Jamaica

Jamaica

The country of Jamaica has an ideal location. Located justsouth of Cuba, it is the third largest island in the Caribbean Sea with10,990 km². Although the capital is Kingston, there are many otherimportant centers of trade and business. The official language is Englishand the major religion is Protestantism. Transportation in Jamaica connectsthe entire country and movement thought out the island is very easy. Thereis a coastal highway traveling the whole coast. Air Jamaica and cruiseships make traveling to and from the island very easy. But despite all ofthe joys, there are very serious human-environmental interactions present.Mining on the island causes serve pollution and soil erosion. Most of thenatural rainforest is destroyed. But the many beautiful beaches seem tomake all of the worries disappear. I. History The history of Jamaica startsat about 1000 AD when a Tiano tribe called the Arawaks crossed theCaribbean Sea in canoes to settle on the island. The Arawaks lived insimple villages, relying on fishing and hunting for substance. They livedthere peacefully for 500 years until Columbus landed at Discovery Bay in1494. The contact with the Spanish was very traumatic to the Arawaks.Within 70 to 100 years of first contact, the entire Arawaks population waseliminated, leaving only a few artifacts behind. With the naturalinhabitants gone, the Spanish had unlimited control over the island. Sincethe island had no rich abundant gold sources, it meant little to theSpanish Crown. Instead, Jamaica was used as a base in which to launchattacks on the rest of the Americas. The population of Jamaica, even itscapital Santiago de la Vega (now Spanish Town) never grew very large andwas easy to capture. The British, after failed to capture Hispaniola,needed a solid base in the Caribbean. So in 1655, Admirals Penn and

Venables attacked the sparsely defended island of Jamaica. Having littleimportance to the Spanish at this point, the British had no trouble seizingthe island and establishing Port Royal (near modern day Kingston) as thecapital. This would turn out to be a pivotal moment in Jamaica’s history.The British brought in large numbers of slaves to the area, needingthousands of hands to work the newly developing sugar plantations. In ashort time, Jamaica turned into the “‘jewels of the English crown’”(Essix). Many port cities back in England that serviced trade to Jamaica,as well as the slave traders and plantation owners all prospered duringthis time. The capital city of Jamaica was moved to modern day Kingston in1703 when Port Royal was burned down 1838 saw great changes in Jamaica.That year the slaves were emancipated and the whole structure of societybegan to crumble. The slaves soon left the plantations to do substancefarming. The tension between the plantations owners and the representativesfrom England began to grow. Several riots broke out and many plantationsstruggled to pay the wages of the workers. The riots continued until 1962when Jamaica was granted political independence. A socialist government wassoon elected, which led to immediate U.S. blockades. However, the 1980’sbegan a period of a more conservative government for Jamaica. II.Population Jamaica is a sparsely populated country of 2,600,000 people.These 2.6 million people live on 10,990 km², for a population density ofabout 1 acre per person. This gives Jamaica the distinction of being adeveloped countries and being not being overpopulated. However, in someplaces of Jamaica, especially along the coast, the cities are overcrowded.The largest city is Kingston with a population of 600,000 followed bySpanish Town, Portmore, Montego Bay and others (see graph 6). Still thelargest percentage of people live in rural areas. However, many ruralfarmers are moving to the cities in search of work. Jamaica has many ethnicgroups living with its boundaries. The largest group, about 75% of thepopulation, are descendants of the slaves brought to Jamaica in the 1800’s.Another large percentage of the population is composed of descendants ofthe European settlers from around the same time period. Over time, smallpercentages of people from East India and China have settled in Jamaica.The 1940’s to 1970’s saw a large emigration pattern out of Jamaica to theUnited States. As many as 465,000 Jamaicans left to help in thereconstruction of the States’ economy after World War II. Since that time,no large scale immigration or emigration has occurred within the Jamaicanpopulation. The average male in Jamaica has a life expectancy of 73 years,compared to his female counterpart of 77 years. The birth rate of Jamaicais 20/1,000, compared to its death rate of 5/1,000. This gives Jamaica a.7% growth rate. Jamaica has a high literacy rate of 98%, but amalnourished children rate of 7% and an infant mortality rate of 14 deathsto 1,000 births. Jamaica has a regressive population pyramid. About 33% ofthe population is under 15, while 7% of it is over 65. This leaves 60%between the ages of 16 and 64. Some 16% of this ideal work force (about 1.5million Jamaicans) is unemployed, while Jamaica’s debt continues to grow.Not helped by this fact is that the per capita income in Jamaica is only US$1,340. III. Culture The national motto of Jamaica “Out of many, onepeople” has never been more true in any point in its history than it isnow. Almost every creed and religion of people live somewhere on the islandcountry. These people all speak the national language of English, butseveral variations can be found on the island. Protestantism is thepredominant religion on the island. However, most Christian religions canbe found on this island “which has more churches per square mile than anyother country in the world” (Caribbean 209). Recently, small groups ofMuslims, Jews, Hindu and Bahai have immigrated into the country. TheRastafarians are a unique and original cult based in Jamaica. These peoplefollow the teachings of Ras Tafari, once a leader of Ethiopia. Many membersof this cult keep their hair in long dreadlocks and have strict rules fordress, work and religion. They often make a living selling goods at market,including ganja, a potent form of marijuana, that is important in theirreligious ceremonies. Jamaican’s are very proud of their artisticabilities. Such music stars as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Ernie Smith allhail from Jamaica. Edna Manley and Kapo have brought Jamaica greatattention with their fine artistic abilities. Most of these people, withmore planned in the future, are being aided by the Jamaica CulturalDevelopment Commission. Set up in the 1930’s, the commission and thegovernment have worked hard to promote cultural expression and pride withinthe Jamaican population. Aside from being attracted to Jamaica by all ofits culture, many tourists flock to the island’s many beaches. A largenumber of fine resorts can be found along the northern coast betweenMontego Bay and Ocho Rios. Negril and Port Antonio are also hot spots forcollege spring-breakers. All of these cities are frequently visited by themany cruise ships that tour the Caribbean. The city of Kingston isJamaica’s cultural center. The African Caribbean Institute and theInstitute of Jamaica are leaders in historical and cultural research.Jamaica’s National Library and National Gallery also call Kingston home.The National Dance Theater attracts people in and to Kingston to watch itsnightly summer shows. In addition to all of its fine cultural experiences,Jamaica is well known for its many water sports. Tourists and inhabitantsalike enjoy water skiing on the Caribbean Sea. Jamaica also hosts theInternational Marlin Tournament in Port Antonio. The best fishermen in theworld come to compete in this yearly event. Many fine year-round golfcourse add beauty to Jamaica’s many resorts. Cricket is a popular sport inJamaica as is winter bobsledding. Jamaica’s government is classified as aParliamentary Democracy. The citizens elect a prime minister and a sixty-seat House of Representatives and a 21-seat Senate. The prime minister hasthe power to elect his own cabinet. A Head-of-State is selected by theBritish Crown and represents England during government meeting orprocesses. The mining of bauxite is Jamaica’s principal industry. Theworld’s third largest producer of bauxite, Jamaica depends on it because itconstitutes 46% of their total exports and 33% of their Gross NationalProduct. Along with bauxite mining is alumina mining. Alumina miningaccounts for 20% of Jamaica’s GNP. Slowly developing are Jamaica’smanufacturing and agricultural industries. Jamaica produces rum,cigarettes, beer and many cash crops. Thanks to a big government sponsoredagricultural development plan, farming is once again making a come back asa major industry in Jamaica. Education is free to all Jamaican children.Those wishing to further their education can attend the University of theWest Indies or Kingston Technical College. Many students attend schools inthe United States and England. IV. Climate Jamaica is a land with manyclimatic variances within a small area. Its tropical climate produces anaverage temperature in Kingston of 79°F. Temperatures will get warmer asyou move along the coast and closer to the equator. However, as you moveinward and into the mountains, the temperature will drop sharply.Precipitation on the island of Jamaica can be scarce as well as abundant.Problems with both flash floods and droughts are common in some areas. Thesouth and southwestern coasts are hot and dry. Kingston receives about 33inches of rain a year, as a result of the orographic effect of the BlueMountains. Some parts of Jamaica can and usually do receive upwards of 100inches of rain. All of this rain makes Jamaica one of the wettest places onthe earth. Many of the beaches in Jamaica experience refreshing sea breezesand winds. These winds are a welcome in the summer when the humidity canbecome high. The sea breezes are most commonly found on the beaches nearthe Blue Mountains. The hot air from the water wants to move inland, whilethe cooler mountain air wants to move down to the ocean. Jamaica has neverhad trouble with tornadoes. Unfortunately, the city lays within the majorhurricane paths. Port Royal was frequently struck by hurricanes and in 1951a major hurricane severely damaged Kingston. Adding to this mess,earthquakes are a frequent occurrence in Jamaica. For all its beauty,Jamaica is always at risk from these extremes. V. Landforms Jamaica hassome of the most varied terrain that can be found anywhere. The CaribbeanSea, which encircles the entire island, produces some of the most beautifulbeaches in the world. This is where many tourists flock to on vacations andwhere many Jamaicans make their living. On the southeastern part of theisland are the Blue Mountains, with peaks rising up to 7,400 feet. One suchpeak, Blue Mountain Peak, is 7,402 feet. The mountains were once covered ina dense forest that provided work for many of Jamaica’s first settlers.Located in the central part of Jamaica is an area known as the cockpitcountry. It is a rugged, limestone terrain, covered in some parts bymangrove swamps or ancient tar pits. Inhabited by only a small group ofslave descendents, the area is cut off from most of Jamaican society.Savannas dominate the western coast. The island of Jamaica has many rivers,but no complex river system. The Black River, Rio Minho, Cobra River andRio Grande River all have major cities located them, but not much else.Most of the rivers start in the Blue Mountains or Cockpit Country and flowinto the Caribbean Sea. Discovery Bay is an important historical landformand popular tourist attraction in the northern part of the island. Towardsthe southern part of the island many unique bays and peninsulas can befound. The most noticeable peninsula, The Palisados, was the formerlocation of Port Royal. Today it serves as an international airport andtourist attraction. Near The Palisados, he Portland Bight has manyspectacular beaches and is a common cruise ship dock area. In conclusion,Jamaica is a very interesting country. It has a vivid and adventuroushistory from the Arawaks, to the Spanish and finally to the British. Thehistory is full of conquest and prosperity to reform and richness. Just asrich as the history of Jamaica is the population that lives within it. Forthe largest ethnic background lives peacefully with the smallest. Jamaicais not plagued by illiteracy or starvation, but by growth and prosperity.Jamaicans also enjoy a rich culture. Their talents in art and music isundeniable. They take great pride in their the total Jamaican culture, nomatter what one’s religion might be. Many sports are popular in Jamaica,from marlin fishing to bobsledding. All of these activities are possible,thanks to Jamaica’s varied climate and landforms. Living in Jamaica wouldbe a joy for me. The people are friendly and there are numerous sports topartake in. I would enjoy experiencing all of the cultural stimulation thatis present in Jamaica.