A Child of His Country’s History
Robert Nesta Marley was born on February 6, 1945, on his grandfather’s farm in Nine Mile, Jamaica. Norval Sinclair Marley, his father, was originally from England, whose family claimed to have Syrian Jewish roots. He was a privileged white politician working for the British government, who claimed to have been a captain in the Royal Marines. Bob’s mother, Cedella Malcolm, was a descendant of slaves.
Photo by Dennis Morris / Rolling Stone
As you can see, there was a clear power imbalance, and when Norval married Cedella, she was only 17 years old. The history of Jamaica involves both oppression and rebellion, leading to the slaves revolting against the colonial oppressors. Many say that the origin of Bob Marley was kind of like a mini version of this much bigger piece of history.