William Alexander Clarke (Bustamante)
William Alexander Clarke (Bustamante)
William Alexander Clarke was born in the parish of Hanover, Jamaica on February 24, 1884. His father was a white, Irish planter named Robert Constantine Clark and his mother was a black, Jamaican worker named Mary Clarke. As a kid, Alexander was educated at Cocoon and Dalmalley School in Spain and supplemented his learning with his own private studies.
In 1905 at the age of 21 he left Jamaica to work in Cuba where he became a policeman, he then moved to Spain where he changed his name to Bustamante. He got the name from a friend he made while on his travels who was an Iberian sea captain. Bustamante also worked in Panama as a traffic inspector. He met his future wife Mary Edith Blanck there. They were married on a trip to Jamaica in 1910. After this, Bustamante moved to New York City where he worked as a Dentist and he made a fortune on the American stock exchange.
In 1932, Bustamante returned to Jamaica and started a money lending business that was very successful. It was then that Bustamante saw the harsh conditions that were experienced by Jamaica’s poor. He also saw that the government was unable to deal with the real problems of the people. He started campaigning on behalf of the Jamaican people by writing letters to national newspapers, mostly the Daily Gleaner and the Jamaican Standard. Bustamante also led marches and protest demonstrations.
In response to criticisms, he wrote to the Daily Gleaner: “Hungry men, women, and children have a right to call attention to their condition so long as they do so without using violence.” To someone asking in the columns of the Daily Gleaner “Who is Bustamante?” he answered “Bustamante is a lonely fighter.”
All of the striking groups in the country were represented by Bustamante. He supported an infamous strike in Frome, Westmoreland in 1937. Six people died and 89 were arrested in the protests. Also in 1937, he became the treasurer of the Jamaica Workers and
William Alexander Clarke was born in the parish of Hanover, Jamaica on February 24, 1884. His father was a white, Irish planter named Robert Constantine Clark and his mother was a black, Jamaican worker named Mary Clarke. As a kid, Alexander was educated at Cocoon and Dalmalley School in Spain and supplemented his learning with his own private studies.
In 1905 at the age of 21 he left Jamaica to work in Cuba where he became a policeman, he then moved to Spain where he changed his name to Bustamante. He got the name from a friend he made while on his travels who was an Iberian sea captain. Bustamante also worked in Panama as a traffic inspector. He met his future wife Mary Edith Blanck there. They were married on a trip to Jamaica in 1910. After this, Bustamante moved to New York City where he worked as a Dentist and he made a fortune on the American stock exchange.
In 1932, Bustamante returned to Jamaica and started a money lending business that was very successful. It was then that Bustamante saw the harsh conditions that were experienced by Jamaica’s poor. He also saw that the government was unable to deal with the real problems of the people. He started campaigning on behalf of the Jamaican people by writing letters to national newspapers, mostly the Daily Gleaner and the Jamaican Standard. Bustamante also led marches and protest demonstrations.
In response to criticisms, he wrote to the Daily Gleaner: “Hungry men, women, and children have a right to call attention to their condition so long as they do so without using violence.” To someone asking in the columns of the Daily Gleaner “Who is Bustamante?” he answered “Bustamante is a lonely fighter.”
All of the striking groups in the country were represented by Bustamante. He supported an infamous strike in Frome, Westmoreland in 1937. Six people died and 89 were arrested in the protests. Also in 1937, he became the treasurer of the Jamaica Workers and