Fewer than two thousand black Jamaicans are…

Fewer than two thousand black Jamaicans are eligible to vote in the elections of 1864 out of a total population of over four hundred and thirty-six thousand, despite outnumbering whites by a ratio of 32:1.

Slavery had ended in Jamaica on August 1, 1834, with the passing of the British Emancipation Act, which had led to emancipation on August 1, 1838—the date on which former slaves became free to choose their employment and employer.

On paper, former slaves gained the right to vote; however, most blacks remain desperately poor, and a high poll tax has effectively excluded them from the franchise.