People often feel that they cannot do much about all the problems in the world. They think the problems are too big
for one person to make any difference. Marcus Garvey did not think in this way. He formed clear ideas about what the big problems were, and what he would do to help. He spent his whole life working for what he believed in.Marcus Mosiah Garvey was born on 17 August 1887, in St Ann''s Bay. As a boy he enjoyed swimming in the river, and playing cricket. He also loved to read. Garvey attended St Ann''s Bay Primary School. But his parents were poor, so he had to leave school when he was fourteen. He started work as an apprentice - to learn a craft - to his godfather, a printer in St Ann''s Bay.
In the nineteenth century, hundreds of people had died fighting in rebellions all over the country. As a result of the rebellions, slavery was abolished. The Government was forced to improve medical and educational facilities. It set up fair courts, and it improved the roads.By the twentieth century,
conditions had improved. but life was still hard for ordinary people. Jamaica was part of the British Empire - group of countries ruled by Britain. So the island''s economy - system for managing its resources - was organized to Britain''s advantage. For example, the main crops were sugar and bananas, because Britain decided we should grow them. Britain prospered - made money - but most Jamaicans were very poor. They had no say in the country''s economic policy.In 1907, when Marcus Garvey was twenty, there was a terrible earthquake in Kingston. Many people were killed, or lost their houses. Fires raged for many days, and caused great destruction. The people suffered a lot. The next year, the printers at P.A. Benjamin''s went on strike for better pay. As a foreman, Garvey was part of the management team. He did not have to go on strike, but he did so, to support the
workers. The strike did not last long, and some of the workers got their jobs back at P.A. Benjamin''s. Garvey did not, but he was taken on at the Government Printing Office.
At this time in Jamaica''s history, it was hard to advocate - speak in favour of - independence, because Jamaica was still a British colony. Only a few rich people could vote. Universal adult suffrage was a long way off. Jamaica was not democratic. However, there were some people who wanted independence. Garvey joined a political group called the National Club, which wanted Jamaica to be an independent country.
In the early twentieth century, because of unemployment and low wages, many Jamaicans worked abroad. They went to Central America to work on sugar and banana plantations, the railways and the Panama Canal. Garvey went to stay with his uncle in Costa Rica. He found a job as timekeeper on a banana plantation. Later he went to Panama to work. In both countries, most West Indians had poor working conditions. The pay was higher than at home, but there were no banks, and often they were robbed of their savings. They had no pension and no compensation if they were injured on the job. They suffered a lot from racial discrimination. Garvey was very upset by these conditions. In
Costa Rica he encouraged the workers to form a union to negotiate for better conditions. In both countries he started newspapers, and wrote about the conditions. In Costa Rica the paper was called
La Naçion. In
Panama it was
La Prensa. Garvey was expelled - made to leave - from Costa Rica by the Government, because of his activities on behalf of the workers. So he visited Nicaragua, Guatemala, Ecuador, Venezuela and Colombia.