Wednesday, August 12, 2020 – Jamaica
- Mary Reed
- Aug 12, 2020
- 8 min read
I walk by a house with a car parked in the driveway facing the street. The front license plate says “Jamaica.” That is very unusual to see in this area. Texas requires license plates on the front and back of the automobile, so perhaps this car did not belong to a Texas resident. Perhaps it was a car from a state which does not require front license plates, so the person put a decorative license plate there instead. I did not want to walk around the back of a car in a stranger’s driveway to see the other license plate. Neighbors might be watching out their windows. Was it shipped to the States from Jamaica? However the car arrived, it put a bright spot in my day. Made me think of sandy beaches, cool breezes and delicious fruity drinks with paper umbrellas. Just use your imagination. You can see the palm trees waving, feel the sand between your toes, hear the steel drum band playing your favorite Bob Marley tune and taste fresh fruit and sweet rum in your drink. This is your virtual escape…
Prehistory
According to Wikipedia, humans have inhabited Jamaica from as early as 4000–1000 B.C. Little is known of these early peoples. Another group, known as the "Redware people" after their pottery, arrived circa 600 AD, followed by the Arawak-Taíno circa 800 A.D., who most likely came from South America. They practiced an agrarian and fishing economy and at their height are thought to have numbered some 60,000 people, grouped into around 200 village headed by chiefs. The south coast of Jamaica was the most populated, especially around the area now known as Old Harbour.
Though often thought to have become extinct following contact with Europeans, the Taíno in fact still inhabited Jamaica when the English took control of the island in 1655. Some fled into interior regions, merging with African Maroon communities. Today, only a tiny number of Jamaican natives, known as Yamaye, remain. The Jamaican National Heritage Trust is attempting to locate and document any remaining evidence of the Taíno.
Early British period
The English began taking an interest in the island and, following a failed attempt to conquer Santo Domingo on Hispaniola, Sir William Penn and General Robert Venables led an invasion of Jamaica in 1655. Battles at Ocho Rios in 1657 and the Rio Nuevo in 1658 resulted in Spanish defeats; in 1660 the Maroons began supporting the English and the Spanish defeat was secured.
When the English captured Jamaica, the Spanish colonists fled after freeing their slaves. Many slaves dispersed into the mountains, joining the already established Maroon communities. During the centuries of slavery, Maroons established free communities in the mountainous interior of Jamaica, where they maintained their freedom and independence for generations. Meanwhile, the Spanish made several attempts to recapture the island, prompting the British to support pirates attacking Spanish ships in the Caribbean; as a result piracy became rampant on Jamaica, with the city of Port Royal becoming notorious for its lawlessness. Spain later recognized English possession of the island with the Treaty of Madrid in 1670. As a result, the English authorities sought to reign in the worst excesses of the pirates.
In 1660, the population of Jamaica was about 4,500 white and 1,500 black. By the early 1670s, as the English developed sugar cane plantations worked by large numbers of slaves, black Africans formed a majority of the population. The Irish in Jamaica also formed a large part of the island's early population, making up two-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 laborers and soldiers after the conquest of 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. Migration of large numbers of Irish to the island continued into the 18th century.
A limited form of local government was introduced with the creation of the House of Assembly of Jamaica in 1664; however, it represented only a tiny number of rich plantation owners. In 1692, the colony was rocked by an earthquake that resulted in several thousand deaths and the almost complete destruction of Port Royal.
19th century
The British abolished the slave trade in 1807, but not the institution itself. In 1831 a huge slave rebellion, known as Baptist War, broke out, led by the Baptist preacher Samuel Sharpe. The rebellion resulted in hundreds of deaths, the destruction of many plantations, and resulted in ferocious reprisals by the plantocracy class. As a result of rebellions such as these — as well as the efforts of abolitionists — the British outlawed slavery in its empire in 1834, with full emancipation from chattel slavery declared in 1838. The population in 1834 was 371,070, of whom 15,000 were white, 5,000 free black; 40,000 “colored” or free people of color (mixed race); and 311,070 were slaves. The resulting labor shortage prompted the British to begin to "import" indentured servants to supplement the labor pool, as many freedmen resisted working on the plantations. Workers recruited from India began arriving in 1845, Chinese workers in 1854. Many South Asian and Chinese descendants continue to reside in Jamaica today.
Over the next 20 years, several epidemics of cholera, scarlet fever and smallpox hit the island, killing almost 60,000 people — about 10 per day. Nevertheless, in 1871 the census recorded a population of 506,154 people, 246,573 of which were males and 259,581 females. Their races were recorded as 13,101 white, 100,346 colored (mixed race) and 392,707 black. This period was marked by an economic slump, with many Jamaicans living in poverty.
Early 20th century
n 1907 Jamaica was struck by an earthquake — this, and the subsequent fire, caused immense destruction in Kingston and the deaths of 800–1,000 people.
Unemployment and poverty remained a problem for many Jamaicans. Various movements seeking political change arose as a result, most notably the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League founded by Marcus Garvey in 1917. As well as seeking greater political rights and an improvement for the condition of workers, Garvey was also a prominent Pan-Africanist and proponent of the Back-to-Africa movement. He was also one of the chief inspirations behind Rastafari, a religion founded in Jamaica in the 1930s that combined Christianity with an Afrocentric theology focused on the figure of Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia. Despite occasional persecution, Rastafari grew to become an established faith on the island, later spreading abroad.
Post-independence era
The optimism of the first decade was accompanied by a growing sense of inequality among many Afro-Jamaicans, and a concern that the benefits of growth were not being shared by the urban poor, many of whom ended up living in crime-ridden shanty towns in Kingston. This, combined with the effects of a slowdown in the global economy in 1970, led to the voters electing the People’s National Party under Michael Manley in 1972. His government enacted various social reforms, such as a higher minimum wage, land reform, legislation for women's equality, greater housing construction and an increase in educational provision. Internationally, he improved ties with the Communist bloc and vigorously opposed the apartheid regime in South Africa. However, the economy faltered in this period due to a combination of internal and external factors — such as the oil shocks. The rivalry between the Jamaican Labour Party and PNP became intense, and political and gang-related violence grew significantly in this period.
Georgraphy and environment
Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean. Mountains dominate the interior: the Don Figuerero, Santa Cruz, and May Day mountains in the west, the Dry Harbour Mountains in the center, and the John Crow Mountains and Blue Mountains in the east, the latter containing Blue Mountain Peak, Jamaica's tallest mountain at 2,256 meters. They are surrounded by a narrow coastal plain. Jamaica only has two cities, the first being Kingston, the capital city and center of business, located on the south coast and the second being Montego Bay, one of the best known cities in the Caribbean for tourism, located on the north coast. Kingston Harbour is the seventh-largest natural harbor in the world, which contributed to the city being designated as the capital in 1872. Other towns of note include Portmore, Spanish Town, Savanna la Mar, Mandeville and the resort towns of Ocho Ríos, Port Antonio and Negril.
Tourist attractions include Dunn’s River Falls in St. Ann, YS Falls in St. Elizabeth, the Blue Lagoon in Portland, believed to be the crater of an extinct volcano, and Port Royal, site of a major earthquake in 1692 that helped form the island's Palisadoes tombolo.
Fish
Jamaican waters contain considerable resources of fresh-and saltwater fish. The chief varieties of saltwater fish are kingfish, jack, mackerel, whiting, bonito and tuna. Fish that occasionally enter freshwater and estuarine environments include snook, jewfish, mangrove snapper and mullets. Fish that spend the majority of their lives in Jamaica's fresh waters include many species of livebeares, killifish, freshwater gobies, the mountain mullet and the American eel. Tilapia have been introduced from Africa for aquaculture and are very common. Also visible in the waters surrounding Jamaica are dolphins, parrotfish and the endangered manatee.
Religion
Christianity is the largest religion practiced in Jamaica. About 70% are Protestants; Roman Catholics are just 2% of the population. According to the 2001 census, the country's largest Protestant denominations are the Church of God (24%), Seventh-day Adventist Church (11%), Pentecostal (10%), Baptist (7%), Anglican (4%), United Church (2%), Methodist (2%), Moravian (1%) and Plymouth Brethren (1%).Bedwardism is a form of Christianity native to the island, sometimes viewed as a separate faith. The Christian faith gained acceptance as British Christian abolitionists and Baptist missionaries joined educated former slaves in the struggle against slavery.
Music
Though a small nation, Jamaican culture 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. These have themselves gone on to influence numerous other genres, such as punk rock (through reggae and ska), dub poetry, New Wav, two-tone, reggaton, jungle, drum and bass, dubstep, grime and American rap music. Some rappers, such as The Notorious B.I.G., Busta Rhymes and Heavy D are of Jamaican descent.
Bob Marley is probably the best-known Jamaican musician; with his band The Wailers he had a string of hits in 1960s–70s, popularizing reggae internationally and going on to sell millions of records. Many other internationally known artists were born in Jamaica, including Millie Small, Lee”Scratch” Perry, Gregory Isaacs, Half Pint, Protoje, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Big Youth, Jimmy Cliff, Dennis Brown, Desmond Dekker, Beres Hammond, Beenie Man, Shaggy, Grace Jones, Shabba Ranks, Super Cat, Buju Banton, Sean Paul, I Wayne, Bounty Killer and many others. Bands that came from Jamaica include Black Uhuru, Third World Band, Inner Circle, Chalice Reggae Band, Culture, Fab Five and Morgan Heritage.
Cuisine
The island is famous for its Jamaican jerk spice, curries and rice and peas which is integral to Jamaican cuisine. Jamaica is also home to Red Stripe beer and Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee.
Sprinters
Over the past six decades Jamaica has produced dozens of world class sprinters including Olympic and World Champion Usain Bolt, world record holder in the 100m for men at 9.58s, and 200m for men at 19.19s. Other noteworthy Jamaican sprinters include Arthur Wint, the first Jamaican Olympic gold medalist; Donale Quarrie, Elaine Thompson double Olympic champion from Rio 2016 in the 100m and 200m, Olympic Champion and former 200m world record holder; Roy Anthony Bridge, part of the International Olympic Committee; Merlene Ottey; Delloreen Ennis-London; Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the former World and two time Olympic 100m Champion; Kerron Stewart; Aleen Bailey; Juliet Cuthbert; three-time Olympic gold medalist; Veronica Campbell-Brown; Sherone Simpson; Brigitte Foster-Hylton; Yohan Blake; Herb McKenley; George Rhoden, Olympic gold medalist; Deon Hemmings, Olympic gold medalist; as well as Asafa Powell, former 100m world record holder and 2x 100m Olympic finalist and gold medal winner in the men's 2008 Olympic 4 × 100 m. American Olympic winner Sanya Richards-Ross was also born in Jamaica.
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