Before the European discovery of the New World and Columbus' arrival to Jamaica in May 1494, about 100,000 Arawak Indians
inhabited the island. They came from South America 2500 years ago and lived in simple communities based on fishing, hunting and
small-scale cultivation of cassava.
However, the first 70-80 years of Spanish colonization were traumatic and fatal for these gentle and peaceful people - they were
totally exterminated by disease, slavery and war. Nothing, but a few artifacts, rock paintings and names of the places remained from
that period. The most prominent trace of Arawak legacy is the name of the island, derived from the Arawak Xaymaca, which means "land
of wood and water."
Colonization under Spanish rule was slow. Disappointed by the absence of gold on the island, the Spanish used Jamaica as a base for
supporting the conquest of the Americas, particularly Mexico with its treasures of gold and silver.
The population of the Spanish
settlement, including their slaves, was never large. It was administered from the Town of Santiago de la Vega, now called Spanish Town.
Much of the original architecture is still evident today in the town square. African slaves were imported in large scales to overcome
labor shortage after the extirpation of the Indians.
An English naval force under Sir William Penn captured Jamaica in 1655. By this time, the island was of little significance to the
Spanish crown and very little was done to defend it against the British. When the Spaniards fled the island they freed their African
slaves who took to the hills and formed the tribes, known as Maroons, meaning untamed and cruel ones.
The early British colonists lived under constant threat of attack from Spanish and French troops, pirates and Maroons; hence the island
is ringed with old forts. During final decades of the 17th century, growing numbers of English immigrants arrived - sugar, cacao,
tobacco, coffee and other agricultural industries rapidly expanded. The consequent demand for plantation labor led to large-scale
importation of black slaves. Jamaica itself not only absorbed nearly one million slaves but also became a huge trans-shipment center
for slaves for other colonies in the Americas. Sugar and slavery made Jamaica one of the most valuable possessions in the world.
Plantation slavery was based on the Triangular trade among England (manufactured goods), Africa (slaves), and the Caribbean (sugar),
which itself was the basis for what later emerged as the international economy. International trade was so important to the Jamaican
economy that when the American war of independence disrupted trade between what was then the "North American colonies" and the
Caribbean, 15,000 slaves died of starvation in Jamaica alone.
Unbearable and harsh conditions of estate (plantation) slavery raised numerous mass rebellions, which were put down with brutality.
This was accompanied by Maroon wars and protests of British liberals. The longstanding struggle against slavery resulted in its final
abolishment in the year 1834.
The transition from the slave economy caused economic chaos, with most slaves dying of starvation. Slaves were finally freed, but had
no land and thus no political rights. The following century was marked by the struggle of the ex-slaves for their right to live. The
governmental forces killed thousands; hundreds of rebellions were mercilessly stifled, until the British Empire and the Jamaican
plantation owners had to recognize the necessity for political changes.
After a long period of direct British colonial rule, Jamaica gained a degree of local political power in the late 1930s. But at that
time it was entailed by mass and fierce rebellions, a reaction to the world economic crisis. The first elections under full universal
adult suffrage were held in 1944. Jamaica joined nine other UK territories in the West Indies
Federation in 1958, but withdrew after
Jamaican voters rejected membership in 1961. Jamaica gained independence in 1962, remaining a member of the Commonwealth.
The first decades of Jamaican independent policy were marked by conflicts and contradictions. The search of the national political line
and economic policy fluctuated from the leftist pro-Cuban ultra-socialist to monetary policy, determined by the IMF and the US. The
polarization of the Jamaican society during the period of 60s-80s, entailed by instable internal situation and an extremely low living
standard, caused bloody demonstrations and explosions of violence. The economy was substantially deregulated, the currency was devalued,
and international debts grew enormously.
However, from 1980, the government sought assistance from the IMF and the World Bank, and since then these two institutions, along with
the USAID, has determined the policy framework of the government. Today the government continues to carry out free market development
policies, but Jamaica is still considered to be an under-developed country and poverty is high on agenda.
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