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This article, Jamaica, is property of Damon Redwood. |
- "Africa shall rise! Yuh nuh see seeh poor people-a get wise who nuh ramp with me again! King Selassie; Endorse de ghetto youth, make dem well brighttt! Jamaica shall rise! Jerusalem shall rise! Yuh nuh see seh jah-jah people-a get wise."
- — Jackson Borlinghathen singing a part of Alboroise's Rastafari anthem, mentions Jamaica
Jamaica's flag.
Jamaica (also pronounced as dʒəˈmeɪkə) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning only 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola (the island containing the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
Originally inhabited by the indigenous Arawak and Taíno people, the island came under Spanish rule following the arrival of the cruel Christopher Columbus in 1494. Many of the indigenous people died of diseases, and the Spanish transplanted African slaves to Jamaica as labourers. The island remained a possession of Spain until 1655, when England (later Great Britain) conquered it and renamed it Jamaica. Under British colonial rule, Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with its plantation economy highly dependent on African slaves. The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many freedmen chose to have subsistence farms rather than to work on plantations. Beginning in the 1840's, the British utilised Chinese and Indian indentured labour to work on plantations. The island achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August, 1962.
With 2.9 million people, Jamaica is the third-most populous Anglophone country in the Americas (after the United States of America and Canada), and the fourth-most populous country in the Caribbean. Kingston is the country's capital and largest city, with a population of 937,700 thousand. Jamaicans mainly have African ancestry, with significant European, Chinese, Indian, Lebanese, and mixed-race minorities. Due to a high rate of emigration for work since the 1960's, Jamaica has a large diaspora, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Jamaica is an upper-middle income country with an average of 4,3 million tourists a year.
Jamaica is a Commonwealth place, with Elizabeth II as its queen. Her appointed representative in the country is the Governor-General of Jamaica, an office held by Sir Patrick Allen since 2009. Andrew Holness has served as Prime Minister of Jamaica since March, 2016. Jamaica is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with legislative power vested in the bicameral Parliament of Jamaica, consisting of an appointed Senate and a directly elected House of Representatives.
Speaking stereotypical, Jamaica is known for weed, dreadlocks and reggae.
Characters from Jamaica[]
- Joe Felixson
- Nathan Felixson
- Rene
- Leroy Joe
- Bunny
- Little Jacob Hughes
- Read Badman
- The Yardies
- Jackson Borlinghathen
- Luis Goldie
- Jeffrey Northwell
- Percy
- Delroy
- Rupert
- Tinker Riley
- Lamar
- Jones Bamswigye
