The original Arawak or Taino people from South America first settled on the island between 1000 and 400 BC. Although some claim they became virtually extinct following contact with Europeans, others claim that some survived.

Jamaica was claimed for Spain after Christopher Columbus first landed there in 1494. Columbus used it as his family's private estate. The British Admiral William Penn (father of William Penn of Pennsylvania) and General Venables seized the island in 1655. During its first 200 years of British rule, Jamaica became the world's largest sugar exporting nation and produced over 77,000 tons of sugar annually between 1820 and 1824, which was achieved through the massive use of imported African slave labour.

By the beginning of the 19th century, the United Kingdom's heavy reliance on slavery resulted in blacks outnumbering whites by a ratio of almost 20 to one, leading to constant threat of revolt. Following a series of rebellions, slavery was formally abolished in 1834, with full emancipation from chattel slavery declared in 1838.

Jamaica slowly gained increasing independence from the United Kingdom, and in 1958 Jamaica became a province in the Federation of the West Indies, a federation between all the British West Indies. Jamaica attained full independence by leaving the federations in 1962.

However, the initial optimism following Jamaican independence for the next decade or so vanished as Jamaica lagged economically. Rising foreign debt under the government of Michael Manley, who was determined to alleviate Jamaica's severe economic inequality, led to the imposition of IMF austerity measures. Deteriorating economic conditions and the involvement of the Central Intelligence Agency due to Manley's international socialism and friendship with Fidel Castro led to a desperately fought re-election campaign between Manley's People's National Party and the main opposition, the Jamaican Labour Party. Both political parties became linked with rival gangs in Kingston, which were duly armed. This policy, along with the increasing emergence of Jamaica as a smuggling point for cocaine during the 1980s, led to recurrent violence and only served to increase the impoverishment of a large section of the Jamaican populace. The ultimate result of this cycle of violence, drugs and poverty has been the brutal gun warfare seen on Kingston's streets from the mid-1990s onwards. The Jamaican police force has also been accused of complicity in this murderous side of the island. It must be noted, however, that the rural sections of the island, especially in and around the resort towns of Negril, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Port Antonio, remain relatively safe.

The former capital of Jamaica was Spanish Town in St. Catherine parish, the site of the old Spanish colonial capital. The Spanish named the town Santiago de la Vega. In 1655 when the British captured the island, much of the old Spanish capital was burned by the invading British troops. The town was rebuilt by the British and renamed Spanish Town. It remained the capital until 1825, when the city of Kingston was named capital under questionable circumstances.

Politics

Jamaica's current Constitution was drafted in 1962 by a bipartisan joint committee of the Jamaican legislature. It came into force with the Jamaica Independence Act, 1962 of the United Kingdom Parliament, which gave Jamaica political independence.

The Jamaican head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who is given the title of "Queen of Jamaica". The Queen is represented by a Governor-General, nominated by the Prime Minister and all the members of the cabinet and appointed by the monarch. Both the Queen and the Governor-General serve largely ceremonial roles(excluding their reserve powers).

The Parliament of Jamaica is bicameral, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of the House (known as 'Members of Parliament' or MPs) are directly elected, and the member of the House of Representatives who in Governor-General's best judgement is best able to command the confidence of a majority of the members of that House, is appointed by the Governor-General to be the Prime Minister. Senators are appointed by the Prime Minister, and the parliamentary Leader of the Opposition.

Jamaica has traditionally had a two party system, with power often alternating between the People's National Party and Jamaica Labour Party Jamaica is full and participating member of the Caribbean Community

Geography

Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean, and the fourth largest country. The island of Jamaica has mountains inland surrounded by a narrow coastal plain. For this reason, most major cities are located on the coast. Chief towns include the capital Kingston, Spanish Town, Mandeville, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Port Antonio.

The climate in Jamaica is tropical, with hot and humid weather, although inland regions have a more temperate climate. Some regions on the south coast, such as the Liguanea Plain and the Pedro Plains are relatively dry rain-shadow areas like rainforests.

Economy

Jamaica is a mixed, free-market economy with state enterprises as well as private sector businesses. Major sectors of the Jamaican economy include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism and financial and insurance services. Tourism and mining are the leading foreign exchange earners.

Supported by multilateral financial institutions, Jamaica has, since the early 1980's, sought to implement structural reforms aimed at fostering private sector activity and increasing the role of market forces in resource allocation. Since 1991, the Government has followed a program of economic liberalisation and stabilisation by removing exchange controls, floating the exchange rate, cutting tariffs, stabilizing the Jamaican currency, reducing inflation and removing restrictions on foreign investment. Emphasis has been placed on maintaining strict fiscal discipline, greater openness to trade and financial flows, market liberalization and reduction in the size of government. During this period, a large share of the economy was returned to private sector ownership through divestment and privatisation programmes.

The macroeconomic stabilisation programme introduced in 1991, which focused on tight fiscal and monetary policies, has contributed to a controlled reduction in the rate of inflation. The annual inflation rate has decreased from a high of 80.2% in 1991 to 7.9% in 1998. inflation for FY1998/99 was 6.2% compared to 7.2% in the corresponding period in FY1997/98. The Government remains committed to lowering inflation, with a long-term objective of bringing it in line with that of its major trading partners.

After a period of steady growth from 1985 to 1995, real GDP decreased by 1.8% and 2.4% in 1996 and 1997, respectively. The decrease in GDP in 1996 and 1997 was largely due to significant problems in the financial sector and, in 1997, a severe island-wide drought (the worst in 70 years) that drastically reduced agricultural production. In 1997, nominal GDP was approximately J$220,556.2 million (US$6,198.9 million based on the average annual exchange rate of the period).

Recent economic performance shows the Jamaican economy is recovering. Agricultural production, an important engine of growth increased 15.3% in third quarter of 1998 compared to the corresponding period in 1997, signalling the first positive growth rate in the sector since January 1997. Bauxite and alumina production increased 5.5% from January to December, 1998 compared to the corresponding period in 1997. January's bauxite production recorded a 7.1% increase relative to January 1998. Tourism, which is the largest foreign exchange earner, showed improvement as well. Growth in tourist arrivals accelerated in the third quarter of 1998 and tourism earnings, increased 8.5% from January to December 31, 1998 compared to the corresponding period in 1997. Donnie Dawson is now the Director of Tourism for the island.

Communications

Jamaica has a fully digital telephone communication system that is rivalled globally. Given the mountainous terrain of the country, it would be foolhardy to say that Jamaica is backward in telephone services. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Jamaica has a mobile penetration of over 90%, outstripped its giant neighbour to the North, the US. The country’s three mobile operators are - Cable and Wireless (800,000 subscribers), Digicel (1.5M subscribers), and Oceanic Digital (100,000 subscribers) - have spent millions in network upgrade and expansion. There are some 2.7 million people living in Jamaica. The Irish owned Digicel has become generic for mobile phones in Jamaica. Digicel was granted a licence in 2001, along with Oceanic Digital to operate mobile services in the newly liberalised telecoms market that was once the monopoly domain of the incumbent Cable and Wireless. Digicel opted for the more global, GSM while Oceanic which currently trades as MiPHone, for the CDMA. The incumbent Cable and Wireless, had begun with the TDMA, but subsequently upgraded to the GSM, and currently uses both services on its network.

With the mobile revolution that Digicel initiated, land lines, provided by Cable and Wireless, declined from just over half a million to roughly about three hundred thousand at the moment. Cable and Wireless, recently in a bid to grab more market share, launched a new land line service called HomeFone that would allow customers to prepay for services rather than post-paid. Though, there were new entrants in that landline industry, their performance has been lacklustre, and the population kept opting for more mobiles, in some cases two mobiles, as per major operator. A new entrant Flow Jamaica, has recently laid a new submarine cable which would give the island access to four, is presently rolling out a bunch of services, Cable, Telephone, and Internet, in its, ‘Click, Watch and Talk’ campaign.

After, a successful launch in Jamaica, where Digicel captured 100, 000 thousand customers in 100 days, it continued on an aggressive Caribbean expansion, which now saw it operating in more than fifteen Caribbean territories. For the Financial year, March 2005-March 2006, Jamaica contributed almost half a billion dollars USD417M, to Digicel’s total Caribbean revenue of USD624M. Currently, Digicel is rolling out, the WiMAX wireless technology, to get more Jamaican connected to the internet via broadband.

Two more licenses were auctioned by the Jamaican government to provide mobile services in the island, one that was previously owned by AT&T, but did not start operation and a new one. However industry analyst argued that with a near market saturation, there is hardly room for more operators. (Contact: sean.morris@yahoo.com)

Demographics

The majority of Jamaicans, at least 90%, are of West African descent, their ancestors having been abducted from Africa during the slave trade. People of mixed heritage, including Arawak/Taino Indian and African, West European and African, or Chinese and East Indian, make up about 4.9% of the population. People of Cuban, Lebanese, Syrian, South Asian, European, and other minorities are also present.

Over the past several decades, hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans have emigrated, especially to the United States but also to Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries. This emigration appears to have been tapering off somewhat in recent years. Canada also has a guest worker program (Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program) which draws on workers from the Caribbean and especially from Jamaica.

The language of government and education is English, although the patois form of Jamaican Creole is widely spoken. Most Jamaicans can use both Patois and English depending on the circumstances and often combine the two. English is the most obvious influence on Patois, but it includes words and syntax from Spanish, Yoruba, Akan, Arawak, French, Chinese, Portuguese, and East Indian languages. In general, Patois differs from English in both pronunciation and syntax. The language's characteristics includes similarities with both Irish and West African forms of English in pronouncing 'TH' as if it was the letter D or T, omitting some initial consonant sounds, principally the 'H'. For example, the word “there” is pronounced as “dere,” the word theater is pronounced as “teater.” A number of linguists believe Patois is a separate language; others consider it an alternate form of English.

Research shows that 80.0% of Jamaica's population are Christian. The majority of them are Protestants, which is primarily due to the influence of British colonialism, and later the influence of US denominations. Roman Catholicism, which arrived with early Spanish colonisation, also enjoys a significant presence on the island. The top 5 denominations in Jamaica today are: Church of God: 21.2%, Seventh-day Adventist: 9.0%, Baptist: 8.8%, Pentecostal: 7.6%, and Anglican: 5.0%

Non-Christian religions are numerous, the largest being the Rastafari movement which was founded on the island and reveres the late Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. Obeah is belief system with roots in the West African Yoruba Orisha traditions and has similarities to Vodon, Santeria, Candomble and other imports to the Americas which arrived with enslaved West Africans. Hinduism and Buddhism also appear due to immigration from India and China. Islam and Judaism are less than half a percent

Emigration

Over the past several decades, close to a million Jamaicans have emigrated, especially to the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. This emigration appears to have been tapering off somewhat in recent years, however the great number of Jamaicans living abroad has become known as the "Jamaican diaspora". Due to Commonwealth law and Jamaica's history with Great Britain, most Jamaican emigrants have followed a path first to the UK, and then if they do not remain in the UK, on to other Commonwealth countries such as Canada. Today that trend has changed with more Jamaican emigrants going directly to the United States, Canada, other Caribbean nations, Central & South America, and even Africa (most notably Egypt and Ethiopia) without having to pass through the UK first.

Concentrations of expatriate Jamaicans are large in a number of cities in the United States, including New York City, the Miami metro area, Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. In Canada, the Jamaican population is centred in Toronto; in the United Kingdom, Jamaican communities exist in most large cities where they make up the larger part of the British African-Caribbean community.

New York City is home to the largest Jamaican diasporan community of all, with a large community along Flatbush, Nostrand and Utica Avenues in Brooklyn—centred around the neighbourhoods of Prospect Heights, Lefferts Gardens, Flatbush, East Flatbush,Crown Heights, Canarsie, and Flatlands. The Bronx, Queens and Westchester also has a significant Jamaican ex-pat community. Flatbush Ave, Nostrand Ave , and Utica Avenues feature miles of Jamaican cuisine, food markets & other businesses, nightlife and residential enclaves.

In Toronto, the Jamaican community makes up nearly 7% of the city's 2.5 million people, and includes a Little Jamaica neighbourhood. Other Carribbean areas in the city are located in York, North York, Scarborough and Rexdale. The Jamaican community influcences the city in a huge way. The worlds largest festival, called Caribana ( The celebration of Carribbean culture) is an annual event here. Jamaica day is in July. And the Jesus In the city parade hugely attracts many Jamaican-christains, this festival is held downtown every September, shutting down Yonge street- the busiest main street in downtown Toronto. Reggae and Gospel now have made it into Toronto's mainstream.

London has a strong Jamaican diaspora; One of the largest and most famous Jamaican ex-pat communities is in Brixton, South London. Other Jamaican communities include the areas of Chapeltown in Leeds, Moss Side in Manchester, Toxteth in Liverpool, Burngreave in Sheffield and Handsworth in Birmingham.

More recently many resort and wild-life management skilled Jamaicans have been trending emigration toward such far-flung nations as Thailand, Madagascar and Indonesia. The nation continues to have a severe problem with barrel children-those left on their own by parents seeking a better life abroad.

Education

The emancipation of the slaves heralded in the establishment of Jamaican Education System for the masses. Prior to emancipation there were some elite schools for the plantocracy. Others sent their children off to England to access quality education.

After emancipation the West Indian Commission granted a sum of money to establish Elementary Schools, now known as All Age Schools, for the children of the freed slaves. Most of these schools were established by the churches. This was the genesis of the stratified system of education that is still currently embedded in the policies of the 21st Century.

Presently the following categories of schools exist:

Early Childhood – Basic, Infant and privately operated pre- school. Age cohort – 2 – 4 years.

Primary – Publicly and privately owned (Privately owned being called Preparatory Schools (Prep). Age cohort 4 – 11 years.

Secondary – Publicly and privately owned. Age cohort 11 – 18 years. There are many prestigious high schools all over the island that have "attained greatness because of the education they offer. Some include Meadowbrook HIgh School, Campion College, Immaculate Conception High School, The Mannings School, Manchester High School, Wolmers High for Boys, Wolmers High for Girls, The Calabar High School,St. Jago High School, The Kingston College, The Jamaica College and many more.

Tertiary - Community Colleges, Teachers’ Colleges, Vocational Training Centres, Colleges and Universities. Some include The University of the West Indies (popular for the faculty of medicine), Northern Caribbean University, Moneague College, Bethlehem Community College and many more.

There is no free education in Jamaica above the Primary Level. Although there isn't free education, they have a place for those who can't afford further education.

Military

The Jamaican Defence Force (JDF) is the small but professional military force of Jamaica. The JDF is based upon the British military model with organisation, training, weapons and traditions closely aligned with Commonwealth Realm Countries. Once chosen, officer candidates are sent to one of several British or Canadian basic officer courses depending upon which arm of service they are slated for. Enlisted soldiers are given basic training at JDF Training Depot, Newcastle. As on the British model, NCOs are given several levels of professional training as they rise up the ranks. Additional military schools are available for speciality training in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

The JDF is directly descended from the British West Indies Regiment formed during the colonial era. The West Indies Regiment was used extensively by the British Empire in policing the empire from 1795 to 1926. Other units in the JDF heritage include the early colonial Jamaica Militia, the Kingston Infantry Volunteers of WWI and reorganised into the Jamaican Infantry Volunteers in WWII. The West Indies Regiment was reformed in 1958 as part of the West Indies Federation. The dissolution of the Federation resulted in the establishment of the JDF.

The Jamaican Defence Force (JDF) comprises an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The infantry regiment contains the 1st, 2nd and 3rd (National Reserve) battalions. The JDF Air Wing is divided into three flight units, a training unit, a support unit and the JDF Air Wing (National Reserve). The Coast Guard element is divided between sea-going crews and support crews. It conducts maritime safety and maritime law enforcement as well as defence-related operations. The support battalion contains a Military Police platoon as well as vehicle, armourers and supply units. The 1st Engineer Regiment provides military engineering support to the JDF. The Headquarters JDF contains the JDF commander, command staff as well as intelligence, judge advocate office, administrative and procurement sections.

In recent years the JDF has been called upon to assist the nation's police, the Jamaican Constabulary Force (JCF) in fighting drug smuggling and a rising crime rate which includes one of the highest murder rates in the world. JDF units actively conduct armed patrols with the JCF in high-crime areas and known gang neighbourhoods. There has been vocal controversy as well as support of this JDF role. In early 2005, an opposition leader, Edward Seaga, called for the merger of the JDF and JCF. This has not garnered support in either organisation nor among the majority of citizens

Arts & Culture

Though a small nation, Jamaica is rich in culture, and has a strong global presence. The musical genres reggae, ska, mento, rocksteady, dub, and, more recently, dancehall and ragga all originated in the island's vibrant popular urban recording industry. Internationally known reggae musician, the legendary Bob Marley, was born in Jamaica, and is very well respected there. The genre jungle emerged from London's Jamaican diaspora. The birth of hip-hop in New York also owed much to the city's Jamaican community.

Christianity remains a strong influence on cultural life, particularly in music. Most people learn their music at church, and biblical references are often used in popular songs. It is not uncommon for musicians to be playing dance music on Saturday night, and church music on Sunday morning.

Rastafarianism was founded in Jamaica. This Back to Africa movement believes that Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is God incarnate, the returned black messiah, come to take the lost Twelve Tribes of Israel back to live with him in Holy Mount Zion in a world of perfect peace, love and harmony. Bob Marley, a convert to the faith, spread the message of Rastafari to the world. There are now estimated to be more than a million Rastafarians throughout the world.

The American film Cocktail, starring Tom Cruise, is one of the most popular films to depict Jamaica. A fascinating look at disturbed, godless youth in Jamaica is presented in the 1970s cops-and-robbers musical film The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy Cliff as a frustrated reggae-musician who gets caught up in crime.

• National Bird — Doctor bird (Green-and-black Streamertail, Trochilus polytmus)
• National Flower — Lignum vitae (Guaiacum officinale)
• National Tree — Blue Mahoe (Hibiscus elatus)
• National Dish — Ackee and Saltfish (dried salted Cod)
• National Motto — "Out of Many, One People." (Unity among many cultures and races.)

Links & Sources:

• Wikipedia