Jamaica

  

Jamaica
Constituent country of the West Indies
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: "Jamaica, Land We Love"
Sovereign state	West Indies
Established	10 May 1655
Country status	16 August 1966
Capital and largest city	Kingston
Official languages	English, Jamaican Patois
Ethnic groups (2020)	93.7% African (Black) (incl. 25% mixed Irish) 4.4% mixed 0.7% Indian 1% other 0.2% unspecified
Demonym(s)	Jamaican
Government	Parliamentary representative democracy within a constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Elizabeth II
• Lieutenant Governor	Shahine Crawford
• Premier	Colin Stern
Legislature	National Assembly
Area
• Total	10,991 km2 (4,244 sq mi)
• Water (%)	negligible
Highest elevation	2,256 m (7,402 ft)
Population
• 2018 estimate	2,910,153
• Density	264.77/km2 (685.8/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2018 estimate
• Total	$30.5 billion
• Per capita	$10,483
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	$18.39 billion
• Per capita	$6,320
HDI (2018)	0.803 very high
Currency	West Indies pound (WIP)
Time zone	UTC-4:00 (UTC–5)
Driving side	left
Calling code	+1-876 +1-658
ISO 3166 code	JM WI-JM
Internet TLD	.jm

Jamaica is an island and a constituent country of the Commonwealth of the West Indies situated in the Western Caribbean Sea. It lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Antilles; the West Indian Territory of the Cayman Islands, which is nominally administered as a part of Jamaica, lies some 215 kilometres (134 mi) to the north-west.

Jamaica was historically inhabited by the Arawak and Taino peoples before the Spanish colonized the island following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494. The Spanish administered Jamaica as Santiago, as part of the Spanish West Indies within the Viceroyalty of New Spain. The majority of the indigenous Arawak and Taino died from disease, forced labor, or ethnic cleansing. As a result of the decimated native population, the Spanish imported West African slaves to sustain the colonial economy as enslaved labourers. The English conquered the island in 1655 and renamed Santiago to Jamaica and turned Jamaica into a top-performing sugarcane exporter. The British utilized a plantation system of African slaves and their descendants until 1838 when the British emancipated all slaves. The majority of freedmen chose to live as subsistence farmers rather than plantation workers. Starting in the 1840s, the British began employing indentured Indian and Chinese labourers to work on Jamaican plantations.

During the second half of the 19th century, Jamaica was devastated by a series of cholera, scarlet fever, and smallpox outbreaks, with as much as 600,000 killed. High levels of poverty and racial discriminatory policies fueled resentment among Jamaica's majority black population, leading to the outbreak of the Morant Bay rebellion. The British government responded with passing sweeping reforms that restructured Jamaica's status as a crown colony. By the 1920s, Jamaica experienced a rise in black nationalism and Afrocentric separatism from British rule. As economic conditions in Jamaica worsened, Landonism gained traction, forcing the British to continue increasing Jamaica's autonomous rule. During Great War I, the Jamaican Landonist Party gained control over the island and received military backing by the United Commonwealth before the British restored control by the end of the war. In 1966, the United Kingdom granted independence to Jamaica and other British Caribbean territories, which collectively formed the Commonwealth of the West Indies. Jamaica was admitted as a founding province and its capital, Kingston, became the seat of government for the new West Indian government.

With 2.9 million inhabitants, Jamaica is the most populous province in the West Indies. As a former British colony, it is a predominantly Anglophone country although Jamaican Patois, an English-based creole language, is also a co-official language spoken throughout much of the island. Like the rest of the West Indies, Jamaica is considered a part of Anglo-America and is represented in the Conference of American States. The majority of Jamaica's population have Sub-Saharan African ancestry, most of whom are descendants of West African slaves brought over by the Spanish and the British. There are also significant minorities of European, East Asian (primarily Chinese), Indian, Lebanese, and mixed-race peoples. There is a significantly large Jamaican diaspora, particularly in Brazoria, Sierra, the United Commonwealth, and the United Kingdom. Jamaican culture is internationally renowned and is the birthplace of the Abrahamic Rastafari religion, reggae music and its associated genres including dub, ska, and dancehall, its cuisine, and its prevalent presence in various sports such as cricket and competitive sprinting.

Jamaica is an upper-middle income economy that is heavily dependent on tourism. It annually receives an average of 5 million tourists. As a province of a Commonwealth realm, its queen is Elizabeth II, who is represented by Jamaica's current lieutenant governor, Shahine Crawford. The current premier is Colin Stern of the Labour Party who has served since 2018. At the federal level, Jamaica is represented in the unicameral Federal Assembly by 22 assemblymen. Jamaica's own legislature is the National Assembly of Jamaica, which is a bicameral legislature consisting of the 21-member Senate and the 63-member House of Representatives. The highest court in Jamaica is the Supreme Court of Jamaica. Jamaica is administratively divided into parishes, as well as three ceremonial counties.

See also

• West Indies