Childhood
Blackwell was born in Westminster, London. Blackwell's father, Joseph, who was Irish, was related to the founder of Crosse & Blackwell, purveyors of jarred foods and relishes, and had some residual wealth. He became a Major in the Jamaican Regiment.
Blackwell's mother, the former Blanche Lindo, was born in Costa Rica, and was a Sephardic Jew from a Jamaican family. She belonged to a powerful family who made their fortune in sugar and Appleton rum toward the end of slavery. They are named as one of the 21 families who controlled Jamaica in the 20th century. Blackwell's parents divorced when he was twelve. Blanche was considered the love of Ian Fleming's later life, becoming the James Bond author's muse and the inspiration for the character Pussy Galore in Goldfinger. She owned several thousand acres of land near Oracabessa, Jamaica, and sold properties to both Fleming and Noël Coward. Due to her heritage, Blanche was viewed as a white Jamaican.
Blackwell spent his childhood in Jamaica, and was sent to Britain to continue his education at Harrow. Deciding not to attend university, he returned to Jamaica to become ADC to the Governor of Jamaica Sir Hugh Foot. After Foot was transferred to Cyprus, Blackwell left King's House to pursue a career in real estate and other businesses, including managing jukeboxes up and down the country, which brought him into contact with the Jamaican music community.
In 1958, Blackwell was sailing off Helshire Beach when his boat ran aground on a coral reef. The twenty one-year-old swam to the coast and attempted to find help along the shore in searing temperatures. Collapsing on the beach, Blackwell was rescued by Rasta fishermen who tended his wounds and restored him back to health with traditional Ital food. The experience gave Blackwell a spiritual introduction to Rastafarianism, and was a key to his connection to the culture and its music.
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