Jamaica is a Caribbean island nation, settled by Arawaks 3,000 years ago. The British colonized the island, with the sugar and coffee trade booming the economy. Jamaica gained independence in 1962 and has since implemented economic reforms. It is a popular tourist destination with beautiful beaches and is easily accessible by air and sea.
Jamaica is a medium-sized island nation in the Caribbean. It covers 4,200 square miles (11,000 square km), making it a little less than twice the size of the state of Delaware. It is found near the islands of Hispaniola and Cuba and east of Central America.
The Arawaks first settled the island of Jamaica, which they called Xamayca, the land of wood and water, about 3,000 years ago. The first European to arrive on the island was Christopher Columbus in 1494, who immediately claimed it for Spain. The first colonies were established in the early 16th century. The Europeans quickly began subjugating the Arawaks, massacring many indiscriminately, killing others through disease, and capturing the rest as slaves. Shortly after settlement, African slaves were also brought to the island to work the land.
From the mid-16th century onwards, Jamaica became a favorite target of British pirates and privateers. The islands were beautiful and bountiful, and thus offered pirates an ideal place to anchor for supplies. By the mid-17th century the British had taken control of the island and invited buccaneers to the island to help repel Spanish attacks. When the British drove out the Spanish, many Spaniards left their slaves behind, and they fled to the mountains of Jamaica to join the escaped Arawaks and form Maroon colonies.
The British continued colonization of the island, eventually gaining control over all but the Maroon-dominated mountains and hills. The British signed a peace treaty with the Maroons, guaranteeing them land and security and offering a bounty for every escaped slave they returned.
Jamaica flourished for the next two centuries, with the sugar and coffee trade booming the island’s economy. Major slave revolts plagued the island in the 18th and early 19th centuries, eventually leading to the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire in 1834.
Beginning in the 1940s, Jamaica began to see greater autonomy within the British Empire. Local elections were held by universal suffrage and Jamaica began the path to independence. In the late 1950s Jamaica joined the West Indies Federation, but soon withdrew, eventually achieving full independence in 1962.
Since the 1980s Jamaica has instituted a series of economic reforms, aimed at reducing inflation and stabilizing economic growth. The Jamaican economy has grown slowly but steadily over the past decade, and the nation appears to be experiencing a period of expansive growth in recent years.
Jamaica is one of the busiest Caribbean destinations and has the tourism infrastructure that entails. It’s a great destination for all travel styles, from those who want huge private villas with sweeping views, to those who just want a hammock somewhere by the water. There are fantastic clubs on the island, and if you like Reggae music this is, needless to say, the place to be.
Most of the tourist activities revolve around the beauty of the beaches and the water, and you don’t have to search far to find them. The famous Blue Lagoon is here and it’s absolutely gorgeous, but the same can be said for nearly every stretch of beach on the island.
Jamaica is very well connected to major airports around the world and flights arrive daily from most hubs. A veritable chain of cruise ships also call at the island, and it’s a popular destination for boaters, making it quite easy to reach by sea as well.
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