Augustown: A Novel

Content Warning: This section of the guide discusses discrimination and anti-Blackness.

In 1920, Jamaica was under British colonial rule, with Leslie Probyn, a real figure who also appears in the novel, serving as the British-appointed governor. An Englishman, Probyn had also governed Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Grenada, and Barbados, and he did not have a firsthand understanding of the complexities of Jamaican culture and society (79). In the novel, the fictionalized Probyn displays contempt for the people of Jamaica, practicing patois in his head to mock them. The fictional character of Probyn represents the British colonial attitude of superiority toward Jamaica. Jamaica became independent in 1962, 20 years before the 1982 events of the novel.

In 1920, colorism and anti-Blackness were pervasive in Jamaican society, with both white and mixed-race or “brown” individuals often receiving preferential treatment and social privileges over darker-skinned Jamaicans (Kelly, Monique D. A. “Examining Race in Jamaica: How Racial Category and Skin Color Structure Social Inequality.” Race and Social Problems, vol. 12, 2020, pp. 300-12.). Similar sentiments existed in the 1980s, depicted in the novel through the character of Mr. Saint-Josephs, who is biased against Kaia and other Rastafari people and considers himself mixed-race, although he is viewed by society as a Black man.

Meanwhile, in the late 19th century, a Baptist religious movement called Bedwardism was gaining popularity in Jamaica, with Alexander Bedward as its figurehead. The movement lost followers and importance in 1921 after Bedward failed to fly and was committed to a psychiatric hospital. Many followers of Bedwardism turned to Rastafari, a religious and social movement that began in the 1930s and emphasizes pan-African unity and political consciousness. Marcus Garvey, who is mentioned throughout the novel, was a Jamaican political activist whose Black nationalist and pan-Africanist views influenced the cultural and societal aspects of Rastafari. However, Garvey’s philosophical beliefs, known as Garveyism, are separate from Rastafari.