Jamaica, republic (4,411 sq mi/11,424 sq km; 1991 population 2,314,479; 2004 estimated population 2,713,130), coextensive with the island of Jamaica, 146 mi/235 km long, 22 mi/35 km–51 mi/82 km wide, West Indies, 90 mi/145 km S of Cuba and 100 mi/161 km W of Haiti; (cap.) Kingston; 17°43'N–18°32'N 76°05'W–78°26'W.
Geography
Jamaica is the third-largest island in the Caribbean. Besides Kingston, other important cities are Spanish Town and Montego Bay. The Jamaica railroad connects Kingston and Montego Bay and links inland settlements to Port Antonio. The two international airports—the Norman Manley Palisadoes International Airport in Kingston and the Donald Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay—facilitate travel with the rest of world. 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 W and rises to the Blue Mountains in the E; Blue Mountain (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 Cockpit Country or Cockpits, is used mostly for livestock grazing. A narrow plain along the N coast and several larger plains near the S shore are Jamaica’s major agricultural zones. The N coast also has fine beaches and is the focus of tourism. The Rio Grande and the Black River are the country’s chief waterways, but neither is navigable for long distances.
The country is divided into three counties and subdivided into fourteen parishes. On the E is Surrey county, with parishes of Kingston, Saint Andrew and Saint Thomas to the S and Portland to the N. Middlesex, the central county, has Saint Mary and Saint Ann parishes to the N, bordered by Saint Catherine, Clarendon, and Manchester to the S. On the W is Cornwall county, with Trelawny, Saint James and Hanover to the N and bounded to the S by Saint Elizabeth and Westmoreland.
Economy
The coastal bands widened by broad river valleys, as well as the mountain slopes, support the bulk of Jamaica’s export crops: the famed Blue Mountain coffee, sugarcane—from which rum and molasses are also made—bananas, ginger, citrus fruits, 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. Apparel constitutes the chief export item of the manufacturing sector. Jamaica’s other industries (mainly concentrated in the Kingston area) include oil refining, tobacco processing, flour milling, and the production of cement, textiles, and processed foods. Since the late 1960s industry has generated a greater share of the national income than agriculture, which, however, still employs a larger percentage of the work force. The U.K., U.S., and Canada, Jamaica’s top trading partners, also provide much needed capital for economic development.
Population
English is the official language, but many Jamaicans also speak a Jamaican creole dialect. The unit of currency is the Jamaican dollar of 100 cents. About half of the population is rural, but migration to the cities continues; the greatest urban concentration is around Kingston. Adequate health facilities and islandwide education from the early childhood to the university level are available to all Jamaicans. People of African descent predominate in Jamaica, making up approximately 90.9% of the population. A 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. The chief religion is Protestantism, although there is considerable religious variety.
History to 1865
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 century, 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 century, 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.
History - 1865 to 1944
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 U.S. 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.
History - 1944 to 1976
In 1944 universal adult suffrage was introduced, and a new constitution provided for a popularly elected house of representatives. 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 won complete independence from Great Britain. The country has a two-party system: the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) favors private enterprise, while the People’s National Party (PNP) advocates moderate socialism. Bustamante, leader of the JLP, became the first prime minister of independent Jamaica. The party continued in power until 1972, when the PNP won an impressive victory. Although the PNP administration worked effectively to promote civil liberties and reduce illiteracy, economic problems proved more difficult.
History - 1976 to Present
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 was elected to power, with the administration favoring privatization, distancing itself from Cuba, attracting foreign investment, stimulating tourism, and finding the U.S. willing to provide substantial aid. Nonetheless, two major hurricanes (1980, 1988) hit Jamaica, setting back prospects for substantial economic progress. Jamaica is internationally known as the home of “reggae” music developed by Bob Marley.
Government
The chief of state is Queen Elizabeth II, represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix Cooke (since 1991). The head of government, since March 1992, is Prime Minister Percival James Patterson.
