State Formation from the Vantage of Early English Jamaica

The Neglect of Edward Doyley

Bibliographic Data

ID10065169
AuthorsCarla Gardina Pestana (0000-0003-2932-014X, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume56
Issue3
Pages483-505
Publication date2017-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of British Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-9371 • E-ISSN: 1545-6986
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/jbr.2017.60
OpenAlexW2736037680
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited19

Edward Doyley led English Jamaica for most of its first decade. Sent as part of a military force intent on conquering the island, he rose to a position of command in the army as a result of his survival and seniority. Eventually he took charge of the navy and civilian affairs as well. Wielding theoretically vast powers he lacked official authorization from any central authority for much of his tenure. His correspondence requesting support for the island reveals the needs of a newly conquered colony, enumerating the requirements that an expanding imperial center must fill as England moved more decisively toward engagement in the wider world. Scholarly debates over state building that emphasize military and naval expansion as a driving force, and debates about state formation focusing on negotiations between central and local authorities, speak to the experience of early Jamaica. Doyley's circumstances place him in a position between the two ideal situations described in that literature

Administration (probate law · Navy · Negotiation · Political science · Position (finance · Seniority · State (computer science · Australian History and Society · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Law · Public Administration · Scottish History and National Identity

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