Jamaican History

Jamaica, one of the largest Caribbean islands, was inhabited by arawak natives. When Christopher Columbus arrived at the island, he claimed the land for Spain. Still, it was not truly colonized until after his death. But only a few decades after Columbus' death almost all Arawaks were exterminated. Spain held the island against many pirate raids at the main city, which is now called Spanish Town. Eventually England claimed the island in a raid, but the Spanish did not relinquish their claim to the island until 1670. The British never lost this island in a war.

Jamaica became a base of operations for buccaneers, including captain Henry Morgan. In return these buccaneers kept the other colonial powers from attacking the island. Africans were captured, kidnapped, and forced into slavery to work on plantations when sugarcane became the most important export on the island.

Many slaves arrivied in Jamaica via the Atlantic slave trade during the same time enslaved Americans arrived in North America. During this time there were many racial tensions, and Jamaica had one of the highest instances of slave uprisings of any Caribbean island. After the British crown abolished slavery, the Jamaicans began working toward independence. Since independence there have been political and economic disturbances, as well as a number of strong political leaders.

Reprinted with permission from the Wikipedia article History of Jamaica under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

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