Minute Book of the Institute of Jamaica, 1879-1892
These Minute Books of the Institute of Jamaica, 1879-1892 are original handwritten texts which document the birth and formative years of the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) which is still in operation today. These two Minute Books document the activities of the IOJ’s Board of Governors General and Special Meetings from their first meeting on August 5, 1879 and subsequent meetings to January 4, 1892. The inclusive dates of each book are: August 1879-February 1886; and, February 1886-January 1892. The minutes represent the deliberations and determinations of approximately 200 meetings. These Minute Books provide testimonies on the development of the IOJ, one of Jamaica’s most enduring and endearing entities and which has rightfully been described as a «cultural catalyst».
These Minute Books give insights into the proceedings/deliberations of the Board of Governors and the decisions taken by these eminent men of their time. Based on the mandate of the enabling legislation which states that the IOJ was «for the encouragement of literature, science and art» these men zealously sought to ensure that the IOJ upheld its governing law in thought and deed (Act 27 Victoria, Cap.22 of 7 May 1879).
Additionally, these Minute Books provide early documentary evidence of national developmental concerns dating from about 50 years after the abolition of enslavement in Jamaica. They also reflect the thrust of the Crown Colony Government that emerged after the 1865 Morant Bay Rebellion. Of the many institutions established in Jamaica at the end of the nineteenth century, the IOJ is one of the very few that has had an uninterrupted history and still operates out of its original location.
Further, these Minute Books are primary source documents of the IOJ’s seminal role as a primary progenitor of museums, libraries, art galleries and cultural training in Jamaica and the Caribbean.
The Minute Books of the Institute of Jamaica, 1879-1892, were inscribed in the Memory of the World, Regional Register for Latin America and the Caribbean in 2010.