Information about Jamaica

Jamaica Info...

Map details: Jamaica is directly south of Florida and Cuba. The length of Jamaica is about equal to the drive from St. Joseph to Ann Arbor. The width of Jamaica is about the distance from St. Joseph to Kalamazoo.

Historical stuff: Originally the Arawak and Taino people lived on the island. Columbus arrived in 1494 and claimed the island for Spain. The Spanish had forts on Jamaica and forced the people into slavery to get goods for Spain. In the 1650’s, the British took the island from Spain, and for the next 200 years, made Jamaica the world’s leading sugar-exporting, and slave-dependent nation. Slaves were brought from Africa, particularly when the Arawak and Taino population decreased from sickness (brought by Europeans). Today, 91% of Jamaicans claim African ethnicity, though the government is now trying to seek out those who are descendents of the original people to the island. Slavery was banned from the colony in 1834 (about 30 years before the same was true in the US!). Because of the influence of different countries on Jamaica, many Jamaicans today speak English patois (pronounced paetwa), which is influenced by British English, African languages, Spanish, and others.

Connection to Britain: Jamaica continued to be a part of the Commonwealth of Britain until 1962, when they became an independent country. However, they still call the British queen “Queen of Jamaica,” run a Parliament like Britain, drive on the left side of the road, compete in cricket internationally, speak English as the national language and have the royal anthem “God Save the Queen.” Since their independence, Jamaica has struggled to compete in the global economy and is considered a 3rd world country, meaning it is under-developed compared to the US and Western Europe in terms of economy, standard of living, education, health care, and industry. Jamaica is comparable to Mexico in its economic development, having a higher standard of living and more stable economy than many other third world countries.

Today, Kingston is the capital, and Montego Bay (where we’ll fly in) is another large city in the country. Crime in certain areas of the cities is extremely high, and the US government recommends tourists take extreme care to stay in designated areas and pay close attention to personal belongings. Theft is the main problem in tourist areas. Jamaicans can be aggressive, trying to convince tourists to buy items. Police can also be bribed to make decisions they might not otherwise. Therefore, it is important to stay with the group and use caution when dealing with Jamaicans not associated with the church or college.

Culture: Sixty-five percent of Jamaicans consider themselves Christians; this is close to the US, where 75% would claim Christianity as their religion. At the same time, there is a large Rastafari movement, which is a belief in God which focuses on African roots, and desireds a world of peace, love and harmony. Jamaican reggae singer Bob Marley spread this message in his songs. One of Jamaica’s largest global influences is through music, since reggae and ska, among other musical types, started there. But Jamaica also competes internationally in football (soccer to the US) and running (big winners and world record setters in 2008 Olympics). Jamaicans tend to be event and people oriented, low on crisis planning, and generally not concerned about time.