Saint Ann’s Bay

Saint Ann’s Bay, town and Caribbean port, northern Jamaica, northwest of Kingston. Christopher Columbus anchored there in 1494 and named the spot Santa Gloria. He returned, shipwrecked, to the area in 1503. St. Ann’s Bay is the shipping point for the area’s agricultural produce—fruit, pimiento, coffee, dyewood, and coconuts. There is some manufacture of essential oils. Tourism is also economically important. Just west is the site of Sevilla la Nueva (New Seville), which was founded in 1509 as Jamaica’s first capital. Pop. (2011) urban area, 11,173.