Cockpit Country
Encyclopedia
Cockpit Country is an area in Jamaica
which provided a natural defensive area used by Maroon
s to establish communities outside the control of Spanish
or British
colonialists
.
Cockpit Country is pockmarked with steep-sided hollows, as much as 120 metres (393.7 ft) deep in places, which are separated by conical hills and ridges.
On the north, the main defining feature is the fault-based "Escarpment", a long ridge that extends from Flagstaff in the west, through Windsor in the centre, to Campbells and the start of the Barbecue Bottom Road (B10). The Barbecue Bottom Road, which runs north-south, high along the side of a deep, fault-based valley in the east, is the only drivable route across the Cockpit Country. However, there are two old, historical trails that cross further west, the Troy Trail, and the Quick Step Trail, both of which are seldom used as of 2006 and difficult to find.
In the southwest, near Quick Step, is the district known as the "Land of Look Behind," so named because Spanish horsemen venturing into this region of hostile runaway slaves were said to have ridden two to a mount, one rider facing to the rear to keep a precautionary watch.
Where the ridges between sinkholes in the plateau area have dissolved, flat-bottomed basins or valleys have been formed that are filled with terra rosa soils, some of the most productive on the island. The largest basin is the Vale of Clarendon, 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) long and 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) wide. Queen of Spains Valley, Nassau Valley, and Cave Valley were formed by the same process.
proposed that the Cockpit Country be zoned a World Heritage Site
. A petition for protection of the area was submitted to Prime Minister Bruce Golding
in 2006.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
which provided a natural defensive area used by Maroon
Maroon (people)
Maroons were runaway slaves in the West Indies, Central America, South America, and North America, who formed independent settlements together...
s to establish communities outside the control of Spanish
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
or British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
colonialists
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
.
Cockpit Country is pockmarked with steep-sided hollows, as much as 120 metres (393.7 ft) deep in places, which are separated by conical hills and ridges.
On the north, the main defining feature is the fault-based "Escarpment", a long ridge that extends from Flagstaff in the west, through Windsor in the centre, to Campbells and the start of the Barbecue Bottom Road (B10). The Barbecue Bottom Road, which runs north-south, high along the side of a deep, fault-based valley in the east, is the only drivable route across the Cockpit Country. However, there are two old, historical trails that cross further west, the Troy Trail, and the Quick Step Trail, both of which are seldom used as of 2006 and difficult to find.
In the southwest, near Quick Step, is the district known as the "Land of Look Behind," so named because Spanish horsemen venturing into this region of hostile runaway slaves were said to have ridden two to a mount, one rider facing to the rear to keep a precautionary watch.
Where the ridges between sinkholes in the plateau area have dissolved, flat-bottomed basins or valleys have been formed that are filled with terra rosa soils, some of the most productive on the island. The largest basin is the Vale of Clarendon, 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) long and 32 kilometres (19.9 mi) wide. Queen of Spains Valley, Nassau Valley, and Cave Valley were formed by the same process.
Environment
The Cockpit Country is Jamaica's largest remaining contiguous rainforest. In 1979 an unpublished paper proposed the possibility of a National Park In 1994 the geographer Alan EyreAlan Eyre
L. Alan Eyre is a British-born naturalised Jamaican geographer and environmentalist. He is also a member of the Christadelphian church....
proposed that the Cockpit Country be zoned a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. A petition for protection of the area was submitted to Prime Minister Bruce Golding
Bruce Golding
Orette Bruce Golding MP served as Prime Minister of Jamaica from 11 September 2007 to 23 October 2011. He is a member of the Jamaica Labour Party.-Biography:...
in 2006.