Alexander Bustamante

February 24, 1884 (age 93)

Hanover, Jamaica

Bustamante worked in several odd jobs throughout Latin America after his time in Spain. He was a man of eclectic interests and abilities, and worked as a traffic coordinator for a trolley company in Panama and as a police inspector in Havana. By 1923, he had settled in New York, where he worked as a dietician in a hospital, a position that he held until 1932. A savvy businessman, Bustamante invested his small savings immediately following the stock market crash of 1929. As the market started to recover, his stock holdings gained value. He redeemed the profits and used them to establish a moneylending business that made him an affluent man. Bustamante returned to Jamaica in 1932 when he was almost middleaged. Although he was financially independent and had brought with him considerable savings, he was distressed by the social and economic conditions of his fellow Jamaicans. The island was underdeveloped and Jamaican workers suffered abuses and exploitation at the hands of rich landowners. Bustamante wrote eloquent letters criticizing labor abuses and the indifference of Her Majesty's government to newspapers in both Jamaica and Great Britain. He met with labor leaders and spoke at protest rallies. By 1938 the political climate of Jamaica and many other Caribbean islands was defined by an uproar of labor protests. Workers had grown tired of their treatment and began generalized strikes. They protested the lack of employment and unfair labor practices and were angered by the importation of cheap foreign labor from poor African and Asian countries, which devalued them and submitted these foreigners to awful working conditions. Jamaican workers also demanded that Great Britain give them universal adult suffrage. After participating in a protest in which he called the colonial governor a "misfit," Bustamante was arrested and accused of sedition by the British colonial authorities in Jamaica. Fortunately, his cousin Norman Washington Manley, one of the best Jamaican attorneys, was able to obtain his release through mediation with colonial authorities. When Bustamante was freed from jail he saw a need for the creation of a unified labor movement and of a cohesive voice to fight for it. He created the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union in 1938 and assisted Norman W. Manley in the creation of the People's National Party (PNP). The union agreed to become the labor branch of the party. The government consented to study the labor problems, and the violence subsided to some extent. In September 1940, Bustamante was arrested for participating in a protest at Kingston's Up Park Camp. The colonial government had developed stringent wartime regulations and alleged that Bustamante's activities threatened the national security of Jamaica and the British motherland. He spent 17 months in a Jamaican prison and was finally freed in 1942, after which he broke political ties to the PNP. An ideological rift had developed between Bustamante and his cousin during his stay in jail. While Manley focused more on Jamaican nationalism and saw the labor movement as a means to gain power and independence, Bustamante was genuinely concerned with the well being of laborers, not necessarily independence from Great Britain. As a result, Bustamante created the Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) in 1943. Bustamante and Manley both petitioned Great Britain for Jamaica's independence. When Great Britain agreed, Bustamante and Manley worked together to craft the new constitution and shape the new government. They agreed to hold a new general election in the spring of 1962 to select the new government. Bustamante ran in the elections and won. He became the first prime minister of the island when it received independence in August 1962. His last term in government was characterized by a substantial transformation of Jamaica's economic infrastructure. Bustamante worked to modernize education, health, transportation, and the communication systems. In his last term he turned 80 years old. His health deteriorated and he partially withdrew from public appearances. When the 1967 elections were announced, he decided not to run and retired from government.

Alexander Bustamante Edit Profile

also known as Sir William Alexander Bustamante

politician

Background

William Alexander Clarke was born on February 24,1884, in the Jamaican city of Blenheim, one of 13 children of a poor family who worked in agriculture. His father, William Alexander Clarke, had emigrated from Ireland to Jamaica during his youth and married a Jamaican woman. When Clarke was 15 he was adopted by Arnulfo Bustamante, a visiting Spanish colonel who took him to Spain. It was not unusual for Caribbean people of the time to give their children up for adoption to someone who could provide a better future for them. Clarke thus became known as Alexander Bustamante.

Education

While in Spain, Bustamante received private tutoring and took business and language courses at the Royal Academy of Spain. After enlisting in the Spanish army and serving in Morocco, he left Spain and returned to America.

Career

Bustamante worked in several odd jobs throughout Latin America after his time in Spain. He was a man of eclectic interests and abilities, and worked as a traffic coordinator for a trolley company in Panama and as a police inspector in Havana. By 1923, he had settled in New York, where he worked as a dietician in a hospital, a position that he held until 1932. A savvy businessman, Bustamante invested his small savings immediately following the stock market crash of 1929. As the market started to recover, his stock holdings gained value. He redeemed the profits and used them to establish a moneylending business that made him an affluent man.

Bustamante returned to Jamaica in 1932 when he was almost middleaged. Although he was financially independent and had brought with him considerable savings, he was distressed by the social and economic conditions of his fellow Jamaicans. The island was underdeveloped and Jamaican workers suffered abuses and exploitation at the hands of rich landowners. Bustamante wrote eloquent letters criticizing labor abuses and the indifference of Her Majesty's government to newspapers in both Jamaica and Great Britain. He met with labor leaders and spoke at protest rallies.

By 1938 the political climate of Jamaica and many other Caribbean islands was defined by an uproar of labor protests. Workers had grown tired of their treatment and began generalized strikes. They protested the lack of employment and unfair labor practices and were angered by the importation of cheap foreign labor from poor African and Asian countries, which devalued them and submitted these foreigners to awful working conditions. Jamaican workers also demanded that Great Britain give them universal adult suffrage. After participating in a protest in which he called the colonial governor a "misfit," Bustamante was arrested and accused of sedition by the British colonial authorities in Jamaica. Fortunately, his cousin Norman Washington Manley, one of the best Jamaican attorneys, was able to obtain his release through mediation with colonial authorities.

When Bustamante was freed from jail he saw a need for the creation of a unified labor movement and of a cohesive voice to fight for it. He created the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union in 1938 and assisted Norman W. Manley in the creation of the People's National Party (PNP). The union agreed to become the labor branch of the party. The government consented to study the labor problems, and the violence subsided to some extent.

In September 1940, Bustamante was arrested for participating in a protest at Kingston's Up Park Camp. The colonial government had developed stringent wartime regulations and alleged that Bustamante's activities threatened the national security of Jamaica and the British motherland. He spent 17 months in a Jamaican prison and was finally freed in 1942, after which he broke political ties to the PNP. An ideological rift had developed between Bustamante and his cousin during his stay in jail. While Manley focused more on Jamaican nationalism and saw the labor movement as a means to gain power and independence, Bustamante was genuinely concerned with the well being of laborers, not necessarily independence from Great Britain. As a result, Bustamante created the Jamaican Labour Party (JLP) in 1943.

Bustamante and Manley both petitioned Great Britain for Jamaica's independence. When Great Britain agreed, Bustamante and Manley worked together to craft the new constitution and shape the new government. They agreed to hold a new general election in the spring of 1962 to select the new government. Bustamante ran in the elections and won. He became the first prime minister of the island when it received independence in August 1962. His last term in government was characterized by a substantial transformation of Jamaica's economic infrastructure. Bustamante worked to modernize education, health, transportation, and the communication systems. In his last term he turned 80 years old. His health deteriorated and he partially withdrew from public appearances. When the 1967 elections were announced, he decided not to run and retired from government.

Achievements

Bustamante received multiple honors during his political career. The queen of England knighted him in 1955. He died on August 6, 1977. Upon his death, the people of Jamaica recognized him as one of their national heroes.

Politics

Bustamante ran as a candidate of the JLP, opposing his cousin Manley from the PNP. While Manley advocated a substantial reorganization of the economic system in Jamaica following socialist principles, Bustamante focused on labor reforms. His political agenda was more conservative than Manley's and he wanted to maintain association with the government of Great Britain. Because Bustamante was perceived as less of a threat to their economic interest than Manley, the middle class supported him in the general elections and his party gained control of the House of Representatives. Manley was elected as a member of the executive council and was appointed minister of communication and works.

Contrary to expectations, Bustamante took a guarded approach to government. He developed some general labor reforms but did little to change the major economic, political, and social orders of Jamaica. The constitution was amended in 1949 to provide for a ministerial form of government. Bustamante ran again and was elected chief minister of Jamaica. He continued his conservative approach to government, as well as his solidarity with Britain. Manley, a savvy politician, redefined himself as a less-threatening socialist and defeated Bustamante in the general elections of 1955.

One of the defining issues of the Manley administration was his desire to have Jamaica join the West Indian Federation. Jamaica became a member of the federation in 1958. The plan, which had been sponsored by Great Britain since 1947, created a federation of West Indian islands. Bustamante had originally supported the idea, but when he saw Jamaica lose power to other Caribbean islands he criticized the Manley government and asked for Jamaica's withdrawal from the federation. He launched such a strong opposition that he forced Manley to hold a referendum on the issue in 1961. The people voted to separate, which constituted a huge political loss for Manley, who had made the federation a pillar of his political program and government.

Connections

Bustamante married Gladys Longbridge on 7 September 1962. She had worked as his personal secretary since 1936, and was effectively a partner in the trade union and political movement.

Spouse:: Gladys Longbridge

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