A Brief History The earliest signs of people on Jamaica are the remains of the Arawak, an Amerindian society that originated on the north coast of South America. Arawak peoples migrated to various Caribbean islands, arriving in Jamaica by the beginning of the eighth century. They were peaceful and lived by “slash-and-burn” farming. For meat, they bred pigs and ate iguana, both native to the island. They were highly skilled in such manual activities as thatching and weaving. In fact, the hammock was an Amerindian invention that remains with us today; it is an object which, more than any other, evokes an image of a warm sunny day on a tropical isle. The Arawak left a legacy of paintings in places such as Runaway Caves near Discovery Bay, and shards of pottery found at their settlements near Nueva Sevilla and Spanish Town have added a little to our knowledge about them. Over 200 Arawak sites have been identified, and it is said that when the Spanish arrived in Jamaica there were approximately 100,000 Arawak living on the island. They called Jamaica “Xaymaca” (“land of wood and water”). Columbus and the Arrival of Europeans Columbus first arrived in Jamaica on 5 May 1494 at Discovery Bay, where there is now a small park in his honor. He stayed for only a few days but returned in 1502, landing here when the ships of his fleet became unserviceable; he waited at St. Ann’s Bay for help to arrive from Cuba. After the death of Columbus in 1505, Jamaica became the property of his son Diego, who dispatched Don Juan de Esquivel to the island as Governor. Esquivel arrived in 1510 and created a base called Nueva Sevilla near St. Ann’s Bay, from which he hoped to colonize the rest of the island. The Spanish immediately began subjugating the Arawak population, many of whom died under the yoke of oppression and of diseases carried by the Europeans. A number of them committed suicide rather than live the life created for them by the Spanish. The site of Nueva Sevilla proved to be unhealthy and mosquito-ridden, and in 1534 the Spanish founded Villa de la Vega, today known as Spanish Town. Pig breeding was the main occupation of these early settlers, but they also planted sugar cane and other crops that required large numbers of laborers. The number of Arawak had already fallen dramatically, so the Spanish began to import slaves from Africa to work the land; the first Africans arrived in 1517. The opportunities that the island had to offer were never really exploited by the Spanish. They were much more interested in the gold and other treasures to be found in South America. However, they had to protect the shipping lanes in order to get their treasure home, and this meant keeping hold of as much of the Caribbean (or the “Spanish Main,” as it was then known) as possible. They fortified the more strategic islands, but Jamaica was deemed less important than Cuba or Puerto Rico and, consequently, was poorly protected. British Rule In 1654 Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, dispatched a British fleet to the Caribbean to break the stranglehold of the Spanish. They were repulsed at Hispaniola by a strong Spanish force and decided to take Jamaica as a consolation prize. They sailed into what is now Kingston Bay in May 1655 and sent an ultimatum to the capital. The small Spanish force considered its position and decided to retreat, heading to the north coast and sailing to Cuba. Before they left, they freed their slaves, who fled into the interior of the island. The Spanish attempted to retake the island in 1658 at the Battle of Rio Bueno but were defeated; however, this did not alleviate Jamaica’s problems. Other European powers began to put pressure on the defending forces, and British naval power in the area was badly stretched. Sir Thomas Modyford, the Governor of Jamaica, offered a deal to pirate ships already well established in the area: if the pirates protected British assets, then they were free to harass enemy shipping with impunity. They agreed; Modyford issued letters of accreditation which authorized the pirates to act in the name of the British Crown. These “privateers” were welcomed at Port Royal, the English settlement on the southern tip of Kingston harbor, and it quickly developed a reputation as the wickedest city in the world. Plunder was now legitimate business and the city was awash with money and booty from the numerous pirate raids. There was little evidence of religion or of the rule of law. Henry Morgan was chief among the pirate leaders. He and his followers conducted a successful series of bloody raids on Spanish settlements in the Caribbean, culminating in the sacking of Panama, the major city of the Spanish Main. In 1670 the Spanish officially ceded Jamaica to British rule as part of the Treaty of Madrid, and the British began a systematic process of settlement, offering land and aid to prospective settlers. They rescinded their agreement with the privateers and began the process of evicting them from Port Royal. Henry Morgan was offered the post of Lieutenant Governor of the island and charged with driving out his former cohorts. The erstwhile pirate thus became a policeman during the last years of his life. Morgan died in 1588 before his task was complete, but nature finished what he had started: Jamaica suffered a powerful earthquake in 1692, and Port Royal sank into the sea, taking with it many of the treasures stolen from the Spanish. The surviving pirates took to the sea once again. Plantations and Slavery As the 18th century began, the British colony of Jamaica was putting the disaster at Port Royal behind it. The trade in sugar cane and spices was becoming profitable. However, there was a problem. Plantation work was labor intensive, but there were very few laborers on the island; the Spanish slaves had disappeared into the inhospitable interior and the native Arawak had been decimated by disease. The decision was made to import a work force from West Africa, resulting in some 600,000 slaves being transported to Jamaica over the next few decades. One in five slaves died en route, and many more died of disease once on the island. However, there seemed to be an inexhaustible supply sailing across the Atlantic. On the back of this cruel system, Jamaica gradually became the biggest sugar producer in the world and a very wealthy island indeed. The colony slowly became better organized. Thirteen administrative parishes were created, forming the basis of government that we still see today. The Governor, official voice of the monarch, commissioned a representative (or custos) in each parish. Powerful land-owning families organized an Assembly to run the everyday affairs of the island, but many landowners continued to live in Britain, where they exerted tremendous influence in Parliament. They ensured that the interests of Jamaica, or at least their own interests on the island, were always at the forefront of decisions made in London. However, even in these early days there were slaves who fought against the tyranny of the system. The original slaves whom the Spanish had released after 1655 became known as “Maroons,” from the Spanish word cimarrón (which means “wild” or “untamed”). They made their settlements in the hills away from British rule but began to attack colonists in a program of raids now remembered as The First Maroon War. British forces suffered constant harassment at their hands and even named a part of the island “The Land of Look Behind” in recognition of the surprise attacks they suffered. Eventually the British began to force the Maroons into more isolated and remote pockets of land. This war of attrition ended in 1739, when agreement was reached between the two sides. The Maroons were allowed self-rule in certain designated areas in return for not inciting or helping the plantation slaves. This agreement is at the root of Maroon self-government today. The slaves themselves also began organizing revolts (the first in 1760), but their situation remained the same. Treatment of slaves was for the most part cruel and inhumane, with family life virtually destroyed as fathers were systematically split from mothers and their children. During the American War of Independence, Jamaica came under threat again from other European powers, which saw Britain’s problem to the north as a chance to capture its colonies in the Caribbean. Some islands were taken by the French, but Admiral Rodney saved Jamaica by defeating the French fleet at the Battle of Les Saintes in 1782. Jamaica thereafter became an island of strategic importance for the British, who based a large naval fleet at Fort Charles in Port Royal. Emancipation The French Revolution in 1789 sent ripples of discontent through the Caribbean. The French peasants’ cry for freedom prompted another Maroon War on Jamaica, after which many Maroons were deported to Nova Scotia. There was, however, a growing movement against slavery in Britain. In 1807 Parliament made the trade in slaves illegal, but the powerful sugar lobby exerted pressure and slavery continued on the plantations. The slaves were angry and dispirited, but nonconformist churches broke the monopoly of the Church of England and encouraged the slaves to stand up and take action against injustice. This intervention guaranteed the popularity of these Christian denominations; today, you will find Baptist and Adventist churches in almost every settlement, their congregations still as strong today as in the early 1800s. The momentum for change was growing, and in 1831 a black lay preacher named “Daddy” Sam Sharpe led a revolt of 20,000 slaves at Montego Bay. After a campaign of great destruction, the authorities assured them that slavery would be abolished. Sharpe and approximately 1000 other slaves surrendered peacefully, only to be rounded up and publicly executed. This news was met with revulsion in Britain, and moves to liberate the slaves culminated in full freedom in 1838. Many retreated into the hills to make their own way, the forefathers of today’s small-scale, self-sufficient farmers. Unfortunately, being “free” solved none of the problems suffered by the population. There was no economic infrastructure outside the plantation system, and power remained in the hands of a small minority of white and mixed-race individuals. Meanwhile, Asian laborers were invited to take up the work previously carried out by the slaves; their descendants can still be found on the island, particularly around Little London in the west. As a further blow to the economy, the British Parliament passed the Sugar Equalization Act in 1846 as part of a new free-trade policy. Jamaica’s protected market was effectively gone. In October 1865 at Morant Bay, there was another uprising, led by Baptist minister Paul Bogle and by George Gordon, a mulatto (mixed-race) landowner. It brought savage retribution from the authorities, and both leaders were executed. But it prompted the dissolution of the Jamaica Assembly, which was dominated by plantation owners. The island became a Crown Colony ruled directly from London, and over the next few years there were several reforms to its political and social systems. As the sugar trade declined in importance, economic disaster loomed. Fortuitously, another crop found favor withthe industrial world: Jamaica became the island of bananas. The first consignments were exported in 1866 and, within a few years, thousands of tons were being shipped to markets in the US and Britain. The boats carrying the banana crops also fostered the beginnings of the tourist trade. The first visitors arrived as passengers on them, spending time around Port Antonio. Charmed by the tropical paradise, they quickly spread the word about the beauty of Jamaica. Still there was little change in conditions for the black majority, who had no economic or political power. The world-wide depression of the 1930s brought a new wave of demonstrations in Jamaica, and a number of individuals emerged to lead the people and pave the way for nationhood. Marcus Garvey called for black self-reliance, and Alexander Bustamante formed the Industrial Trade Union and later the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). The Jamaica Trades Union Congress and the National Workers Union allied themselves to the People’s National Party (PNP), led by Norman Manley in opposition to Bustamante. Together, these organizations fought for local rule, which in 1944 resulted in universal voting rights for adults. At the same time, the early years of World War II brought American tourists who were no longer able to travel to Europe on holiday. Jamaica’s popularity as a tourist destination was now undeniable. Independence and Democratic Rule In the postwar period there continued to be constitutional changes, including self-government for Jamaica in 1959. Britain hoped to create a Federation of Caribbean Islands in the region. But the Jamaicans voted instead for full independence, which became official on 6 August 1962. Jamaica is also a nation within the British Commonwealth. Since independence the political culture of Jamaica, which started out with such confidence and optimism, has been fraught with problems. Violence and corruption have been constant factors in the political process. From 1962 until 1972, the JLP held power. The party’s broad aims were to support capitalist policies and to continue close ties with Britain and the rest of the Commonwealth. In 1972, however, the left-wing PNP was elected with a massive majority but with little change in the economic power of the people. Michael Manley, son of Norman, led the party and pushed for policies that brought Jamaica closer to independent nonaligned countries. Manley was made out to be a second Castro, foreign investment quickly dried up, many wealthy Jamaicans left the island, and the economy collapsed. The uncertain and volatile situation led to gang violence, and Jamaica seemed to be heading for civil war. In 1979 the JLP came back to power following a campaign that saw the deaths of several hundred people. Its leader, Edward Seaga, reintroduced capitalist policies and foreign investment began to trickle back. Jamaica in the 1990s Since 1993, the PNP has once again been in power, this time under the leadership of Prime Minister Percival Patterson. He and his party are charged with forging a positive path for the people of Jamaica. Energy is being focused initially on using the cultural wealth of the island to create a real national identity. But the problem of economic and social inequality remains, and violence, which accompanies political allegiance, remains a part of everyday life in the ghettos of Kingston. Notwithstanding its status as a member of the British Commonwealth, Jamaica now looks much more toward the US for its future. Its proximity to the US — only 90 minutes from Miami by air — means that cultural influences for the young are found in American entertainment media and sports. Jamaica seeks to combine these influences with its own strong identity to create an independent and stable society.