17 Oct
2026
Modern Jamaica was shaped by two men who were cousins, rivals and, in the end, fellow National Heroes. Alexander Bustamante and Norman Manley founded the two political parties that still dominate Jamaican politics. Their competition helped carry the island from British colonial rule to independence in 1962.
Alexander Bustamante was born in 1884 in Hanover, in western Jamaica. He spent many years abroad before returning home in the 1930s. He was a fiery, charismatic speaker who connected easily with working people.
Norman Washington Manley was born on July 4, 1893, in Roxborough, Manchester. He won a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford, served in the British Army during World War I and became one of Jamaica's most respected lawyers. Where Bustamante was a man of the crowd, Manley was known for his careful, intellectual approach.
Despite their differences in style, the two men were cousins. Their family tie and their political rivalry became one of the best-known stories in Caribbean history.
In the 1930s, many Jamaican workers faced low wages and hard conditions. In 1938, labor unrest spread across the island. One of the best-known protests began at the Frome sugar estate in Westmoreland, the parish in western Jamaica where Jonathan Anthony Burkett would later spend his early childhood with his grandparents.
Bustamante became the voice of the workers during the unrest. That same year he founded the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union, which became one of the island's most powerful unions. Manley, meanwhile, founded the People's National Party (PNP) in September 1938 and led it for more than thirty years. The events of 1938 are widely seen as the start of the modern movement toward self-government in Jamaica.
In 1943, Bustamante founded the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), closely tied to his trade union. Jamaica held its first general election under universal adult suffrage in 1944, and the JLP won. For the first time, every adult Jamaican could vote.
Manley and the PNP spent years in opposition before winning power in 1955, when Manley became chief minister. He later became premier. The two parties traded power and arguments for years, but they also built the democratic system Jamaica still uses today, with peaceful elections and a strong opposition.
Key moments in their story include:
In 1958, Jamaica joined the Federation of the West Indies, a union of British Caribbean colonies. Manley supported it. Bustamante came to oppose it and said the JLP would take Jamaica out. Manley called a referendum, and Jamaican voters chose to leave.
That vote opened the way for Jamaica to seek independence on its own. Manley chaired the committee that drafted the new constitution and led negotiations with Britain. In the election that followed, the JLP won. On August 6, 1962, Jamaica became an independent nation, and Bustamante became its first prime minister. Manley became leader of the opposition.
It is a striking part of the story: Manley did much of the work toward independence, while his cousin and rival led the new nation. Both men's roles were essential.
In October 1969, both Bustamante and Manley were named National Heroes of Jamaica, the country's highest honor. Today Jamaica has seven National Heroes; alongside Bustamante and Manley are Marcus Garvey, Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, Sam Sharpe and Nanny of the Maroons. Manley died in 1969, and Bustamante died in 1977. Today, Jamaica's main international airport in Kingston bears Norman Manley's name, and both men are remembered every National Heroes Day in October.
The two men brought different strengths. Bustamante drew his strength from the labor movement and his bond with working people. Manley drew his from careful planning, the law and his vision of national self-government. Jamaica benefited from both: one helped working people find their political voice, and the other helped build the institutions that voice would need.
Their families stayed in public life too. Manley's son, Michael Manley, later became prime minister himself.
The story of Bustamante and Manley is a reminder that disagreement does not have to destroy a nation. Two cousins who often stood on opposite sides helped build a country that millions of Jamaicans at home and abroad are proud to call their own.
Jamaican history is woven into Jonathan Anthony Burkett's life, from his childhood in Westmoreland to the culture he carries in South Florida. Learn more about Jonathan and his roots, and read about his journey in the books on the Books page.
Account
Cart