Jamaica's History

For centuries, Jamaica has welcomed settlers from all around the world. This small island has played host to the Amerindians who discovered it, to Europeans who fought to own it, to Africans forced to call it home, and to Asians, Indians and Middle Easterners searching for a better life. Each group carried with it a story and tradition, throwing everything into Jamaica's melting pot. After centuries of brewing, all have blended together to give the island its rich history and heritage - an international smorgasbord of legends, cultures and customs, all displayed right here against the background of Jamaica’s beautiful mountains and valleys.

Jamaica’s first inhabitants were the Tainos, an Arawak-speaking people, believed to be originally from South America. The Tainos called the island "Xaymaca" meaning "land of wood and water". These peaceful, seafaring people greeted Columbus when he first visited the island in 1494.

Columbus described Jamaica as "the fairest isle mine eyes ever beheld …" His arrival marked the beginning of nearly 500 years of European occupation and governance. Initially, the Spanish settled near St Ann's Bay at "Sevilla Nueva" (New Seville), but eventually moved to "Villa de la Vega" (the city on the plains), now called "Spanish Town". Their new city swiftly flourished, becoming the island's centre of activity.

During the 1650s, the British captured Jamaica from the Spanish. In a last-ditch attempt at defiance, the Spanish settlers freed and armed their slaves, who sought refuge in the island’s interior. The Maroons, as these ex-slaves came to be called, continuously defied the island's new colonisers. The only army ever to defeat the mighty British, the Maroons still exist in modern-day Jamaica.

Under British rule, Jamaica became a busy and wealthy colony. By the 18th century, the island was "the jewel of the British crown", producing 22 percent of the world's sugar on large, lucrative plantations. This success came at great cost to the African people, thousands of whom were forcefully brought to the New World as slaves.

As a result of the cruel and oppressive slavery system, Jamaica had more revolts than other West Indian islands. Reports of frequent slave uprisings and other forms of resistance, coupled with brutal planter-militia reprisals, troubled the European conscience. In time, anti-slavery sentiments grew strong in Europe, culminating in the Emancipation Act of 1834. The Act made provision for all slaves under the age of six to gain immediate freedom. All others were to serve a period of apprenticeship for four to six years. The apprenticeship period worked well in theory. In practice, however, it was little better than slavery. Planters continued to abuse their apprentices, and withheld guaranteed provisions and wages. Subsequently, full emancipation was granted in 1838, two years earlier than planned.

Eager to sever connections with the symbol of their enslavement, many labourers left the plantation, settling across the island. To provide an alternative, affordable workforce, the planters recruited indentured workers from China and India. After their period of indenture, many Chinese and Indians stayed on the island, adding to Jamaica’s eclectic mix of cultures.

After 1838, sugar productivity and profitability declined, forcing Jamaica to diversify its economy. Although crops such as bananas and coffee provided sound substitutes, other industries eventually became the driving force of Jamaica’s economy, outgrowing agricultural exports.

Like the changing economy, Jamaican politics also transformed with the end of slavery. In 1866, the island implemented the crown colony system of government. Under this new system promises of education, health care and other social reforms gave hope to a newly freed generation. But decades later, social disappointment festered, leading to a spate of incidents of civil unrest, and heralding the birth of the trade union movement.

Out of these disturbances arose Jamaica’s foremost labour organisations and political parties. Norman Manley's People's National Party and Alexander Bustamante's Jamaica Labour Party would go on to dominate Jamaica's political scene into the 21st century.

Two important and significant changes – universal adult suffrage in 1944 and independence from Britain in 1962 - set the stage for a people once conquered, controlled and constrained, to become themselves the architects of a new nation.

Natural History

Learn a bit about the colourful lingo spoken by a people with a gift for vivid imagery, ridicule and irony, down-to-earth humour and bawdy cuss words.

Centuries ago, the island's colonisers brought several plants from all around the world to Jamaica. We have the Spanish to thank for gems like sugarcane, citrus, plantains and bananas, and Captain Bligh, an English naval commander, for breadfruit and coconuts. Similarly, our national fruit, the ackee, which is an essential part of our national dish, ackee and saltfish, was brought from Africa aboard a slave ship.

Our tasty fruits often have names as delightful as their flavours. There's the Bombay mango, sweet cup, soursop, star apple, otaheiti, guinep, tamarind and naseberry, just to name a few. Over the years we've expanded this delicious array by developing citrus varieties such as the ortanique and "ugli fruit".

We also have a large selection of spices. Our most famous, pimento, is indigenous to the island, and we supply most of the world's demand for this heady spice. The pimento tree yields small berries in the summer. These berries are dried and pounded into a fine powder, which is bottled and sold as allspice. Pimento oil may be extracted from the leaves, while a delicious liqueur can be made from the ripe berries.

In addition to these palate pleasers, Jamaica's fertile soils yield a rich variety of magnificent trees, flowering plants and shrubs. Of the 3,800 kinds of flowering plants and ferns growing on our island, some 720 are endemic. Jamaica has over 200 native species of wild orchids and many imported hybrids. There are over 500 species of ferns, one of the highest concentrations in the world. Some are as enormous as trees while others are so small, they can hardly be seen with the naked eye.

A few of our famous woods are the mahogany, blue mahoe (the national tree), satinwood, cottonwood, cedar, and the Spanish elm. These woods are used in the manufacture of spectacular furniture pieces and craft products. The wood of the lignum vitae, the tree that bears our national flower, was once used for medicinal purposes as well as to make ships' propellers and policemen's batons. Today, furniture makers and sculptors treasure this wood, because it is extremely strong and durable.

Our island is as much an animal lover's paradise as it is a botanist's dream. There are over 252 species of birds, of which 27 are found nowhere else in the world. These endemic species include the national bird – the streamer-tailed hummingbird (doctor bird), and the bee hummingbird, one of the world's smallest birds. The Jamaican tody, also known as the robin redbreast, lives solely on this island. This tody is even more unique because it makes its nest not in a tree, but in a hole in the ground.

The Giant Swallowtail butterfly, papilio homerus, exists exclusively in Jamaica. With a wingspan of up to six inches (0.2 m), it is believed to be the largest butterfly in the western hemisphere and the second largest in the world. The zebra, another indigenous butterfly, has a fascinating habit –every evening, large swarms roost on the same tree or branch. This unusual behaviour baffles scientists.

In addition to these birds, butterflies and frogs, Jamaica has rare yellow snakes, infinite numbers of snails, hundreds of types of bats, six-foot-long lizards, and fireflies that light up the night sky.