Christopher Columbus discovered Jamaica on his second voyage to the West Indies in 1494. He tried to land at what is now called St. Ann's Bay, but was driven off by fierce Indians. The next day he sailed down the coast to Discovery Bay, where the Indians eventually traded with him. Spanish settlers later enslaved and ill treated the Arawaks so that they soon all died out.

The Maroons, Spanish slaves who were armed and freed to help attack the English; lived in mountainous western Jamaica, known as Cockpit Country. From here a successful guerrilla warfare against the British was fought. Nearly 100 years later they were accorded a Treaty of Independence and, ironically, joined the authorities in hunting down runaway slaves.

The English under Admiral Penn and General Venables captured Jamaica from the Spanish in 1655. The island suffered attacks and repulsion's for the next 15 years. There was already slavery in Jamaica, but with the introduction of the sugar crop a large labour force of African was imported.
During the slave trade and the English/Spanish wars, Port Royal was the Headquarters of the most blood thirsty pirates. Henry Morgan and Captain Kidd were among the famous buccaneers. In this city of wealth there were run-away bondsmen, cast-a-ways, escaped criminals and refugees from all nations.

In 1692, Port Royal, developed by the English and known as one of the wickedest and richest cities of the world, was almost totally devastated by an earthquake. More than a quarter of the population of 8000 lost lives. The government abandoned the stricken port, and founded a new settlement across the harbour, soon to be known as Kingston.

The first Spanish settlement, Seville La Nueva in St. Ann's Bay dated 1510 was abandoned and moved to St. Jago de la Vega. Now known as Spanish Town. No Spanish buildings remain but by the 1800's it looked like this. Kings House on the right, built by the English in 1761 was the site where in 1838 the abolition of slavery was announced.

The Morant Bay Rebellion broke out in 1865 and ended with the hanging of George William Gordon and Paul Bogle. The English governor was dismissed as a result. 1838-1865 is called the Dark Age of Jamaica. The island's two hundred year old constitution was given up in exchange for a crown colony toward the end of 1865.

Road to Independence. In 1938 Alexander Bustamante led the people in revolt, protesting against extremely poor economic conditions. These upheavals resulted in lasting labour Unions and political parties. On the 6th of August 1962 Jamaica was granted a constitution making it an independent sovereign state.

Jamaica is rich in bauxite, bananas, sugar and coffee, the tourist Industry being a major contributor to the economy.
Headquarters for the International Sea-Bed Authority
Jamaica was chosen as the Headquarters for the International Sea-Bed Authority. The first attempt to define the Law of the sea was made in 1609. Ten no nation could claim sovereignty beyond its own territorial Sea, usually three miles, the distance traditionally thought as the range of a cannon.

This doctrine remained dominant for over 300 years. To modernize the Law of the Sea there have been recent numerous conferences, debates and modifications. These culminated in the signing of the convention of the Law of the Sea, which took place in Montego Bay, Jamaica in December, 1982.

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:

Total area: 10,990 sq. km

Land area: 10,830 sq. km

Comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,022 km

Maritime claims:

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: none

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone

Land use:

Arable land: 19%

Permanent crops: 6%

Meadows and pastures: 18%

Forest and woodland: 28%

Other: 29%

Irrigated land: 350 sq. km (1989 est.)

Environment:

Current issues: deforestation; water pollution

Natural hazards: subject to hurricanes (especially July to November)

International agreements: party to - Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

Note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal

Population growth rate: 1.02% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 21.69 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 5.62 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 16.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

Total population: 74.36 years

Male: 72.16 years

Female: 76.68 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.41 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Nationality:

Noun: Jamaican(s)

Adjective: Jamaican

Ethnic divisions: African 76.3%, Afro-European 15.1%, East Indian and Afro-East Indian 3%, white 3.2%, Chinese and Afro-Chinese 1.2%, other 1.2%

Religions: Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other, including some spiritual cults 39.1% (1982)

Languages: English, Creole

Literacy: age 15 and over having ever attended school (1990 est.)

Total population: 98%

Male: 98%

Female: 99%

Labor force: 1,062,100

By occupation: services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%, unemployed 17.5% (1989)

Conventional long form: none

Conventional short form: Jamaica

Digraph: JM

Type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Kingston

Administrative divisions: 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland

Independence: 6 August 1962 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day (first Monday in August) (1962)

Constitution: 6 August 1962

Legal system: based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:

Chief of state: Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Cooke (since 1 August 1991)

Head of government: Prime Minister P. J. Patterson (since 30 March 1992); Deputy Prime Minister Seymour Mullings (since NA)

Cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament

Senate: consists of a 21-member body appointed by the governor general

House of Representatives: N/A

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: People's National Party (PNP) P. J. Patterson; Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward Seaga

Other political or pressure groups: Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists); New Beginnings Movement (NBM)

Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-19, G-77, GATT, G-15, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:

Chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Leighton Bernal

Chancery: Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006

Telephone: (202) 452-0660

FAX: (202) 452-0081

Consulate(s) general: Miami and New York

US diplomatic representation:

Chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Lacy A. Wright, Jr.

Embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston

Mailing address: use Embassy street address

Telephone: (809) 929-4850 through 4859

FAX: (809) 926-6743

Flag: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side)

The economy is based on sugar, bauxite, and tourism. In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert inflicted severe damage on crops and the electric power system, a sharp but temporary setback to the economy. By October 1989 the economic recovery from the hurricane was largely complete, and real growth was up to about 3% for 1989. In 1991, however, growth dropped to 0.2% as a result of the US recession, lower world bauxite prices, and monetary instability. In 1992, growth was 1.2%, supported by a recovery in tourism and stabilization of the Jamaican dollar in the second half of 1992.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $8 billion (1992 est.)

National product real growth rate: 1.2% (1992 est.)

National product per capita: $3,200 (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate: 15.4% (1992)

Budget:

Revenues: $600 million

Expenditures: $736 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.)

Exports: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1992)

Commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum

Partners: US 40%, UK 14%, Germany 10%, Canada 10%, Norway 7%

Imports: $1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992)

Commodities: fuel, other raw materials, construction materials, food, transport equipment, other machinery and equipment

Partners: US 53%, UK 5%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 5%, Japan 4.0%

External debt: $4.5 billion (1992 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 2% (1990); accounts for almost 25% of GDP

Electricity:

Capacity: 1,127,000 kW

Production: 2.736 trillion kWh

Consumption per capita: 1,090 kWh (1992)

Industries: tourism, bauxite mining, textiles, food processing, light manufactures

Agriculture: accounts for about 7% of GDP, 23% of work force, and 17% of exports; commercial crops - sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; livestock and livestock products include poultry, goats, milk; not self-sufficient in grain, meat, and dairy products

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine from Central and South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active cannabis eradication program

Economic aid:

Recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.2 billion; other countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.6 billion

Currency: 1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1 -32.758 (31 December 1993), 22.960 (1992), 12.116 (1991), 7.184 (1990), 5.7446 (1989)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Highways:

Total: 18,200 km

Paved: 12,600 km

Unpaved: gravel 3,200 km; improved earth 2,400 km

Pipelines: petroleum products 10 km

Ports: Kingston, Montego Bay, Port Antonio

Merchant marine: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,618 GRT/16,215 DWT, bulk 2, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

Airports:

Total: 40

Usable: 27

With permanent-surface runways: 10

With runways over 3,659 m: 0

With runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2

With runways 1,220-2,439 m: 1

Telecommunications: fully automatic domestic telephone network; 127,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 10 AM, 17 FM, 8 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 664,122; fit for military service 469,982; reach military age (18) annually 26,103 (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $19.3 million, 1% of GDP (FY91/92)