Jamaica

Jamaica is an island in the West Indies with its closest neighbors being Cuba and Haiti. It is about 4,244 sq miles/ 10,991 sq km in area. The indigenous peoples, the Arawaks were killed by either the Europeans' cruelty or diseases, a process which began when Christopher Columbus happened upon the island in 1494. It remained under Spanish rule until 1655 when Britain took over. At that time the capital was the famous Port Royal that was operated by the Buccaneers until most of it sunk because of an earthquake in 1692.

Since the Europeans had murdered all the Arawaks, they decided to enslave Africans for a labor force in Jamaica and turned to sugar since they had exhausted all the mines. Jamaica has a rich history of slave rebellion and resistance and during the 17th and 18th centuries the British colonists were consistently harassed by Maroons (escaped and freed slaves who lived independently amongst the mountains). In fact our only national heroine, Nanny, was a maroon.

Under the British the Jamaican economy was fueled only by sugar production. Thus the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 and the subsequent emancipation of the slaves in 1833, devastated the economy. A drop in sugar prices eventually led to a depression that resulted in an uprising in 1865. In 1866 Jamaica became a Crown colony and coupled with the introduction of bananas, this improved conditions.

1938 was marked by riots and rebellions protesting deplorable conditions. This year gave birth to a trade union and a national party dedicated to a struggle for independence. Jamaica finally gained independence from Britain in 1962.

For the first ten years of independence, economic development was based on the 'Puerto- Rican' model. This aim was to attempt to diversify the manufacturing side of the economy by inviting foreign capital to produce for the local market the consumer goods which used to be imported. Based on its culture, warmth and beaches, Jamaica also developed a thriving tourist industry. The natural aluminum resources were also exploited by multinational corporations and during this time Jamaica was the world's second biggest exporter of bauxite ore.

According to the World Bank, Jamaica now has a population of over 2.7 million people. The majority, 90.9% of the population is black, 1.3% East Indian, 0.2% White, 0.2% Chinese, 7.3% mixed and 0.1% 'other'. In 2004, 19 percent of the population managed to survive with means below the poverty line and 88 percent of the population was literate. In 2004 the GDP was US $8 billion.

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