CaribNation Television

One People - One Culture - One Caribbean - One Nation

Navigate the Site

Latest News from
Jamaica

Jamaica Gleaner

CaribNation Shows Featuring
Jamaica

#109 A critical examination of
Caribbean Music, part 1: Reggae

##111 Caribbean Film/Filmmakers:
Larry Sindass’ “Yadie”

#121 Investment in the Caribbean:
Jamaica. Plus veteran politician,
Seymour Mullings

#123 Caribbean Plays /Playwriters:
Michael Ellis’ “Chameleon”

#124 Tribute to Michael Manley

#142 Caribbean Artist Series:
Comedian Oliver Samuels

#147 Caribbean Authors Series:
Anna Ruth Henriquez’s “The Book
of Mechtilde”

#204 Caribbean Artist Series:
Dub Poet Mutabaruka

#208 The road to France: A Tribute
to Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz

#300 Caribbean Novelist:
Patricia Powell

#313 Caribbean Author: Historian
Rupert Lewis’ “Walter Rodney’s
Intellectual and Political Thoughts”

#336 Labour vs Government in the
Caribbean

#340 The Prince of Reggae, Dennis
Brown… in concert

#345 International Reggae Artist
Chachi

#346 Skin Bleaching: A Social Crisis
for the Caribbean?

#408 Air Jamaica: Expanding to the
Caribbean and Beyond

Washington, D.C. Reggae Artists:
Carl Meeks and Donovan Donovan

#419 Caribbean Educator/ Cultural
Icon: Professor Rex Nettleford

#420 Jamaica Financial Climate
with Minister Omar Davies. A cause
for concern?

#350 Caribbean Entrepreneurs in the
Washington D.C. Area: Electroworld
and West Indian Record Mart

#351 Reggae Great: Bunny Wailer

National Flag of Jamaica.
A Symbol Of Unity , its colours are Black, symbolizing the hardships which the peolple went through and have overcome, Green, which signifies the lush landscape of Jamaica, and Gold, which represents the lovely sunshine and climate of this our beautiful island. Map of Jamaica

The National Arms National Arms of Jamiaca

These arms were officially adopted on 13-07-1962, but are used since 1661 and modified slightly in 1957. The motto was added in 1962.

The arms show the St. Georges' cross with four pineapples, the major crop on the island. The tenants are two Arawak Indians. The right arms are the present arms, with the motto translated into Latin.

If Jamaica were compared to a painting it would be a masterpiece of tropical splendor. Framed by towering blue mountains, the landscape is filled with the multi-colored hues of exotic flowers and plants, and subdued by the various greens of dense jungles, woody meadows and misty valleys. Countless waterfalls tumble and cascade downward over boulders and gorges, feeding the rivers which spread out like hundreds of fingers across the island.

The water gently flows by riverbanks lined with wildflowers, or past mangrove swamps and rustic fishing villages, white-washed towns, and the Colonial Great Houses which dot the countryside. Finally the rivers blend into the Caribbean Sea, only to wash up on the golden beaches that encircle this intriguing island. Jamaica is a paradise for both the adventuresome traveller seeking the many unique outdoor treasures which the island offers in abundance, as well as for those wanting to be pampered at the island's many spas, or lavished upon at one of the all-inclusive fun and sun resorts which line the legendary Northern Gold Coast.

The Land and the People
Excerpted from the book, Tour Jamaica, by Margaret Morris

Jamaica is the largest English speaking island in the Caribbean: 600 miles south of Florida and less than two hours by plane from Miami. It is 146 miles long, between 22 to 55 miles wide and has considerable variation in landscape from the coral sands and ironshore cliffs of the shoreline, through coastal wetlands, plains and highlands to the misty peaks of the Blue Mountains. It has a maritime tropical climate. The warm trade winds that blow by day are called "sea breeze" or "doctor breeze". The average daily temperature varies according to elevation from a high of 86F at sea level to a low of 63F in the mountains. The average annual rainfall ranges from 300 inches on the eastern slopes of the Blue Mountains to 230 inches in some parts of the south coast. During the cooler months, December to March the island sometimes experiences northerners: chill winds and high seas associated with a cold front to the North. July to September are the warmest months, May and October are traditionally the rainy months and there was a time when you could set your clock by the afternoon rain during these months. Currently, the increasingly erratic weather patterns are attributed by some environmentalists to deforestation and global warming. The hurricane season is demarcated by the cautionary rhyme:

June too soon
July standby
August come it must
September remember
October all over

The last hurricane to hit the island was the savage Gilbert in September 1988.

HISTORY

The original inhabitants of Jamaica are believed to be the Arawaks who came from South America 2500 years ago. They called it Xaymaca which meant "land of wood and water." The Spaniards who succeeded them wrote this phonetically, and substituted J for X. Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1492 and claimed it for Spain. The Spaniards were disappointed that there was no gold and did little to develop the island. A few settlers cultivated cane and raised livestock. The gentle Arawaks were eliminated by overwork, brutality and European diseases. Many of them killed their children and drank poison rather than submit to slavery under the Spaniards. Africans were imported to replace them.

In 1655 a British expedition failed to conquer Santo Domingo but took Jamaica as a consolation prize. When the Spaniards fled the island they freed their African slaves who took to the hills and formed the nucleus of the Maroons. The early British colonists lived under constant threat of attack from the Spanish, the French, and freebooting pirates, hence the island is ringed with ancient forts. The latter part of the seventeenth century was the age of the buccaneers. Because England was perennially at war with France or Spain and the Royal Navy could not patrol the entire Caribbean, the Crown issued Letters of Marque to ship's captains, authorizing the capture and plunder of enemy vessels. Thus the pirates became "buccaneers" and graduated to become "privateers". One former buccaneer, Henry Morgan, actually became Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica in 1674.

During the eighteenth century, British landowners made vast fortunes out of sugar and great numbers of African slaves were imported to work on the plantations. After a long campaign spearheaded by non-conformist missionaries in Jamaica and Liberal politicians in England, the slaves received their freedom towards the middle of the nineteenth century. Jamaica remained a British Colony with a governor until granted Independence in 1962. Major legacies of the British are: the parliamentary system, the judicial system, and the game of "cricket, lovely cricket."

POPULATION

The vast majority of Jamaicans are of African descent or mixed race. Other groups include East Indians, Chinese and European. Hence the national motto, "Out of Many, One People." The current population is estimated at 2.5 million.

In the past the population growth has been modified by emigration to North America or the U.K. Currently, due to tough economic conditions in those countries, many Jamaicans are repatriating.

Arawaks

The original inhabitants of Jamaica were gentle, pleasure loving people who liked dancing and playing ball games. They believed in an afterlife and sometimes strangled a dying chief to speed him into paradise. They hunted, cultivated a few crops and fished. Their canoes were made by burning and chiselling out the trunks of silk cotton trees, a method that is still used today. Another legacy of the Arawaks is bammy, a thick pancake made from cassava and delicious fried with fish.

Maroons

The name comes from the Spanish "cimmaron" meaning wild or untamed. When the British invaded the island in 1655 the African slaves of the Spanish colonists escaped into the hills and lived a wild, free life. Some of them helped their former masters in guerilla warfare against the British. One such was Juan de Bolas, whose subsequent defection to the British side hastened the final exodus of the Spaniards.

In time the Maroons came to control large areas of the interior and would swoop down from the hills to raid the plantations and kidnap women. Runaway slaves also found a refuge with them. The two main groups were the Trelawny Town Maroons led by Kojo (alias Cudjoe) and the Windward Maroons led by Queen Nanny and later by Quao. The Maroons were skilled hunters and fierce fighters and the British Army and local militia were unable to control or conclusively defeat them. Indian hunters and their dogs had to be imported from Central America to track them in the bush. The first Maroon War ended with a treaty that ceded large areas of land to the Maroons. In turn, they had to promise to recapture and return all runaway slaves and help the government in the event of an invasion. The land ceded to the Maroons was around Flagstaff in Trelawny and was named Trelawny Town, and at Accompong in St. Elizabeth. Accompong remains Maroon territory to this day, but after the Second Maroon War, the Trelawny Town land was taken away and most of the male Maroons exiled to Canada and then to Africa. The remnants of their families settled nearby in a district now known as Maroon Town. The land given to the Windward Maroons was around Moore Town, Charles Town and Scott's Hall. Of these, Moore Town is the only sizeable Maroon settlement left. Maroon land is held in common and they are not required to pay taxes.

THE LANGUAGE

The language of Jamaica is English though you may sometimes find this difficult to believe. Students of dialect maintain that the patois varies from parish to parish and even from yard to yard. Jamaica Talk is a synthesis of several influences: Old English and nautical terms such as "breadkind" and "catch to"; Spanish as in "shampata" from, zapatos (shoes); Irish dialect as in "nyampse" (a fool); African as in "duppy" (a ghost) or "nyam" (to eat), and American slang such as "cool" elaborated as "cool runnings" or "diss" as in disrespect. Rastafarian "I-dren" (brethren) have their own language and one word that you will hear frequently is "Irie" meaning good, happy, pleasant or high. The traditional Rasta greeting "Peace and Love" is giving way to "Respect due". Dance-hall, Jamaica's latest musical phenomenon, has its own ever evolving language. Though influenced by American "rappers", much of it is entirely indigenous, for example "Browning" which describes any light-skinned girl; to "big-up" a person means to praise or advertise them, and "flex" meaning behaviour or deportment.

RELIGION

It is said that there are more churches per square mile in Jamaica than anywhere in the world. The variety of houses of worship covers everything from centuries old parish churches to the bamboo and zinc shacks of Revivalists. The vast majority of believers belong to one of the numerous Christian denominations: the traditional groups being Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Seventh Day Adventists and United Church (Presbyterian). There are also numerous Evangelical groups as well as Moravians, Mennonites, Plymouth Brethren, Unity and Jehovah Witnesses. Other religious groups include Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Bahai's and Rastafarians.

Rastafari

Rastafari is an indigenous religion which emerged during the 1930s as a grass roots answer to social conditions and the irrelevance of white-oriented denominations. Basic tenets include the divinity of the late Emperor Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari) of Ethiopia, re-incarnation, and a taboo against males cutting or combing their hair or beards. However, Rasta is an evolving and subjective religion and not all Rastas embrace all of these. Rastafari has been used as a cover by criminals, and as a publicity gimmick by pop musicians, but in its pristine form it is a valid faith which emphasizes the indwelling God Spirit in every person. Rastafaris developed their own version of the Jamaican dialect in which "I" is a frequent pre-fix. (For example "I and I" or "I-man" meaning I or myself and "I-dren" meaning children or brethren). "I-tal" food is vegetarian cooking without salt. Many Rastas regard the use of marijuana as a sacrament and aid to meditation.

NATIONAL HEROES

The order of National Hero of Jamaica was created in 1965. The first heroes named were Sir Alexander Bustamante and Norman Washington Manley, the founders of the two political parties and architects of independent Jamaica. Named at the same time were: Paul Bogle, a farmer and preacher who led the so-called Morant Bay Rebellion, George William Gordon, an ex-member of the House of Assembly who was hung for alleged complicity in the Morant Bay Rebellion, and Marcus Garvey, a journalist and printer who emigrated to the United States and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association. In 1975 two more were created: Sam Sharpe, the involuntary leader of the Christmas Rebellion in 1831 and Nanny, chieftainess of the Windward Maroons though historical evidence of the lady is non-existent.

Jamaica’s National Heroes dared to challenge the institution of colonialism and in so doing changed the course of Jamaica’s history giving social and political freedom to its people. Today, the statues of Jamaica’s seven National Heroes stand in proud acknowledgment, in the National Heroes Park in Kingston where they are viewed with inspiring pride, unforgettable symbols of Jamaica’s enduring strength.

PAUL BOGLE
birth date uncertain-died 1865.
Paul Bogle, a Baptist Deacon was generally regarded as a peaceful man who shunned violence. He believed in the teachings of the Bible, endorsing the principles of charity and endurance. Yet he was also a leader and organizer who knew well the terrains of the land and had spent time in educating and training his followers. He lived in St. Thomas and led the Morant Bay Rebellion in 1865.

GEORGE WILLIAM GORDON
1820-1865.
George William Gordon was a free colored land owner and an associate of Bogle. As a member of the House of Parliament, he used his position to highlight the sufferings of the people and to make a plea for changes. The Morant Bay Rebellion and the resultant deaths of Bogle and Gordon precipitated the beginning of a new era in Jamaica’s development. The British government became compelled to make changes including outstanding reforms in education, health, local government, banking and infrastructure.

NANNY
lived and died in Nanny Town.
Nanny of the Maroons stands out in history as the only female among Jamaica’s national heroes. She possessed that fierce fighting spirit generally associated with the courage of men. In fact, Nanny is described as a fearless Asante warrior who used militarist techniques to foul and beguile the English. Like the heroes of the pre Independence era, Nanny too met her untimely death at the instigation of the English sometime around 1734. Yet, the spirit of Nanny of the Maroons remains today as a symbol of that domitable desire that will never yield to captivity.

SAMUEL SHARPE
1801-1932
‘Daddy’ Sam Sharpe, as he was affectionately called was to carry on the Resistance against slavery effecting at the young age of 31, the most outstanding Slave Rebellion in Jamaica’s history. Sharpe, an educated town slave, was a preacher and spokesman. Intelligent and sharp, he followed the developments of the abolition movement by reading discarded local and foreign papers and was able to advise his followers. Sharpe was tired of slavery, spent months in strategic planning, educating the slaves and traveling from estate to estate in secret meetings at nights, igniting the slaves with inspiring messages of hope of freedom. The 1831 Christmas Rebellion started in St. James and spread throughout the entire island. The Rebellion started on December 28 and lasted 8 days. Sam Sharpe was eventually captured and hung at the Parade in Montego Bay (now renamed Sam Sharpe Square). On August 28, 1833 slavery was abolished and the System of Apprenticeship instituted, allowing for the total freedom of slaves in the next 4-6 years. On August 1, 1938 the Apprenticeship System ended granting full freedom to the slaves.

SIR ALEXANDER BUSTAMANTE
1884-1977
Alexander Bustamante was an aggressive, outspoken young man who understood the dynamics of labor relations. A charismatic and impressive speaker, he used the media to criticize the prevailing political system and its attendant social problems. He started the Industrial Trade Union in 1938 and was jailed for 17 moths following labor riots. He became Jamaica’s first Chief Minister, a position he held until 1954, being knighted that same year by the queen. On August 6, 1962 Jamaica was granted full independence. At the first session of Parliament, Bustamante received the Instruments of Independence from the queen’s representative, Princess Margaret. This time in Jamaica’s history drastic changes were heralded, not by bloodshed but by peaceful negotiations.

NORMAN WASHINGTON MANLEY
1893-1969.
Norman Washington Manley founded the People’s National Party which later was tied to the Trade Union Congress and the N.W. U. Together with Bustamante, their efforts resulted in the New Constitution of 1944 granting full Adult Suffrage. In 1955 Manley was elected Chief Minister. The 400 year British Rule, invoking slavery, deculturisation, uprising and bloodshed was not at an end.

MARCUS MOSIAH GARVEY
1887-1940.
Marcus Mosiah Garvey stands out in history as one who was greatly committed to the concept of the Emancipation of minds. Garvey who was born in St. Ann became famous worldwide as a leader who was courageous and eloquent in his call for improvement for Blacks. He sought the unification of all Blacks through the establishment of the United Negro Improvement Association and spoke out against economic exploitation and cultural denigration. He spent many years in the United States pursuing his goal of Black Unification.