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4/15/2017 Jamaica ­ Wikipedia Coordinates: 18°N 77°W Jamaica From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia i Jamaica ( /dʒәˈmeɪkә/) is an island country situated in the Jamaica Caribbean Sea, consisting of the third­largest island of the Greater Antilles. The island, 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola (the island containing the nation­states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Jamaica is the fourth­largest island country in the Caribbean, by area.[6] Flag Coat of arms Motto: "Out of Many, One People" Inhabited by the indigenous Arawak and Taíno peoples, the island came under Spanish rule following the arrival of Anthem: Christopher Columbus in 1494. Many of the indigenous people "Jamaica, Land We Love" died of disease, and the Spanish imported African slaves as 0:00 MENU labourers. Named Santiago, the island remained a possession of Royal anthem: "God Save the Queen" Spain until 1655, when England (later Great Britain) conquered it and renamed it Jamaica. Under British colonial rule Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with its plantation economy highly dependent on slaves imported from Africa. The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many freedmen chose to have subsistence farms rather than to work on plantations. Beginning in the 1840s, the British imported Chinese and Indian indentured labour to work on plantations. The island achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962.[7] With 2.8 million people, Jamaica is the third­most populous Anglophone country in the Americas (after the United States and Canada), and the fourth­most populous country in the Caribbean. Kingston is the country's capital and largest city, with a population of 937,700.[8][9] Jamaicans predominately Capital Kingston have African ancestry, with significant European, Chinese, and largest city 17°59′N 76°48′W Hakka, Indian, and mixed­race minorities. Due to a high rate of emigration for work since the 1960s, Jamaica has a large Official languages English diaspora around the world, particularly in Canada, the United National Jamaican Patois (de facto) Kingdom, and the United States.[10] language Demonym Jamaican Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm, with Queen Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. Her appointed representative in Government Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy the country is the Governor­General of Jamaica, an office held by Sir Patrick Allen since 2009. Andrew Holness has served as • Monarch Elizabeth II • Governor­ Patrick Allen the head of government and Prime Minister of Jamaica from General March 2016. Jamaica is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy • Prime Minister Andrew Holness with legislative power vested in the bicameral Parliament of Jamaica, consisting of an appointed Senate and a directly elected Legislature Parliament House of Representatives.[11][12][13][14] • Upper house Senate • Lower house House of Representatives https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica 1/24 4/15/2017 Jamaica ­ Wikipedia Independence from the United Kingdom Contents • Granted 6 August 1962 Area 1 Etymology • Total 10,991 km2 (4,244 sq mi) 2 History (166th) 2.1 Prehistory • Water (%) 1.5 2.2 Spanish rule (1509–1655) Population 2.3 British rule (1655–1962) • July 2,950,210[1] (139th) 2.4 Independence (1962) 2015 estimate 3 Government and politics • Density 2 3.1 Political culture 268/km (694.1/sq mi) (49th) 3.2 Administrative divisions 3.3 Military GDP (PPP) 2016 estimate 4 Geography and environment • Total $25.437 billion[2] (2016) 4.1 Flora and fauna • Per capita $8,991[2] 5 Demographics 5.1 Ethnic origins GDP (nominal) 2016 estimate 5.2 Languages • Total $14.057 billion[2] 5.3 Emigration • Per capita $4,968[2] 5.4 Crime 5.5 Major cities Gini (2004) 45.5[3] 6 Religion medium · 84th[4] 7 Culture 7.1 Music HDI (2014) 0.719[5] 7.2 Literature high · 99th 7.3 Film Currency Jamaican dollar (JMD) 7.4 Cuisine 7.5 National symbols Time zone (UTC­5) 7.6 Sport Drives on the left 8 Education 9 Economy Calling code +1­876 10 Infrastructure ISO 3166 code JM 10.1 Transport 10.1.1 Roadways Internet TLD .jm 10.1.2 Railways 10.1.3 Air transport 10.1.4 Ports, shipping and lighthouses 10.2 Energy 10.3 Water supply and sanitation 10.4 Communication 11 See also 12 References 13 Further reading A map of Jamaica 14 External links Etymology The indigenous people, the Taíno, called it Xaymaca in Arawakan,[15] meaning the "Land of Wood and Water" or the "Land of Springs".[16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica 2/24 4/15/2017 Jamaica ­ Wikipedia Colloquially Jamaicans refer to their home island as the "Rock." Slang names such as "Jamrock", "Jamdown" ("Jamdung" in Jamaican Patois), or briefly "Ja", have derived from this.[17] History Prehistory The Arawak and Taíno indigenous people, originating in South America, settled on the island between 4000 and 1000 BC.[18] When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1494, there were more than 200 villages ruled by caciques (chiefs of villages). The south coast of Jamaica was the most populated, especially around the area now known as Old Harbour.[18] The Taino still inhabited Jamaica when the English took control of the island in 1655.[18] The Jamaican National Heritage Trust is attempting to locate and document any evidence of the Taino/Arawak.[19] Spanish rule (1509–1655) Christopher Columbus claimed Jamaica for Spain after landing there in 1494. His probable landing point was Dry Harbour, now called Discovery Bay,[20] although there is some debate that it might have been St. Ann's Bay. St. Ann's Bay was named "Saint Gloria" by Columbus, as the first sighting of the land. One and a half kilometres west of St. Ann's Bay is the site of the first Spanish settlement on the island, Sevilla, which was established in 1509 and abandoned around 1524 because it was deemed unhealthy.[21] The capital was moved to Spanish Town, then called St. Jago de la Vega, around 1534 (at present­day St. Catherine).[22] British rule (1655–1962) Spanish Town has the oldest cathedral of the British colonies in the Caribbean.[22] The Spanish were forcibly evicted by the English at Ocho Rios in St. Ann. In 1655, the English, led by Sir William Penn and General Robert Venables, took over the last Spanish fort in Jamaica.[23] The name of Montego Bay, the capital of the parish of St. James, was derived from the Spanish name manteca bahía (or Bay of Lard), alluding to the lard­making industry based on processing the numerous boars in the area.[24] The English continued to import African slaves as labourers. In 1660, the population of Jamaica was about 4,500 white and 1,500 black.[26] By the early 1670s, as the English developed sugar cane plantations and imported more slaves, black people formed a majority of the population.[27] The Irish in Jamaica also formed a large part of the island's early population, making up 2 thirds of the white population on the island in the late 17th century, twice that of the English population. They were brought in as indentured labourers and soldiers after the conquest of Jamaica by Cromwells forces in 1655, The majority of Irish were transported by force as political prisoners of war from Ireland as a result of the ongoing Wars of the Three Kingdoms at the time.[28] Migration of large numbers Irish to the island continued into the 18th century.[29] Jews were expelled from Spain in 1492 and then forcibly converted to Christianity in Portugal, during a period of persecution by the Inquisition. Some Spanish and Portuguese Jewish refugees went to the Netherlands and England, and from there to Jamaica. Others were part of the Iberian colonization of the New World, after overtly converting to Catholicism, as only Catholics were allowed in the Spanish colonies. By 1660, Jamaica had become a refuge for Jews in the New World, also attracting those who had been expelled from Spain and Portugal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica 3/24 4/15/2017 Jamaica ­ Wikipedia An early group of Jews arrived in 1510, soon after the son of Christopher Columbus settled on the island. Primarily working as merchants and traders, the Jewish community was forced to live a clandestine life, calling themselves "Portugals". After the British took over rule of Jamaica, the Jews decided the best defense against Spain's regaining control was to encourage making the colony a base for Caribbean pirates. With the pirates installed in Port Royal, the Spanish would be deterred from attacking. The British leaders agreed with the viability of this strategy to forestall outside aggression.[30] When the English captured Jamaica in 1655, the Spanish colonists fled after freeing their slaves.[23] The slaves dispersed into the mountains, joining the maroons, those who had previously escaped to live with the Taíno native people.[31] During the centuries of slavery, Maroons established free communities in the mountainous Henry Morgan was a famous interior of Jamaica, where they maintained their freedom and independence for Caribbean pirate and generations. The Jamaican Maroons fought the British during the 18th century. privateer; he had first come Under treaties of 1738 and 1739, the British agreed to stop trying to round them up to the West Indies as an in exchange for their leaving the colonial settlements alone, but serving if needed indentured servant, like most of the early English for military actions.[31] Some of the communities were broken up and the British [25] deported Maroons to Nova Scotia and, later, Sierra Leone.

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