independence, starting with Haiti (a former French colony) in 1804 and including many of the Caribbean-adjacent countries of Central and South America, while many others continue under colonial (but now peaceful) administration as the colonial powers have come to peace with each other. With the European abolition of slavery in the 1830’s, slave rebellions are now also a thing of the past and new countries and old colonies use the newfound peace and stability to try and grow beyond their provincial, often underdeveloped existence on the edge of empires. American influence now starts to seep into places abandoned or never occupied by European powers, not with colonial intent but with commercial intent (although the end result of that is going to be depressingly similar, even if it does end up with flippant names like ‘the Banana Wars’). But it did result in many North Americans seeking opportunity on the Caribbean frontier. At first though, it seemed like the commercial opportunities were limited to agricultural products; sugarcane / molasses, tobacco, cocoa, spices, cotton, fruits and lots of smooth, delightful rum, as there were no other industries to speak of.
A new Appeal
But then a new natural resource emerged for fledgling island economies to rise on and for resourceful foreign entrepreneurs to invest in. The Caribbean did in fact have something else that people craved and it was right under their noses all along; emerald green volcanic islands floating on turquoise seas, trimmed with endless white or pink sand beaches under majestic palm trees, populated by an ethnically and culturally eclectic mix of Europeans, Africans, Latinos and Indians, steeped in colonial charm and pirate folklore, bathed in a delightfully sunny, tropical climate year-round and featuring exotic and affordable leisure experiences.. need I go on? Mind you, that appeal had to grow on mankind first; barely a century before that very same paradise had been considered a godforsaken, backwards, humid hellhole where the air was so ‘bad’, it was believed to cause all kinds of tropical diseases. But by the late 19th century medical science, urban development and much improved living conditions had turned the islands into safer, healthier, more enjoyable destinations that could be appreciated – in comfort and good health - for their natural beauty and exotic cultures.
The Gilded Holidaymakers
Greatly helping this appeal flourish was a world at peace (as much as it ever is) in a time of (relative) plenty with people starting to find the desire and resources to pursue leisure time and exploration and an ever-expanding network of modern steam-powered trains and ships to carry them reliably and comfortably beyond the horizon. But probably the biggest (logistical) benefit the Caribbean enjoyed was a most convenient location just a short sail south of an America at the height of the Gilded Age (late 1870’s to early 1900's) where rich, jaded people made for an ideal customer base. The American Gilded Age was a time of rapid economic growth, technological development and booming immigration but sadly also rampant corruption, scandalous politics and obscene wealth inequality to the point that the top 10% of society owned a full 75% of the entire nations wealth. This financial elite, aka the 'Robber Barons', and their families had precious little else to do with their time and money than to pursue new experiences and would not bat an eye at dropping a fortune on leisure travel if they thought it would bring them social status, bragging rights, shopping priviliges, business opportunities, health benefits or simply a reprieve from ennui. So far they had traveled extensively within the US and to Europe but only because they did not know of the exotic destinations and their newfound allure to the south of them. All it took was for someone to go there, discover the potential and spread the word.
An Excursion to Kingston
In 1891 the newspaper Toronto Globe reported that the 1,738-ton SS Halifax from Canada Atlantic Steamship Co Ltd. was operating ‘an excursion of 185 Americans from Boston to Kingston, Jamaica in March’. Although I don’t have the full text of that article, I’ll wager that the main purpose of this trip was to attend the Jamaica International Exhibition of 1891 which ran from January to May of that year. It was the first of its kind, modelled on the London Great Exhibition of 1851 and intended to provide a boost to the ailing Jamaican one-trick economy by showcasing Jamaican products and attracting investment to the island. A convenient by-product of the exhibition was that the thousands of overseas visitors also got to experience Jamaica as a tourist destination. The Halifax was likely chartered to carry North American participants to and from the event. I know this does not sound much like a traditional ‘cruise’ but bear with me as both the event and the ship will turn out to signal the beginning of something bigger.
The SS Halifax
The Halifax was a British-built, single-screw intracoastal passenger steamer from 1888 coming in at 70 m / 230 ft length by 10 m / 35 ft beam and normally at home on the Boston-Halifax route. When in liner service she operated with two classes; First Class (Cabin Class) and Second Class (No-Cabin Class) but when chartered for such longer voyages probably only utilized her cabin accommodation. Given her modest size her passenger capacity could not have been much more than the 185 she carried. She had three passenger decks; Main, Saloon and Promenade, all electrically lit, with most passenger spaces and accommodation concentrated on Saloon and Promenade. Public spaces included a dining saloon, a social hall and a smoking salon and cabins were small, featured bunk beds (for doubling up occupancy) and electric call bells for steward service but no private in-cabin restroom facilities (communal bathrooms). She was described as ‘most comfortable’ and ‘magnificent’ but I have found no interior photos or details of what standards were applied in that assessment. But for what she was, she sure didn't seem like an ideal fit for long haul luxury passenger transport or onboard leisure/entertainment.
Jamaican Impressions
Some of the 185 travelers probably already had some kind of engagement with Jamaica, possibly some visits under their belt, but those that didn’t might have been in for a positive surprise. Contrary to common belief Kingston itself was neither particularly primitive or provincial at that time; as the newly-elevated capital city of the island (1872) with around 48.500 inhabitants it was quite the city… quite the modern city even. A devastating fire known as Feurtardo’s fire had torn through the lower city in 1882 and out of the ashes had risen a more modern, progressive city that had deliberately modelled itself more on a Western imperial secondary city than a colonial outpost. Grand government and civic buildings dotted the cityscape (incl. the massive custom-built exhibition building and park), paved streets and brick houses featured gas-lights (electric lights would soon follow in 1892), mule-drawn street cars provided efficient public transportation, modern water and sanitation systems ensured comfort and hygiene and brisk trade with colonial and overseas markets ensured that Jamaicans could ‘keep up with the Joneses’ socio-economically (within certain classes at least). A government-subsidized hotel construction program in preparation for the big exhibition (and for a budding tourism industry) had ensured there was no lack of modern, luxurious accommodation for visitors.
Wilderness Romanticized
Of course, most of these modern conveniences stopped at the city limit and as soon as you ventured into the Jamaican hinterland, you were flung back in time by decades, if not centuries; unlit and unsafe dirt roads winding through vast stretches of dense, lush, mountainous, tropical wilderness with grand colonial-era plantation mansions for the landowners and clusters of primitive thatched roof huts for the workers scattered in between. But that was not a dealbreaker for early North American tourists – on the contrary. Americans held a special affection for natural scenery, born in part out of a quest for national identity that didn’t recognize existing (American Indian) culture and history as something worth building on and instead sought to anchor itself in the rock, soil and natural wonders of their new land. The American Romanticism movement of the mid-19th century further promoted the importance of natural scenery and aesthetics to people’s physical and spiritual health so going out into the wilderness and communing with nature was basically on par with communing with God.
Exhibition's End
The Jamaica International Exhibition closed in May of 1891. Financially it made a loss for the investors but it did receive 302.831 visitors (including our 185 North American friends), many of whom undoubtedly took some time to explore beyond the exhibition grounds and city limits and brought home stories and maybe pictures of this wonderfully scenic paradise (given that personal photography had been a thing since 1888). These would have circulated in the growing circles of mass (print) media as examples of popular new travel destinations to experience and garnered the attention of the extremely wealthy upper class of the Gilded Age - people with so much money and so little to do with their time that they practically invented American vacations, at first in their opulent 'summer cottages' of the Boston North Shore, Newport, R.I. or Martha's Vineyard, M.S. but as opportunities arose to also escape the harsh winters of the Northern US states and take their luxuries with them, their focus started turning south.
Enter Mr. Plant
And sure enough, it would not be long before Jamaica saw its first American leisure cruise arrive, once again carried on the decks of the SS Halifax. Following a merger between Canada Atlantic Steamship Co and American-owned Plant Line in 1892, the SS Halifax was moved south to Tampa for a series of three 10-night experimental winter cruises in early 1893, heading to Jamaica and the Bahamas. These were quite possibly the first ever designated American leisure cruises in the Caribbean, at least as far as I have been able to trace it. The impetus for this experiment very likely came from Plant Line founder, Henry B. Plant (1819-1899) – one of those very Americans seeking commercial opportunities on the tropical frontier. An American business man, entrepreneur, hotelier, shipping tycoon, railroad magnate and ‘King of Florida’ (‘crowned’ by Success magazine in 1898), who had a vested interest in getting people to sail on his ships, ride on his trains and stay at his hotels and saw leisure travel as a great new way to achieve this.
The First Real Cruises
The first cruise of the SS Halifax started on February 16, 1893 carrying 89 passengers, incl. Plant himself along for the ride and taking notes on further development. Unfortunately, I don’t (currently) know much more than that, but I am quite happy to speculate. We know that 89 pax is well below her previously demonstrated occupancy, which points to either challenges selling such a novel leisure venture or a purposeful reduction of occupancy to generate more space and cultivate a sense of luxury. It is also quite likely she had recently received a substantial makeover to transform her from 'workaday people hauler' to vessel of leisure and luxury – Plant Line hotels were widely known for their luxury and first-class amenities and the Halifax would have had to match expectations, especially with Mr. Plant himself on board. His presence onboard also makes it likely that the cruise would have had, if not a daily program, then at least some shared social events, like dinners or parties, possibly even entertainment, during which Plant could host graciously, boost the spirits of his guests and gauge their enjoyment and enthusiasm. Given the distances and my assumptions about the Halifax’s cruising speed, I can surmise that if they hit two ports over a 10-night cruise, they would have spent somewhere between 2-3 days in each port.
Experiences Ashore
Plant likely had some sightseeing arrangements lined up for guests in port – in Jamaica these would likely have been centered on Kingston as the mountainous terrain and the horse-drawn excursion vehicles made deep inland excursions very challenging, but there would likely have been time for an excursion to a nearby coffee plantation in the foothills, like the Craighton Estate or the Andover Estate (which both do coffee tours to this date) or the nearby historic pirate haunt of Port Royal on the Palisadoes isthmus. I also would not be the least surprised if Plant used his social status and reputation to master mind some exclusive events or soirées with the Kingston elite, thereby adding to the exclusivity and celebrity vibe for his guests, but again I have no historical evidence of what the travel party did or did not do in Kingston, so that will have to remain pure speculation.
On to Nassau
As for the second port on the cruise, it could not have been more different from Kingston. Yes, both were British crown colonies but where Jamaica was large, mountainous and lush, New Providence Island (where Nassau is located) was small, flat and arid with a population of barely 10.000 people altogether. Where Kingston felt like a modern, prosperous and progressive secondary city, Nassau felt decidedly more like a dusty, backwards colonial outpost. Bereft of any agricultural potential, the small island had subsisted on fishing, wrecking (yes, the business of intentionally causing ships to wreck to steal their cargo), sponge-fishing, a bit of pineapple cultivation and tourism. In fact, the Bahamas had probably been so keen to tap into new revenue sources, that they became the first Caribbean islands to bet on tourism with the first Tourism Encouragement Act passed in 1851. However, it took a lot more than political goodwill to make people flock to the Bahamas. Bear in mind, this was a time before beach holidays held any kind of leisure appeal and the windswept barren limestone flats did not exactly inspire much 'communing with God'. In fact, it wasn’t until 1961 when Cuba closed to American tourists, that tourism here really got supercharged. So when our friends on the Halifax popped by in 1893 they would have been a rare, but welcome sight and the subject of much attention. But it's unlikely they would have spent more than two days here, mostly in Nassau touring forts, churches and mansions if I had to guess.
An Experiment Abandoned
The three experimental cruises never led to anything more, allegedly because Henry Plant pulled the plug over a dispute with the Jamaican government over hotel management rights on the island. According to his official museum page, he never actually ran any hotel properties in Jamaica so these were likely disputes over hotel projects that were never realized, but maybe he was contemplating using the 'cruise service' in combination with local hotel stays in a type of holiday package. Whatever the reason Henry Plant did not pursue the cruising idea any further and the SS Halifax went back to regular liner service. Judging by the lack of sources on further Plant cruise activity from this point on, Plant Line then took a lengthy break from leisure travel but would eventually make a comeback in the early twentieth century – but that will have to remain a story for another time.
European Leisure Seekers
You might have noticed that I have been careful to emphasize that this was probably the first American cruise into the Caribbean. That’s because there was maybe.. perhaps.. for all we know, some European cruising taking place at the same time, if not already before. I’m hedging partly because the source material so far is very sparse, and partly because it is difficult to pinpoint when European cruising into the Caribbean began, or perhaps more aptly when simple ‘leisure travel by sea’ turned into the conceptualized thing we call ‘a cruise’. From early on, Europe (or at the very least Spain, England, France and the Netherlands) had an oceanic network in place to carry mail, cargo and passengers to and from their Caribbean colonies (Portugal lost their overseas colonies at an early stage and were not part of this traffic) and the early leisure travelers to the region likely just boarded regularly scheduled passages to go exploring, either on their own or in organized group travel. Companies like the Spanish Compañía Transatlántica Española, the British Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, the French Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes or the Royal Netherlands Steamship Company happily accommodated leisure travelers onboard as a way to complement revenue (the category of ‘tourist tickets’ started to appear in the 1880’s), but whether they advertised sailings as ‘cruises’ is doubtful, not least because the word ‘cruise’ did not enter common usage until the last few years of the 19th century. So there was European leisure travel into the Caribbean from an early stage, just not in the form of full-fledged cruises.
But that would arrive soon enough – as we shall learn in the next (and final) installment of Early Caribbean.
This is the twenty-sixth article in a series of historical retrospectives on the history of cruising prior to the industry formation in the 1960's. Although not academic papers, the articles are researched to the extent of my resources and ability and strive to be as historically factual as possible. If you enjoyed it, feel free to like, share or comment and follow me (or The Cruise Insider) for more instalments.
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