Jamaica, pronounced juh MAY kuh, is an island nation in the West Indies. Jamaica lies about 480 miles (772 kilometers) south of Florida and is the third largest island in the Caribbean Sea. Only Cuba and Hispaniola are larger. Arawak Indians, who were the first people to live in Jamaica, named the island Xaymaca, which means land of wood and water. Kingston is the capital, largest city, and chief port.
Jamaica's pleasant climate and its beautiful beaches and mountains attract more than 850,000 tourists yearly. But the Jamaican economy does not depend chiefly on tourism. Jamaica is among the world's leading producers of bauxite, the ore from which aluminum is made. The island also produces bananas, sugar, and various manufactured goods.
Jamaica was a British colony for about 300 years, until 1962. Today, it is an independent nation within the Commonwealth of Nations.
Government of Jamaica is a constitutional monarchy. The prime minister, who leads the majority party in Parliament, is the chief executive. Cabinet members head the ministries (executive departments) of the government. The British monarch appoints the governor general of Jamaica. The governor general represents the monarch but has few governing powers.
The Jamaican Parliament consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The governor general appoints the 21 senators, 13 of them on the advice of the prime minister and 8 of them on the advice of the leader of the opposition (minority party) in Parliament. The voters elect 60 people to five-year terms in the House of Representatives. All Jamaicans at least 18 years old may vote. The largest political parties are the Jamaican Labor Party (JLP) and the People's National Party (PNP).
More than 90 percent of Jamaica's people have black African or mixed black African and European(Afro-European) ancestry. The country's minority groups include Asians, most of whom are Chinese and Indians; Europeans; and Syrians. Most Jamaican business and professional people are Europeans and Afro-Europeans. Numerous Chinese and Syrians operate small shops. Large numbers of black Africans and Asians work as farm laborers.
Jamaica's official language is English. However, most Jamaicans speak a dialect (local form) of English that differs from the English that is spoken by Americans and English people. More than 80 per cent of the people in Jamaica are Christians.
About 100,000 black Jamaicans belong to Ras Tafari, a religious and political movement that considers former Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia as a god. Ras Tafari was a common name of Haile Selassie before he became emperor. Members of Ras Tafari, called Rastafarians, have adopted many of the beliefs of Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican who died in 1940. During the 1920's in the United States, Garvey preached that all blacks should consider Africa their home and live there. Rastafarians consider themselves Africans, not Jamaicans. Some believe that blacks are superior to other people.
About a fourth of Jamaica's people work in agriculture. Sugar cane is the most important crop. Other farm products include allspice, bananas, cacao, citrus fruits, coconuts, coffee, milk, poultry, and yams. However, the nation's farms do not produce enough food for all the people, and so Jamaica must import much of its food.
Arawak Indians lived in Jamaica when Christopher Columbus arrived there in 1494 and claimed the island for Spain. The Spaniards enslaved the Arawak and later brought Africans to the island as slaves. Disease and overwork killed almost all the Arawak. The Spaniards used Jamaica as a supply base. Because Jamaica had no gold, they did not try to settle or develop the island.
Jamaica prospered in the 1700's. Sugar became the major crop, and the island ranked as the most important slave market in the Western Hemisphere. But in 1833, the British Parliament freed the slaves. The end of slavery hurt the Jamaican sugar industry because the plantation owners lost thousands of laborers.
In the 1970's, Jamaica faced severe economic problems. Michael Manley of the People's National Party became prime minister of Jamaica in 1972. He sought to solve the economic problems by adopting socialistic policies. He also called for a policy of nonalignment with other nations. Edward Seaga of the Jamaican Labor Party became prime minister in 1980. He adopted economic policies that emphasized the role of private business and encouraged foreign investment and good relations with Western nations. In 1983, Jamaica and several other Caribbean nations joined the United States in invading Grenada to overthrow its Marxist government. See GRENADA (History and government) for details. In 1988, a major hurricane struck Jamaica. It killed 45 people and caused widespread property damage.
Manley became prime minister again in 1989. He followed a moderate course in economic and foreign relations policies. Manley resigned as prime minister in 1992. The People's National Party elected Percival J. Patterson party head, and Patterson became prime minister.
Contributor: Gerald R. Showalter, Ph.D., Associate Prof. of Geography, Ball State Univ.
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