Spanish Town

17°59N 76°58W, pop (2000e) 99 000. Capital city of St Catherine parish, Middlesex county, S Jamaica; on the R Cobre, 18 km/11 mi W of Kingston; second largest city in Jamaica; capital, 1535–1872; railway; serves a rich agricultural area; cathedral (1655), ruins of the King's House (1762), court house (1819), folk museum, White Marl Arawak museum.

Spanish Town is the former Spanish and English capital of Jamaica, during the 16th through 19th centuries, and is a World Heritage Site.

The Spanish settlement of Villa de la Vega was founded by governor Francisco de Garay in 1534 as the capital of the colony. When the English conquered Jamaica in 1655, they renamed the capital Spanish Town. By the time Port Royal was decimated by an earthquake in 1692, Spanish Town had been rebuilt and was again functioning as the capital. The inland Spanish Town remained the capital until 1872, when the seat of the colony was moved to Kingston.

The centre of the town boasts a few Regency buildings, including the Rodney Memorial and the façade of Old King's House, the residence of the governors until 1872.

Today, Spanish Town is sometimes referred to colloquially as "Spain Town" or "Prison Oval" within the confines of Jamaica.

The history of Spanish Town lives on in the remains of the old buildings in its street names that mark it as the start of Jamaica's overall history. Reminders of Spanish Jamaica include Red Church and White Church Streets, symbolic of the Spanish chapels of the red and white cross, as well as Monk Street, in reference to the monastery that once stood nearby. Nugent Street and Manchester Street were named for British Colonial Governors, while King Street received its name because it runs past King's House and Constitution Street, near to the Square, it also refers to the fact that the island's administrative centre used to be located there

The population of present day Spanish Town is 148,845 (2006 population estimate). The population of Spanish Town, like the rest of the St. Catherine has been growing rapidly, causing a drastic increase of crime and violence in the city. Mayor Raymoth Notice said the problem with Spanish Town is that there are too many guns and not enough jobs and educational opportunities.

It was for this reason that last year he launched a gun initiative, proposing to swap guns for education.

Coordinates: 17°59′N 76°57′W