history of Jamaica
Quick Summary
Jamaica is an island country in the West Indies, the third-largest in the Caribbean Sea. Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1494, it was named by its indigenous Taino inhabitants. The island's history is marked by colonial rule, first by Spain and then by the United Kingdom, from whom it gained independence in 1962.1
The Spanish enslaved the native Taino population, who largely died out due to disease and overwork. African slaves were then brought to the island to work on plantations. The British took control in 1655, and Jamaica became a major center for the slave trade and sugar production. Despite harsh conditions, the population grew, with enslaved Africans soon outnumbering Europeans.23
In the 20th century, movements for self-determination grew, leading to the establishment of political parties and labor unions. Jamaica became a founding member of the West Indies Federation in 1958 but later seceded. The nation achieved full internal self-government in 1959 and independence in 1962.45
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- Rastafari
…and political movement, begun in Jamaica in the 1930s and adopted by many groups around the globe, that combines Protestant Christianity, mysticism, and a pan-African political consciousness.
Read More…and political movement, begun in Jamaica in the 1930s and adopted by many groups around the globe, that combines Protestant Christianity, mysticism, and a pan-African political consciousness.
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Bob MarleyEarly life and career…healing that guaranteed respect in Jamaica’s remote hill country. As a child, Marley was known for his shy aloofness, his startling stare, and his penchant for palm reading. Virtually kidnapped by his absentee father (who had been disinherited by his own prominent family for marrying a Black woman), the preadolescent…
Read More…healing that guaranteed respect in Jamaica’s remote hill country. As a child, Marley was known for his shy aloofness, his startling stare, and his penchant for palm reading. Virtually kidnapped by his absentee father (who had been disinherited by his own prominent family for marrying a Black woman), the preadolescent…
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reggae…popular music that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and quickly emerged as the country’s dominant music. By the 1970s it had become an international style that was particularly popular in Britain, the United States, and Africa. Widely perceived as a voice of the oppressed, it produced such global…
Read More…popular music that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and quickly emerged as the country’s dominant music. By the 1970s it had become an international style that was particularly popular in Britain, the United States, and Africa. Widely perceived as a voice of the oppressed, it produced such global…
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Oliver CromwellForeign and economic policies…Indies, and in May 1655 Jamaica was conquered. As the price for sending an expeditionary force to Spanish Flanders to fight alongside the French he obtained possession of the port of Dunkirk. He also interested himself in Scandinavian affairs; although he admired King Charles X of Sweden, his first consideration…
Read More…Indies, and in May 1655 Jamaica was conquered. As the price for sending an expeditionary force to Spanish Flanders to fight alongside the French he obtained possession of the port of Dunkirk. He also interested himself in Scandinavian affairs; although he admired King Charles X of Sweden, his first consideration…
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Edward John Eyre…Leeward Islands (1860–61) and of Jamaica (1861–64) was rewarded with his permanent appointment as governor of Jamaica. On October 11, 1865, a revolt by blacks began at Morant Bay, and, in the repression that followed, the total of executions passed 400. Eyre then caused the island’s legislature to abolish itself…
Read More…Leeward Islands (1860–61) and of Jamaica (1861–64) was rewarded with his permanent appointment as governor of Jamaica. On October 11, 1865, a revolt by blacks began at Morant Bay, and, in the repression that followed, the total of executions passed 400. Eyre then caused the island’s legislature to abolish itself…
Read More