Jamaican History

Jamaica - jəmāˈkə, independent state within the Commonwealth (1995 est. pop. 2,574,000), 4,232 sq mi (10,962 sq km), coextensive with the island of Jamaica, West Indies, S of Cuba and W of Haiti. Jamaica is the largest island in the Caribbean after Cuba and Hispaniola. The capital and largest city is Kingston.

Land and People

Although largely a limestone plateau more than 3,000 ft (914 m) above sea level, Jamaica has a mountainous backbone that extends across the island from the west and rises to the Blue Mts. in the east; Blue Mt. (7,402 ft/2,256 m) is the highest point. Rainfall is heavy in this region (where there are extensive timber reserves) but diminishes westward across the plateau, which is a rugged area deeply dissected by streams and underlain by subterranean rivers. The heart of the plateau, known as the Cockpits, is used mostly for livestock grazing. A narrow plain along the northern coast and several larger plains near the south shore are Jamaica's major agricultural zones. The north coast also has fine beaches and is the focus of the tourist industry. The Rio Grande and the Black River are the country's chief waterways, but neither is navigable for long distances. The coastal bands widened by broad river valleys, as well as the mountain slopes, support the bulk of Jamaica's export crops.

In addition to Kingston, important cities are Spanish Town and Montego Bay. Slightly more than one half of the population is urban, and migration to the cities continues; the greatest urban concentration is around Kingston. People of African descent predominate in Jamaica. The small upper class is largely of European descent. Afro-Europeans and such Middle Eastern and Asian groups as Lebanese, Syrians, Chinese, and Indians, make up the rest of the population. Although English is the official language, most Jamaicans also speak a creole English. The chief religion is Protestantism, although there is considerable religious variety (including Roman Catholic and spiritualist minorities) on the island.

Economy

Jamaica's most important export crop is sugarcane, from which rum and molasses are also made. The nation's other agricultural exports include the famed Blue Mt. coffee, bananas, citrus fruits, ginger, cocoa, pimento, and tobacco. Most of these crops are grown on large plantations. Small peasant farms produce some ginger, bananas, and sugarcane for export but mainly raise such subsistence crops as yams, breadfruit, and cassava. Mining is a major source of wealth; since large, easily accessible deposits of bauxite were discovered in 1942, Jamaica has become one of the world's leading suppliers of this ore. Along with the alumina made from it, bauxite accounts for almost half of Jamaica's foreign exchange.

Tourism is the biggest earner of exchange. Among Jamaica's internationally known resort areas are Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Negril. Clothing constitutes the chief export item of the manufacturing sector. Jamaica's other industries (mainly concentrated in the Kingston area) include oil refining, sugar and tobacco processing, flour milling, and the production of chemicals, cement, textiles, and processed foods. Since the late 1960s industry has generated a greater share of the national income than agriculture. The United States, Great Britain, and Canada, Jamaica's top trading partners, also provide much-needed capital for economic development.

Government

Jamaica is a parliamentary democracy governed under the constitution of 1962. It has a bicameral legislature made up of a 21-member senate and a 60-member house of representatives. The executive branch consists of a cabinet, which is headed by the prime minister. The official heads of government are the governor-general, appointed by the British sovereign, and the prime minister. The country has two main political parties: the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) generally favors private enterprise, while the People's National Party (PNP) advocates a moderate socialism. Administratively, the country is divided into 14 parishes.

History

History to Independence

Sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1494, Jamaica was conquered and settled in 1509 by Spaniards under a license from Columbus's son. Spanish exploitation decimated the native Arawaks. The island remained Spanish until 1655, when Admiral William Penn and Robert Venables captured it; it was formally ceded to England in 1670, but the local European population obtained a degree of autonomy. Jamaica prospered from the wealth brought by buccaneers, notably Sir Henry Morgan, to Port Royal, the capital; in 1692, however, much of the city sank into the sea during an earthquake, and Spanish Town became the new capital.

A huge, mostly African, slave population grew up around the sugarcane plantations in the 18th cent., when Jamaica was a leading world sugar producer. Freed and escaped slaves, sometimes aided by the maroons (slaves who had escaped to remote areas after Spain lost control of Jamaica), succeeded in organizing frequent uprisings against the European landowners. The sugar industry declined in the 19th cent., partly because of the abolition of slavery in 1833 (effective 1838) and partly because of the elimination in 1846 of the imperial preference tariff for colonial products entering the British market. Economic hardship was the prime motive behind the Morant Bay rebellion by freedmen in 1865. The British ruthlessly quelled the uprising and also forced the frightened legislature to surrender its powers; Jamaica became a crown colony.

Poverty and economic decline led many blacks to seek temporary work in neighboring Caribbean areas and in the United States; many left the island permanently, emigrating to England, Canada, and the United States. Indians were imported to meet the labor shortage on the plantations after the slaves were freed, and agriculture was diversified to lessen dependence on sugar exports. A new constitution in 1884 marked the initial revival of local autonomy for Jamaica.

Despite labor and other reforms, black riots recurred, notably those of 1938, which were caused mainly by unemployment and resentment against British racial policies. Jamaican blacks had been considerably influenced by the theories of black nationalism promulgated by the American expatriate Marcus Garvey. A royal commission investigating the 1938 riots recommended an increase of economic development funds and a faster restoration of representative government for Jamaica. In 1944 universal adult suffrage was introduced, and a new constitution provided for a popularly elected house of representatives.

An Independent Nation

By 1958, Jamaica became a key member of the British-sponsored West Indies Federation. The fact that Jamaica received only one third of the representation in the federation, despite its having more than half the land area and population of the grouping, bred resentment; a campaign by the nationalist labor leader Sir Alexander Bustamante led to a 1961 decision, by popular referendum, to withdraw from the federation. The following year Jamaica became an independent member of the Commonwealth. Bustamante, leader of the JLP, became the first prime minister of independent Jamaica. The party continued in power under Donald B. Sangster after the 1967 elections; he died in office and was succeeded by Hugh Shearer.

In 1972 the PNP won an impressive victory, and Michael Manley became prime minister. Although the PNP administration worked effectively to promote civil liberties and reduce illiteracy, economic problems proved more difficult. In 1976 the PNP won decisively after a violent election contest between the two parties. The PNP continued to promote socialist policies, nationalizing businesses and strengthening ties to Cuba. Lack of foreign investment and aid continued to hurt the economy.

In 1980 the JLP returned to power, with the moderate Edward Seaga as prime minister. Seaga's administration favored privatization, distanced itself from Cuba, attracted foreign investment, stimulated tourism, and won substantial U.S. aid. However, two major hurricanes (1980, 1988) during Seaga's tenure set back prospects for substantial economic progress. In the 1989 elections the PNP ousted the JLP, and Manley returned as prime minister; he chose to continue the policy directions taken by Seaga. Manley was replaced by P. J. Patterson in 1992. The following year Patterson and the PNP were returned to office in a landslide. Patterson led his PNP government to a third term in 1997 and a fourth term in 2002, although the PNP majority was reduced in 2002.

Bibliography

See E. Brathwaite, The Development of Creole Society in Jamaica, 1770–1820 (1971); F. Cundall, Historic Jamaica (1915, repr. 1971); R. M. Nettleford, Identity, Race and Protest in Jamaica (1972); I. Kaplan et al., Area Handbook for Jamaica (1976); E. H. Stephens, Democratic Socialism in Jamaica (1986); R. E. Looney, The Jamaican Economy in the 1980s: Economic Decline and Structural Adjustment (1987).

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