ABSTRACT
Spanish Town was Jamaica's first capital and in the 17th century Port Royal was the major population center. Kingston was established as a trading center only in 1692, about 40 years after the British captured Jamaica. Both Selton Town and Vermount are situated in the eastern section of the Kingston metropolitan area, Selton Town in the parish of Kingston and Vermount in the parish of St. Andrew. The 1970 Jamaican Census gives Selton Town a population of 9524 and Vermount a population of 8483. Selton Town is a more densely populated area. Survey maps for the neighborhoods indicate that Selton Town has about 800 residential lots and Vermount around 1800. Selton Town is a long established part of Kingston, once middle class and now a predominatly working class neighborhood. Though further from the center of Kingston, Vermount has experienced an extension of the trend noted in Selton Town.
