GENERAL INFORMATION, JAMAICA
History | Geography | Climate/Weather | Government | Economy | Language | Religions | Mass Media
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HISTORY
Jamaica was founded around 1000 AD by Arawak Indians.
They named it 'Xaymaca' which means "land of wood & water".
Columbus landed 4 May 1494. Founded Sevilla Nueva, St. Ann in 1509.
Capital city, Santiago de la Vega (Spanish Town) founded in 1538. The Spanish were the first to import African slaves to work on tobacco and, later, sugar plantations (within four decades of Spanish rule the Arawaks were eradicated).
British forces captured the island in 1655.
Sugarcane dominated the economy. Buccaneers reigned in Port Royal, the commercial centre, until the devastating 1692 earthquake when most of the city sank and a new capital, Kingston, was founded. More Africans, mainly Fante, Ashanti, Coromantee, Ibo and Yoruba people were imported. Escaped slaves, the Maroons, constantly fought the British until peace treaties gave the Maroons self-goverment and the rights to the land they inhabited. Their descendants maintain the lands but share all other responsibilities as Jamaicans.
Slavery ended in 1834.
Apprenticeship (slaves as 'paid' apprentices) ended in 1838. Indentured labourers from China and India replaced slaves on plantations. Middle-Eastern traders began immigrating at the turn of the century. The mix of African, European, Chinese, Indian and Middle-Eastern gives Jamaicans their physical and cultural diversity. The African and British influences have been the dominant forces in the shaping of the nation.
Independence from Britain was granted on August 6, 1962.
It was the culmination of a process which began with Universal Adult Suffrage in 1944, Self Rule in 1955. Membership in the the short-lived West Indian Federation followed in 1958-1962. After a national referendum rejected the Federation, Jamaica pulled out.
GEOGRAPHY
Located in the Caribbean Sea between North and South America. Area: 4411 sq. mi.(11,000 sq. km). Length is 146 mi., width varies from 22 to 64 mi. A mountainous ridge is the backbone of the island (almost half of the country is higher than 1000ft above sea level). Highest peak, Blue Mountain, is 7402 ft. Jamaica has lush terrain, caves, mineral springs, and some 120 rivers. The country is divided into three counties (Cornwall, Middlesex, Surrey) and 14 parishes (St. James, Hanover, Trelawny, Westmoreland, St. Elizabeth, Manchester, Clarendon, St. Ann, St. Catherine; Kingston, St. Mary, St. Andrew, St. Thomas, Portland). Capital: Kingston, Second city: Montego Bay.
CLIMATE/WEATHER
Average annual temp: 27C (82F). Mountain temperatures are as low as 10C (50F) in winter. Trade wind sea breezes moderate coastal temperature. Average annual rainfall is 78 inches. Rainy seasons: Oct/Nov, late May/early June. Current Weather Map. USA Today Forecasts: Kingston, Montego Bay
GOVERNMENT
Since independence on Aug 6, 1962, Jamaica has been a part of the Commonwealth with the Queen of England as the titular head of state and the Governor General (GG, currently His Excellency, Howard Cooke) as the local representative. Currently, there are efforts being made to amend the constitution and make Jamaica a republic.
The legislature is based on the Westminister model with a House of Representatives whose 60 members are elected in General Elections and a Senate whose 24 members are appointed by the GG on the recommendations of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. Governments are elected to 5 year terms. The two principal political parties are the People's National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). The current Prime Minister is the Hon. P.J.Patterson of the PNP and the Leader of the Opposition is the Hon. Edward Seaga of the JLP. At the local government level are the 14 parish councils presided over by the mayor of each parish capital.
Diplomatic Mission in Washington D.C.: Ambassador Richard Bernal, 1520 New Hampshire N.W., Washington D.C. 20036, Tel: (202)-452-0660 Fax: (202)-452-0081.
ECONOMY
Primary earners are tourism, bauxite mining, agricultural exports. Main crops are sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, pimento, coconuts and horticultural products. Jamaica is the premier world source of pimento (allspice) and a major exporter of bauxite and alumina. Over a million tourists visit the island annually.
LANGUAGE
English and Patois, Jamaican creole words and speech patterns derived from a mixture of English, African, and other languages.
RELIGIONS
Predominantly Protestant (Anglican, Baptist, Moravian, Pentecostal, United Methodist, Presbyterian, Seventh-Day Adventists, Church of God). Approximately 7% Catholic. Other religions include Rastafarianism (a fusion of Christianity, Pan-Africanism and a belief that the Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia is the Messiah, Jehovah, Jah), Pocomania (a combination of Christian and African spiritualist elements), tiny Hindu, Muslim and Jewish communities.
MASS MEDIA
NEWSPAPERS: The Gleaner
(the oldest newspaper in the Western Hemisphere), the Jamaica Herald, the
Daily Observer, the STAR, the Weekend Enquirer, the Western News, the Twin
City Sun.
Overseas: The Gleaner (Weekly, North American)
RADIO came to Jamaica in 1948 with the establishment of Radio Jamaica Rediffusion (RJR). The Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation (JBC) followed in 1958. The healthy rivalry which developed between RJR-AM and JBC-AM increased with the addition of their respective FM stations. There are now seven FM stations: JBC-FM, FAME (formerly RJR-FM), WAVES, KLAS, IRIE (all reggae), LOVE (Christian), POWER. Most stations mix R&B, pop, reggae, talk, calypso, jazz, some gospel, oldies, classical (the latter three mainly on Sundays).
TELEVISION: JBC-TV began broadcasting in 1963; CVM-TV in 1993.
MAGAZINES:
Skywritings
Jamaica: (809)-968-7279, Fax (809)-926-3417
USA: (305)-670 9450, Fax (305)-670-9450;
UK: 44 081-870-3176, Fax 44 081-871-9704
The Jamaica Journal: Published by the Institute of Jamaica
