THE HISTORY OF JAMAICA

 

        Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean. It is among the most popular and most visited islands in the Caribbean due its beautiful sceneries, culture, music, and most importantly its music originality. Everything in Jamaica has a historical background. From the island itself, to the different cultures in the area, the dances, music, and the people living in the country. They have an origin and a history where they came from hence forming the beautiful land of Jamaica. I have done a wide research on the history of the island and that is what I will be explaining today, just as the topic states.

 

 

        Jamaica was conquered by two countries within a span of half a decade. The first country to conquer Jamaica was Spain in the year 1655 during the Anglo-Spanish war. The Spanish ruled over Jamaica from 1655 to 1707 after which the British conquered Jamaica again and ruled over it from 1707 to 1962. It was in August 1962 when the Jamaicans got their independence from the British colony after constant rebellion from the African slaves. The Tainos were the first group to settle in Jamaica before its colonization. The tainos establish large sugarcane plantations which required slaves to work on them, so they brought in Indians and Africans who worked as slaves in the country and through that a generation grew. With time different groups started settling in Jamaica such as the Asian traders.

 

 

        Many years later, Jamaicans still portray their history in their culture, music, dance and even food. Back in the days, the main staple food of Tainos was fish, and the Africans mostly prepared goat. Still today the Ackee fish is one of the most popular dishes in Jamaica. No one can also deny the sweet curry goat which they skillfully prepare. Music was one thing that helped Jamaicans forget their problems, entertain themselves and at times it helped them speak out their rights. During 1970, Jamaica experienced social problems and it was through music that they aired their issues. A popular music genre emerged at the time from Jamaica "Reggae". Before reggae, the most popular song genre was the "Ska". To date reggae is still used for entertainment and listening to it helps people learn about social injustices and different social problems faced by Jamaicans. Having been colonized by English groups, it influenced their language whereby it is the largest English-speaking country in the Caribbean. Jamaican dance is a mix of Euro-African dances.

 

 

 

        To date, museums in Jamaica are the storage of the Island's history and if you would like to learn more about its history, be assured to find it all there. Some of the interesting facts I learned about Jamaica, is the origin of its name "Xaymaca" which was given by the Taino people who first settled there. The name Xaymaca meant "the land of wood and water", it was later when  the Spanish settled on the land, they changed the name to Jamaica. I also learned that Jamaica is the origin of reggae music and not only reggae, but also "Ska" music. Before I only thought Jamaican, music was only reggae.