Language: English
Currency: Jamaican dollar (JMD)
Calling Code: +1-876
The Caribbean island of Jamaica lies south of Cuba
and west of Hispaniola. The island was discovered by Columbus on his
second voyage on May 5, 1494 and named Santiago. On his fourth
voyage in 1503, he was shipwrecked on the coast and persuaded the
Indians to support him with food by predicting a lunar eclipse. In
1509, the island was taken over by the Spanish, and by 1560 the
indigenous population had been almost completely wiped out. Jamaica
was taken over by the English as early as 1655 and formally ceded to
them in 1659. The island gained its independence in 1962.
Deteriorating economic conditions in the 1970s led to an increase in
crime rates and a decline in tourist numbers. After the Socialists
were voted out of office in 1980, subsequent governments tried to
open up the country economically. In the 1990s, corruption in
particular disrupted the country's democratic process.
The
north coast of the country is steep, the south coast is more varied
and surrounded by reefs. The interior is a picturesque hilly
country, which reaches a height of 2,256m in the densely forested
Blue Mountains.
Picturesque Blue Mountains is the largest mountain range in Jamaica that stretches for 28 miles.
Coyaba River Garden is contains many beautiful plants and numerous species of birds. A network of trails goes through this small piece of paradise.
Cranbrook Flower Forest covers an area of 130 acres of pristine forests, beautiful flowers and numerous species of birds.
Dunn's River Falls is one of the most remarkable and popular tourist destinations in Jamaica.
Green Grotto Caves in the heart of the Jamaican jungle were used by natives as a place of worship.
Jamaican capital of Kingston despite its modest size is one of the most interesting places in Jamaica. It encompasses all that Jamaica has to offer.
Negril's numerous resorts provides with gentler sea and shallow bays that break the ways. It is particularly helpful if you want to travel with kids or just prefer calmer seas.
Port Antonio is a quiet small town in Jamaica with several colonial buildings and beautiful beaches.
Port Royal is an old fort that was intended to stop piracy in the region. Due to its strategic location Port Royal was a hot bed for privateer action not only in Jamaica, but the whole Caribbean basin.
Rose Hall is a colonial mansion famous for its interesting history and paranormal activity that some claim is present here.
Royal Palm Reserve is a protected biosphere along Sheffield Road East of Negril in Jamaica. Royal Palm Reserve protects second largest wetland in Jamaica.
Shaw Park Botanical Gardens is a small piece of paradise overlooking a town of Murphy Hill.
In Jamaica, geologists have known about the "red, iron-rich earth"
since 1869. Between 1938 and 1942, the Jamaican businessman Alfred
D'Costa had soil samples taken on his farm in Lydford in the St. Ann's
administrative district, as there was hardly any grass growing on
various pastures and he wanted to increase the fertility of the soil.
The analyses showed a high aluminum content. The British colonial
authorities reported the results to England. In view of the wartime
importance, the ore deposits were transferred to the crown. However, no
ore was mined during World War II. However, the three American companies
Alcan (Aluminum Company of Canada), Kaiser and Reynolds bought up land
and began long-term investments for the future.
Bauxite is found
in Jamaica in the center of the island. The largest finds are in the
districts of St. Ann's, Manchester, St. Elizabeth and Trelawny, with
smaller deposits in Clarendon and St. Catherine. The ore occurs in the
highlands up to about 400m above sea level in minable quantities in the
limestone subsoil, which makes up 2/3 of the Jamaican land mass. The
total bauxite reserves in Jamaica are estimated at over 2,500 million
tons, and about 1,500 million tons are worth mining. The deposits are
red to reddish-brown in color, due to the iron content in the ore. The
bauxite lies on the surface in layers up to 40m thick, is soft and
therefore easy to mine in open-cast mines. It contains about 40-50%
aluminum and is mixed with silicon, calcium, magnesium and about 50%
iron oxide.
The bauxite soil is dug out with large cranes or
bucket wheel loaders. 50- and 85-ton humpback loaders or 110-ton
tractor-trailer units transport it to central loading stations on a
bauxite company's own road network. From there, it goes to the storage
stations via conveyor belts or wire rope carts.
In 1952, Reynolds exported the first bauxite via the port of Ocho
Rios. Kaiser began exporting a year later via its loading facilities in
Port Kaiser on the south coast. In the meantime, Alcan built the first
processing plant near its mines at Kirkvine in Manchester County and has
been shipping clay since 1953.
The toxic red mud used to be
pumped into the ground in the mined areas according to the "dig and
leave" principle. Some of these mud lakes are still visible today. The
Mount Rosser Red Mud Pond on the A1 state road near Ewarton has existed
since 1959, it is 36 hectares in size and measures 76 meters at its
deepest point. The Battersea Red Mud Pond near Mandeville is even larger
at 80 hectares. In the meantime, the red mud is deposited in terraces in
large open-air landfills in 3m thick layers and dried. The water is fed
back into the production cycle. After 25 to 30 years, the region can be
used for agriculture again.
By 1957, Jamaican bauxite production
had risen to 5 million tons, which corresponded to about 1/4 of the
world production of the same year, making Jamaica the world's leading
aluminum ore producer. In 1959, Alcan built a second processing plant in
Ewarton. From 1969, new plants were completed every two years: in 1969
in Nain, St. Elizabeth, where ALPART was formed from the consortium of
Kaiser, Reynolds and Anakonda; in 1971 in Magotty for Revere Copper &
Brass and in 1973 in Halse Hall, Clarendon for Alcoa.
In 1974,
Jamaica was the world's fourth largest supplier of bauxite, with 12
million tonnes, and the second largest exporter of alumina. The bauxite
industry still generates about 10% of Jamaica's gross national product,
although the number of employees has fallen from 6,900 in 1975 to just
3,400.
After Michael Manley took over the government in 1972, there were
significant changes in the bauxite industry. Although the ore deposits
had been state-owned since colonial times, the companies exploiting the
mineral were independent subsidiaries of US corporations. The Manley
government soon took over 51% of the shares of Kaiser and Reynolds, 7%
of Alcan and 6% of Alcoa. At the same time, it bought back a large part
of the land from the bauxite companies, but in return gave them mining
rights limited to 40 years.
In 1974, the Jamaican government
decided to set up control bodies. In 1976, the JBI -Jamaica Bauxite
Institute- began its work as an advisor to the government. JBM -Jamaica
Bauxite Mining- audits the assets and profits of the bauxite companies.
BATCO -The Bauxite and Aluminia Trading Company- audits and controls
bauxite and alumina sales on behalf of JBM. The emergence of CAP can be
seen in this context.
In 1974, following the worldwide explosion
in oil prices, the government increased its profits from the bauxite
industry by introducing a production tax. This tax was based on the
sales price of aluminum ingots on the world market. Since then, the tax
has been changed several times. The last change is particularly
significant because, in addition to the property tax of 33 1/3%, the
bauxite companies were also imposed a profit tax on their net earnings.
Revere Copper & Brass were the first to stop producing alumina in
Magotty. The processing plant was shut down after just a few years of
production. Today, all that remains is a pile of rust and scrap. In
1984, Reynolds also stopped production in Jamaica, and in 1985 the
government acquired Reynolds' plants in Ewarton and Kirkvine in order to
restart operations under its own management. All Reynolds Bauxite plants
are now owned by the West Indies Aluminia Company (WINDALCO). Alpart
ceased operations in the same year. However, in 1988 these plants were
restarted in a joint venture project between Kaiser, Jamaica (65%) and
Hydro Aluminium, Norway (35%). Kaiser Bauxite has since become St. Ann
Jamaica Bauxite Partners SAJBP. In 1985 CAP - Clarendon Aluminia
Production was formed, a government-owned agency tasked with producing
and selling alumina. CAP took over the idle plants from Alcoa and has
been a 50% shareholder since the company returned in 1988.
As a
result of Hurricane Dean in 2007 and exploding oil and caustic soda
prices, production fell by 2%, with a 9% increase in production forecast
for 2008.
The Jamaican mining law dates back to 1947, but has been amended several times over the years. It requires bauxite companies to restore the exploited land. Violations are punished with a fine of 4,500 US dollars per acre (about 10,000 euros per hectare). The first records of the recultivation of bauxite pits date back to 1968. The top 12 inches (30 cm) of topsoil must be stockpiled by the mining companies for restoration measures. These stockpiles must not exceed a height of 7.50 m and must be stored for a maximum of 11 years. Grass and sweet potatoes are recommended as the first crops to combat erosion, and cow dung and chicken manure have proven to be effective fertilizers. Bananas, beans, peanuts, vegetables, corn and yams can later be planted on the recultivated soil, or cattle can be grazed. Kaiser has so far reclaimed 947 acres (380 hectares) of land on the north coast for agricultural cultivation, with an annual growth rate of 200 acres, increasing to 300 acres from 1991. 588 houses have been built at various locations for the new landowners. 30,000 trees have been planted in a reforestation project, with another 70,000 to follow. Alcan is investing more capital in livestock farming. 4,600 cattle graze on 1,500 hectares, of which 1,750 are dairy cows, which produced 6 million liters of milk last year.
Since January 1990, the JBI has been monitoring the environmental protection guidelines issued for the bauxite industry on behalf of the Ministry of Mines and Energy. The Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) has the legal right to monitor the work of bauxite companies and compliance with the protection regulations; if they are not complied with, production plants can be shut down. The Underground Water Authority (UWA) monitors surface water and groundwater in the vicinity of the four Jamaican alumina plants and the red mud deposits on a monthly basis, sometimes also by taking water samples from its own deep wells. The red mud deposits are protected from their surroundings by clay beds. Air pollution in the alumina plants is reduced by electrostatic and mechanical means. Dust and soot emissions are measured in the bauxite and alumina processing plants. Compliance with safety regulations by employees is also monitored. Between 1971 and 1980, there were 19 deaths and 423 serious injuries in accidents in the bauxite industry; between 1981 and 1990, there were only 5 deaths and 166 serious injuries.
Alumina Partners of Jamaica (Alpart) is 65% owned by UC Rusal and 35%
by Hydro Aluminium. They operate an aluminium plant in Nain and ship via
their Port Kaiser port; the capacity is 1.7 million tonnes and is to be
increased to 2 million tonnes.
Jamalco is 50% owned by the country of
Jamaica and 50% by Alcoa. The ore is processed in Halse Hall and shipped
via the Port Rocky Point port. The capacity is 1.5 million tonnes and is
to be increased to 2.8 million tonnes.
St. Ann Jamaica Bauxite
Partners (SAJBP) is 51% owned by the country of Jamaica and 49% by
Century Aluminium Company. SAJBP is the only company in the country that
ships raw ore through its Port Rhoades port, around 4.7 million tons
annually.
West Indies Aluminia Company (WINDALCO) is 93% owned by
UC Rusal and 7% by the country of Jamaica. 1.3 million tons of bauxite
are produced in the Kirkvine and Ewarton factories.
The effects
of the current global economic crisis with falling prices for raw
materials are hitting Jamaica's aluminum ore industry particularly hard.
Export and tax revenues to pay off debts are lacking. Infrastructure
projects across the country have been postponed until further notice. In
July 2009, Alpart stopped production and laid off most of its employees.
Only a necessary core crew remains to maintain the facilities.
Operations are to resume when the world market has recovered - perhaps
in 2010.
Before a major reorganization of aviation in 1980, there were 47
airfields on the island of Jamaica. Today, there are 15 with a
registered operating license. The majority of the other 32 airfields are
or were field airfields. Originally, most of them were used by
businessmen and managers of large companies (sugar industry, mining
companies) or were runways for small aircraft that sprayed insecticides
in the fields.
With the end of the British colonial period and
Jamaican independence in 1962, financial support from London also ended.
European standards in administration and business were gradually lost,
and unemployment figures rose. In the early 1970s, unemployment reached
levels of over 25%. Unemployment was particularly high among young
people between the ages of 18 and 22, with districts in West Kingston
particularly affected.
The British administration no longer
existed, a national one was not yet fully functional or was corrupt.
Hemp was grown all over the country and the smell of marijuana smoke
wafted over backyards. Large quantities were shipped to the USA, where
there was a rapidly growing number of Jamaican emigrants. Small planes
were also used to transport the cannabis to the north, as there were
enough remote airstrips. These planes landed briefly, unloaded weapons
and were loaded with marijuana. It was only a short stay each time. The
USA had to act. Contracts were signed with the Jamaican government.
American DEA agents were able to operate openly in the country. Army
helicopters flew over the country in search of hemp plantations, ground
forces set them on fire. The airfields were rendered unusable.
Marijuana was followed by heroin. This mostly came by sea from South
America to the south coast of Jamaica. From there it was smuggled in
small portions to North America. Jamaican middlemen had to protect
themselves from American agents and competitors in their own country, so
more weapons came to the island.
In 1974, the PNP government
initiated the so-called Gun Court in Kingston on the Up Park Camp
military site. It was a jury court that only heard cases against illegal
possession of weapons. There was a prison right next to it for those
convicted, only fenced off from the main road so that any passerby could
see the convicted people. The success was short-lived.
To protect
the population and the tourist areas, there were combined patrols by the
police and army with the order "shoot first - ask later". In addition to
bloody election campaigns, a system of armed gangs developed,
particularly in Kingston, which divided up and controlled individual
parts of the city. Originally, they were supposed to be party
supporters, with the task of maintaining order and keeping
constituencies together, but they had long since slipped away from the
party leadership. The number of murders across the island in recent
years has been between 1,500 and 2,000. Politicians have hardly any
answer to this. Extreme outbreaks of violence occur again and again,
most recently in May 2010. A drug dealer (Christopher "Dudus" Coke) who
had been wanted by the USA for a long time was to be extradited by the
Jamaican government. He barricaded himself with supporters in the Tivoli
Garden district until his arrest. Army and police units besieged the
district for around a week. Only here were 70 police officers and
residents killed.
On many Caribbean islands, it is a handful of families that
influence, control or direct the island's fortunes (politically and
economically). On some islands, these are the descendants of the first
conquerors of the island. In Jamaica, it is not much different, with
devastating consequences for today.
Long before independence, the
Jamaica Workers and Tradesman Union was founded in 1935. This later
became the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU), with Sir Alexander
Bustamante, known as "Busta", as president for life.
In 1938, the
demand for independent parties in the country became louder and louder.
In September of the same year, the Peoples National Party (PNP) was
founded. The founding members were Bustamante and Norman Manley. Norman
Manley, a cousin of Bustamante, had only recently returned from England,
where he had trained as a lawyer.
After completing a prison
sentence, Bustamante founded his own party, the Jamaica Labor Party
(JLP), in 1942. This ended the partnership between Bustamante and
Manley, and they became political opponents. In 1943, the JLP had 60,000
paying members (who were also members of the BITU union) who were
available (not only) for election campaigns. As a logical consequence,
the PNP wing also founded unions, the most important of which was the
National Workers Union (NWU). Each of the two parties tried to represent
a broad section of the population, with more or less success. Bustamante
was very light-skinned, and he was very popular with the middle class
and upper business classes. Lawyer Manley represented a more socialist
direction for the poor and less wealthy.
Independence from
England in 1962 led to elections won by Bustamante's JLP. His finance
and planning minister was Edward Seaga, a light-skinned man of Lebanese
origin. Shortly before the 1967 elections, Bustamante retired from
politics and his successor Donald Sangster won the election. However, he
died a short time later and was succeeded by the union leader Hugh
Shearer.
In 1969, Norman Manley died. His son Michael Manley took
over the leadership of the PNP party. He won the 1972 elections with a
large majority. However, the election victory was preceded by the
bloodiest election campaign in the island's history to date, with around
800 deaths. Violence became a major problem in daily life. Violence has
existed in Jamaica since the days of slavery. In recent history, gangs
have formed, particularly in the slum areas of the larger cities and in
Kingston. Originally, they were controlled in Kingston by the two rival
parties, the PNP and the JLP. Whole streets or neighborhoods there
(forced to) vote for one party or the other. Party money is used to
finance housing, employment contracts and social facilities. Only those
who vote for (their) party receive benefits.
However, this system
only worked in the first years of independence. With the end and
departure of the British administration, the subsidies from London were
lost. Subsidized companies were closed, jobs were lost, English
administrators left the plantations to the locals, resulting in
bankruptcy.
South American drug traffickers stepped into this
vacuum and found hungry henchmen. The violence desired and controlled by
the parties was taken over by the local drug barons, who had much larger
amounts of money to exercise power.
The weaknesses of the
two-party system in connection with the British electoral law are widely
known. As a result, all attempts to establish a third party in Jamaica
have failed so far. The Jamaica Democratic Party (JDP) and the National
Democratic Movement (NDM) were founded in 1995. The Imperial Ethiopian
World Federation Party (IEWEP) was founded in 2002 as a party of the
Rastafarians, but it too failed to gain any seats in parliament. In the
same year, shortly before the elections, the Jamaica National Alliance
(NJA) was established as a merger of NDM, Jamaica Alliance of National
Unity and the Republican Party (with little success).
Ever since the Spanish brought the first slaves to Jamaica, there had
been attempts by them to escape from their owners. As the number of
slaves increased, so did the number of those who managed to escape
without being recaptured. They were called cimarrón, which comes from
the Spanish and means "wild", and in English it became Maroon. The
Maroons formed gangs and hid mainly on the northern slopes of the Blue
Mountains and in the Cockpit Country. At night they raided the
plantations, set fire to fields and buildings, and stole the cattle.
They built fortified settlements in the impassable mountainous terrain
and maintained old African traditions. They were excellent at
camouflaging themselves and inflicted heavy losses on the English
troops. One of their first leaders was called Juan de Bolas. In 1663 the
island government offered him the first peace treaty, which his gang
rejected. The Maroons also had female leaders, the most famous being
Nanny of the Maroons, who is a national heroine in present-day Jamaica.
The Second Maroon War, which began in July 1695, only involved the
residents of Trelawny Town, today's Flagstaff, about 2 km east of Maroon
Town. The cause was two Maroons who had been publicly flogged in Montego
Bay for stealing pigs. At that time, the Earl of Balcarres had just
become governor of the island. He sent a large number of troops by land
and sea to Montego Bay. Several Maroon leaders were arrested and thrown
into prison on his orders. A detachment was sent to Trelawny Town to
destroy the town. The Maroons living there had already done this
themselves. On the way back, they attacked the troops from safe hiding
places in the old Maroon fighting style, killing and wounding many of
them. In the following five months, 1,500 soldiers from England and
3,000 men from the island army tried unsuccessfully to neutralize the
approximately 300 Maroons in the dense forests. Finally, 100 bloodhounds
were brought to the island by ship from CUBA. At the time, the Maroons
were led by Cudjoe and his two brothers Accompong and Johnny. In March
1739, a treaty was negotiated with the Maroons between the English
Colonels Guthrie and Cudjoe.
Between 1663 and 1739, the island
administration paid the then enormous sum of 250,000 English pounds to
fight the Maroons. At the same time, 44 laws were passed in this
context. To this day, the five Maroon communities enjoy tax exemption,
self-government and their own jurisdiction. In the 1739 treaty, the
Maroons pledged to stop their attacks on the plantations and to no
longer support runaway slaves. Maroon centers are Moore Town, south of
Port Antonio, as well as Maroon Town and Accompong in the west and
southwest of the Cockpit Country. In Accompong, the Maroons' liberation
festival is still celebrated on January 6th.
The Rastafari movement goes back to Marcus Garvey and his philosophy
of the return of all American blacks to Africa. Crucially, in 1916 he
prophesied the coronation of a black king. This came true in 1930 when
Haile Selassie, the King of Kings, the Lion of Judah, Ras Tafari, was
crowned King of Ethiopia.
The doctrine that Haile Selassie was
the living God was developed independently by several Jamaicans, all
basing their claims on biblical passages, and were thus preachers of
various persuasions. Their appeal to the masses disturbed established
society. They were criminalized and their followers persecuted.
In 1935 Mussolini conquered Ethiopia from Italy and Haile Selassi went
into exile in England. Here he founded the Ethiopian World Federation
with the aim: We, the black people of this world, have the task of
creating unity, solidarity, freedom and self-determination in order to
ensure justice and to preserve the integrity of Ethiopia as our sacred
heritage.
The first branch of this organization was founded in
New York in 1937, the 17th in Jamaica in 1938. The suppression and
criminalization of the Rasta movement led to the establishment of a
contentious commune of 1,500 residents in the interior of the country in
1940, similar to the Maroons during the slave era. They paid no taxes
and lived from the marijuana trade. Police units were repeatedly ordered
there because of disputes with the surrounding population. In 1954 the
place was finally destroyed, and the residents lived from then on in the
slum areas of Kingston, where they continued to be persecuted. In 1963
the tensions reached their bloody climax, during which eight people were
killed. In 1966, Haile Selassi visited Jamaica, one of the reasons that
relations with the Rastas relaxed, the second reason was that more and
more middle-class youth, reggae musicians and other sections of the
population joined the movement or at least sympathized with it.
Rasta commandments:
The Rasta does not eat pork, scaleless fish,
mussels, the Rasta does not drink cow's milk and does not use salt.
The Rasta does not drink alcohol.
The Rasta does not wear second-hand
clothing.
The Rasta does not cut his hair, does not allow a knife to
penetrate his flesh, and if possible does not go to the hospital.
The
Rasta does not practice birth control, does not marry and does not have
his children baptized.
The Rasta does not work for anyone he does not
recognize as a brother.
The Rasta rejects the established parties.
The Rasta does not know property, he takes any land he needs.
Because of their uncut hair, which is often twisted and looks matted,
Rastafarians are also called "dreads", which means terrible or horrible
looking. Many deal in ganja, and because of this and their exotic
appearance, they are often seen in the company of tourists. Over the
years, this has given rise to the term "rent a rasta" or "rent a dread",
which can sometimes be taken literally. Many Jamaicans, not just Rastas,
can be hired as tour guides and companions and for very special
services.
The musical precursors of this Jamaican style of music date back to
the slave era. Music was the only group event that slaves were allowed
to have, and it kept the memory of Africa alive. The music of Africa,
based primarily on percussion instruments, was mixed with Spanish and
English folklore over the centuries.
In the early 1950s, after
overcoming the hardship resulting from World War II, North American
rhythm and blues was the musical event in Jamaica and could be heard
from every loudspeaker. Along with calypso music, which was becoming
popular in Trinidad at the same time, a rhythm called ska was played in
the slum areas of Kingston: trumpet and trombone music, with a guitar
and drum in the background setting the beat. Over the years, the
dominance of the brass instruments diminished and the bass came to the
fore: ska became rock steady.
In the second half of the 1960s,
the rhythm became more even, almost monotonous, and reggae, today known
as "roots reggae", the original, was born. Reggae music has gone through
many variations since then, and its musicians have also changed their
style. Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Jimmy Cliff are among its forefathers.
The old guitar was thrown into the corner because electric guitars were
available, and the groups, which were often a three-piece band (guitar,
wind instrument, drums), later performed with a huge orchestra.
Roots reggae became rock reggae. The music that was important to the
band or musician was no longer played, but what was best sold. At the
beginning of the 1980s, the wave of Caribbean carnival spread from
Trinidad northwards across the entire chain of islands, partly as a
result of the tourist boom on all the islands. Reggae is no longer in
demand, but Soca, from SO-ul and CA-lypso.
The next step in the
development of music was synthesizers and computer music. In 1985, the
first computer music work was produced as reggae in Jamaica. Even today,
records are pressed in Jamaica every week in small editions, which are
only current for one week. The titles played internationally in the
charts are mainly produced for the youth in the ghettos of England and
sold there, hard rock music that can be played in empty factory halls.
This is how hip hop and raggamuffin came about, called dance hall reggae
in Jamaica and the forerunner of today's techno music.
But anyone
who thinks that Jamaican radio stations play reggae music all day long,
or have ever done so, is wrong. They play international music, mostly
from America, and even Nena's 99 Luftballons was a hit for a few weeks.
The first bananas were exported to America as early as 1866. A
captain by the name of George Busch bought them cheaply in Port Antonio
and sold them 14 days later at a profit in Boston.
From 1872,
Captain Lorenzo Dow Baker set up a regular banana transport service
between Port Antonio and Boston. In 1879, this led to the creation of a
new shipping line. Some older fruit traders were forced to sell to
Baker, and the Boston Fruit Company was founded. In competition, the
Keith and Lindo families set up a shipping line between COSTA RICA and
New York, and there was also brisk trade with CUBA and the DOMINICAN
REPUBLIC. In 1899, the United Fruit Company of New Jersey was founded.
This bought up almost all other fruit traders, creating the largest
banana trading group, the United Fruit Company.
At the end of the
19th century, sugar exports from the Caribbean to Europe fell
significantly, and at the same time the selling price fell. This led to
strikes and riots on many islands. The British colonial authorities set
up several commissions of inquiry in the following decades, the most
effective being the work of the West India Royal Commission under the
leadership of Lord Moyne. Private British initiatives to economically
stabilize the region were hampered by the slow processing and lack of
interest of the colonial authorities. The Fyffes company, the British
subsidiary of the United Fruit Company, then began to convert sugar cane
fields into banana plantations. Jamaica quickly became one of the
leading banana suppliers to Europe. By 1938, bananas accounted for
around half of the island's exports. In 1929, the Jamaica Banana
Producers Association was founded as a rival to Fyffes. In 1936, the
JBPA was privatized and the two companies signed an agreement that
divided the British market 75-25 in favor of Fyffes. One year later, the
harvest exceeded 360,000 tons and Jamaica supplied 87% of all banana
imports from Great Britain. During World War II, all exports came to a
standstill. After the war, ECUADOR was able to surpass Jamaica's export
figures. To protect Jamaican banana farmers, the Banana Board was
founded in 1953 with monopolistic rights. Together with other
state-controlled authorities, this created a corrupt and bureaucratic
trade organization that ultimately reduced the farmers' sales revenue.
The result was the collapse of the banana trade. Exports fell from
200,000 tons in 1966 to 107,000 tons in 1973 and 22,000 tons in 1982. As
a result of the catastrophic hurricanes in 1979 and 1980, exports even
fell to 11,000 tons by 1984. A market analysis was then carried out
together with USAID. This recommended that bananas should only be grown
on a few large plantations instead of by many small farmers. In 1985,
the All-Island Banana Growers Association was founded. In 1988, the
industry was again severely damaged when Cyclone Gilbert destroyed large
areas of cultivation, meaning that only 42,000 tons could be exported in
1989. By 1993, exports had risen to 76,000 tons.
The banana
plantations are not only threatened by cyclones and droughts, plant
diseases such as Panama Disease and Leaf Spot can destroy the harvest.
In Jamaica, the main banana growing area is now on the north coast
in the area between Port Maria and Port Antonio. The EU provides
economic aid for cultivation.
The history of sugar is closely intertwined with the history of
slavery; one was not possible without the other! In the Spanish colonies
in the Caribbean, Bartolomé de Las Casas was the first to come up with
the idea of replacing the less resilient Indians with "Negro slaves".
In 1511, the Spanish royal court issued a decree ordering Africans to be
brought from Guinea to the Caribbean. In 1528, the Welser, the Augsburg
trading house, concluded a contract with the Portuguese for the delivery
of 4,000 slaves to Santo Domingo. Flensburg, which was then Danish, also
had close trade relations with the West Indies, especially with the
Danish possessions in the Virgin Islands. The later Danish finance
minister Baron H. C. Schimmelmann (1724-1782) owned 15 frigates on slave
voyages at one time.
Around 1640, the English began growing sugar
cane on a large scale in Barbados. This brought the plantation owners
huge profits. In just 10 years, their wealth increased 20-fold. Since
sugar cultivation required a lot of workers, the slave trade from Africa
to the West Indies expanded more and more. The conquest of Jamaica
opened up a land area 26 times larger than Barbados to the English. In
1664, Sir Thomas Modyford was appointed governor of Jamaica. He had
already become very rich with sugar cane plantations in Barbados, and
now he ensured that sugar cultivation expanded in Jamaica. The first
slaves are said to have appeared in Jamaica around 1517. By 1754 there
were already 150,000 slaves, by 1787 there were 210,000 and by 1800
there were over 300,000. In 1673 there were 57 sugar plantations there,
and in 1804 there were 830. Jamaica had become the largest sugar
producer in the world. Sugar exports rose steadily from around 5,000
tons in 1702 to 100,000 tons in 1805.
The ban on the slave trade
(1807), the abolition of slavery (1838), the reduction of British sugar
taxes (1847 to 1854), the elimination of protective tariffs on goods
from the British colonies and the abolition of all sugar taxes (1874)
caused the export quota of sugar from Jamaica to fall below 5,000 tons
again by 1913. The reorganization of the entire industry led to a new
upswing after 1920. However, the export figures from 1805 were not
reached again until 1936. In general, raw sugar was transported to
England for refining and resale, but also to the English colonies in
North America. The high demand for sugar ensured sufficient income for
the plantation owners for a long time, because the English government
had committed itself to buying sugar from the English colonies at fixed
prices, even though the French possessions in the Caribbean were able to
produce it more cheaply. With this in mind, Parliament in London passed
the Molasses Act in 1733, which obliged the North American colonies to
obtain molasses only from the English Caribbean colonies. For the same
reason, raw sugar was subject to higher import duties, as it could be
refined more cheaply here than in Jamaica.
The sugar plantations
of that time must be imagined as independent village communities. In
addition to a large house for the slave overseer, there were offices and
apartments for the white accountants; workshops for blacksmiths,
carpenters and coopers; the factory complex with the mill, drying rooms
and rum distillery; stables for the working animals and entire streets
with the slaves' huts. The huts had two rooms, were four to five meters
long, with walls made of clay-covered wickerwork, the roof made of palm
leaves. A fire burned on the floor, which glowed even at night. Light
only came through the door. The furniture consisted of a wooden bed
frame with a mat or blanket. Better-off slaves had a table and chairs.
Gourd calabashes served as eating utensils. Two families often lived in
these huts. In addition to the huts, the slaves often had a small garden
and a pen for pigs and chickens. In 1834, M. G. Lewis described the
huts: "Each stood in a garden and was fenced in. The plaster between the
timber frames was whitewashed, the roofs covered with shingles. They had
two rooms, one with a hearth and one for sleeping. All the huts had at
least one window. They were well furnished and provided with plenty of
bedding." According to other reports, the huts had low thatched roofs
and a window frame on each side of the door. After 1838, there was a
clear trend for the settlements of the freed slaves to be built as
independent villages further and further away from the plantation. Above
everything, on a hill, was the house of the plantation owner. Built from
finely hewn stone blocks, some of which had been brought over from
Europe as ballast on the slave ships, and seasoned precious wood beams,
fitted with wood paneling and polished parquet floors and furnished with
elegant furniture from Europe, they gave information about the wealth of
their owners. Some of them also had a prestigious city apartment in the
next larger port city. Many plantation owners spent the least amount of
time on their Jamaican estates; they lived most of the time in England.
They left the administration of the land to their overseers and lawyers.
In 1775, around 30% of Jamaica's sugar estates belonged to overseas
landowners, mostly the descendants of earlier settlers who had become
rich with their estates in Jamaica and had retired in England. A
significant number of these landowners owned more than one plantation.
In general, these estates were also larger than the national average.
These estates alone produced 40% of Jamaica's sugar and rum. At the time
of the abolition of slavery, 80% of the sugar plantations had an owner
who did not live in Jamaica.
In 1823, John Stuart advised future
planters: "There are four conditions for a plantation: good soil, easy
access, close to a port and located on a river." In the same year,
Thomas Roughley wrote in the guide for Jamaican planters: "Whether you
plant your plantation on flat or hilly terrain, the focus must be on the
factory facilities, the overseer's house and the infirmary. If there is
no water, the land must be leveled or a canal must be built from the
spring / river to bring the water to the factory facilities."
Growing and processing sugar cane is labor-intensive and has changed
little over the centuries. After the cuttings have been planted, it
takes 14 to 18 months until the harvest. Planting season is in the rainy
months of May to November. During this time, the irrigation canals had
to be maintained. There are still a few aqueducts today as evidence of
that time. The harvest season in Jamaica is in the dry months of January
to May, when the sugar content is at its highest. It was often more
economical for plantation owners to hire additional slaves at harvest
time, when there was a great need for workers. For this purpose, they
turned to so-called "jobbers", men who only owned slaves for field work
and hired them out as a complete work crew. Before the harvest begins,
the fields are still set on fire to remove the foliage from the cane and
to drive away all forms of animals from the plants, which grow to around
3 - 4 m high. The cane is then cut off with a machete and bundled
together to be transported to the mills. In the past, slaves carried the
bundles of sugar cane to the factory on their heads, or it was
transported there on ox carts. Today, trucks are used; large carts,
three or four coupled together, pulled by tractors; or narrow-gauge
railways for transport, and the harvest is still done by hand. The use
of harvesting machines has only become widespread in Cuba.
In the
factory, there is a storage area for the sugar cane. The factory needs a
consistent supply, but the daily harvest can vary due to bad weather
conditions. The stored cane is washed and crushed, and the sugar juice
is then pressed out in the mills. In the past, this was mainly done in
windmills, but there were also ones that were powered by oxen or human
power. The mills consisted of three wooden or iron, grooved rollers in
an iron frame. Throughout the 18th century, the rollers were installed
vertically. With the introduction of steam engines, they were generally
installed horizontally. To prevent the sugar cane juice from starting to
ferment, it must be processed immediately. It is pumped from the mill to
the boiling house and further purified in cisterns (clarifiers or cold
containers) by adding lemon juice and then heated and thickened in three
boiling stages in smaller copper kettles. To cool, the thick sugar juice
is poured into wooden barrels, and the molasses is then separated in
steam centrifuges; it is still used today in rum production. The
containers are stored in special rooms outside the boiling house to dry
out and crystallize. The sugar production process took five or more
weeks at that time. The crystallized sugar was immediately taken to the
port and brought to England on the next ship.
Before the use of
steam engines, only 50-60% of the sugar juice could be pressed out of
the cane, so after pressing, the cane was first collected in a waste
house and dried before being used as fuel in the boiling house. Even
today, the residues are used in some factories as fuel for the boiling
plants and for hot water preparation. There are also successful trial
projects by German development aid to use the frayed cane rods in paper
and chipboard production.
During the harvest season, the slaves
had to work 16 hours in the fields, after which they were often employed
in the boiling plant on the night shift. Even today, their descendants
sweat 12 hours in piecework on the sugar cane fields. Today, around 1
ton of sugar is extracted from 10 tons of sugar cane. Outside of the
harvest season, only some of the workforce is employed. Then the entire
production facility of the factory is dismantled, cleaned and, if
necessary, repaired.
The production of alcoholic beverages from
grains such as barley, corn, rice and roe, as well as from sugar cane,
has been known for ages. The production of rum, however, goes back to
the English. The word rum probably originated around 1620 on the island
of Barbados. It goes back to “rumbullion”, a great commotion – this
probably arose when the sailors had drunk too much rum.
In 1893,
sugar cane was grown on over 13,000 hectares. There were 148 rum
distilleries spread across the island, but in 2006 there were just
seven.
The basic ingredient for rum is molasses, a thick syrup
that is created when sugar cane juice crystallizes when boiled. Molasses
is fermented, i.e. fermented with the help of yeast. The alcohol content
is then around 6%. After distillation - cleaning and separation by
adding lemon juice and evaporation - the brown syrup becomes a clear
liquid with 80% alcohol. Diluted with water, it becomes white rum with
an alcohol content of between 45 and 72%. If the white rum is stored in
oak barrels for years, it takes on a brownish color. In Jamaica, the rum
is matured in large barrels with a volume of around 450 liters over a
period of three to 12 years.
Jamaica's rum tradition can be
traced back to 1825. At that time, John Wray opened the "Shakespeare
Tavern" next to the then famous royal theater on the Parade in Kingston.
In 1860, John Wray was so successful that his 22-year-old nephew Charles
James Ward had to help with the alcoholic beverages business. The
company J. Wray & Nephew was founded. In 1863, the business premises
were moved close to the quays at the harbor. In 1907, an earthquake
destroyed large parts of Kingston, including the Royal Theater. The Wray
& Nephew company financed most of the reconstruction, which is today the
Ward Theater.
When John Ward died in 1913, the company owned
three sugar plantations: Carlisle, Greenwich and Monymusk. The Lindo
brothers took over the management of the plantations. In 1916, they
bought the Appleton plantation. Bottling, storage and distribution
remained in Kingston.
In 1957, the Lindo children sold J. Wray &
Nephew to the Lascelles deMercado group of companies. In recent years,
market changes such as high wages, rising raw material and energy
prices, as well as the death of company founders, have led to a merger
and concentration on the Jamaican rum market. Edwin Charles's company
Estate Distributors had already taken over Daniel Finzi & Co. Today,
Estate Distributors, as well as Ian Sangster's small but very fine
factory, belong to J. Wray & Nephew.
Entry requirements
Airplane
Before a comprehensive
reorganization of the aviation industry in 1980, there were 47 airports
on the island of Jamaica. Today there are 15 with a registered operating
license.
Jamaica has two international airports. The Norman
Manley International Airport in Kingston is located around 20 km from
the center on a headland that separates the port of Kingston from the
open sea. This airport is mainly used by business travelers but hardly
by tourists. This airport is being renovated in a 10-year program.
The Donald Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, on the
other hand, is mainly used by charter flights from Europe, Canada and
the USA. This airport has been extensively expanded and now has 19
gates. The airport is privately operated and is accordingly expensive.
You pay more for duty-free goods than in any supermarket. A bottle of
beer costs 5.50 US dollars in one of the numerous airport restaurants.
An airport tax of currently 1000 JA$ per person must be paid when
leaving the country. The airport tax will be doubled on October 1, 2011.
Smaller airports for regional air traffic are located in Downtown
Kingston "Tinson Pen", Negril, Ocho Rios "Boscobel" and Port Antonio
"Ken Jones". There are also nine privately operated small runways and
runways. Some of these are maintained by large industrial companies,
some are just simple landing strips for agricultural needs (e.g.
spraying poison over the plantations). The Boscobel airport was
renovated in 2010/2011.
Landing sites for helicopters are not
included in the statistics.
In the south of the city of
Mandeville there is a large airfield built by the USA during World War
II. This is currently not in use. There are plans to expand it into a
civilian airfield because the airport in Kingston cannot be expanded due
to its location.
The national airline AIR JAMAICA is having major
financial problems, and a merger with the airline CARIBBEAN AIRWAYS (ex
BWIA, Trinidad) has been initiated.
Ship
Kingston has one of
the largest natural harbors in the world, which is used exclusively for
freight traffic. Large loading facilities for aluminum ore and small
loading docks for shipping raw sugar can be found in various places on
the island. Some other ports are currently not in operation at all.
Cruise ships come to Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Falmouth more or
less regularly. The cruise lines Carnival Cruises, Princess Cruises and
Royal Caribbean Line have had the island on their schedule for many
years. P & O Cruises are relatively rare in Jamaica, but the ships of
the AIDA Line have been seen there more often in the recent past.
In Kingston there is something like public transport, fixed routes
with timetables. But the timetables are never really adhered to, there
are regular traffic jams and in rush hour there is often nothing at all.
In the city there are two large, new bus stations, one at the Half Way
Tree clock tower and one in downtown, where the train station used to
be.
Minibuses run from sunrise to sunset on almost all main roads
and to all larger towns. You can stop them anywhere on the side of the
road by raising your hand and of course you can get off at any point. It
is usually very crowded because they are overloaded. The prices are low,
however, so always ask beforehand and have the smallest possible bills
on hand.
There are taxis in all "big cities". Locals generally
pay much less than tourists. Taxis also stop along the way to pick up
other passengers from the side of the road. Here too, always ask about
the price beforehand. Tourists arriving at the airport in Montego Bay
pay 10 US dollars just for the first two kilometers to the hotel zone.
Rental cars are available directly at the airport and everywhere in
the tourist centers. All rental cars are only available with automatic
transmission. Rental prices vary greatly and depend on the size of the
car, the length of the rental period and the season. On average, a car
costs between 70 and 120 US dollars per day or 450 to 800 US dollars per
week, plus insurance and taxes. If you rent a car for a week, you can
often drive for a day for free. During the low season (usually from
April 15th to November 15th) prices can be up to 30% lower. The minimum
age for renting a car is 25 years, the maximum age is 65 years. An
international driving license is valid in Jamaica.
Traffic
conditions
The main roads along the coast and the cross-connections
to Kingston are usually in good condition. If you drive through the
villages, you have to expect deep potholes, and there is always the risk
of goats, donkeys, dogs or illegally parked trucks getting in your way.
For this reason, you should not drive after dark; street lighting is
poor, if there is any at all. Road markings, crash barriers and place
names or signposts are often missing or illegible. A rule of thumb for
drivers: honk before every bend.
Anyone who owns a car in Jamaica
is rich. Cars are driven as long as possible. Even police cars can have
defective lights, indicators or brake lights. The locals have developed
a system of hand signals to indicate when they are braking, turning or
overtaking.
The maximum speed of 80 km/h on country roads and 50
km/h in towns should be observed; the police monitor this with radar.
Speeding is punishable by a fine of 5,000 JA dollars. This must be paid
at the nearest tax office. Police checks are carried out daily,
sometimes at intervals of one or two kilometers.
The "Highway
2000" is a privately financed and tolled highway with a speed limit of
110 km/h between the capital Kingston and the town of Freetown, just
before May Pen. According to the plans, this highway is to be extended
to Ocho Rios and Montego Bay. But there is no money. In spring 2010,
however, another traffic project was about to be completed. A highway
towards Ocho Rios is being built on the site of the aluminum ore
companies. The section between Linstead and Moneague is about to be
handed over.
The price of petrol has risen from 66 JA dollars in
November 2008 to 110 to 115 JA dollars in April 2011.
In Jamaica, English and Patois (a creole language) are spoken. English is the official language, Patois is the unofficial national language of the Jamaicans. German is very little spoken and is hardly heard in the tourist centers and hotels.
Woven baskets and bags, spices and sauces (there are also less spicy
ones), wood carvings, perfume from national production, rum and rum
liqueurs in various variations, jewelry, T-shirts. The export of black
coral and any products made from turtle shells is prohibited, and
according to the Washington Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species, importing them into Germany is also a criminal
offense.
At various places on the side of the road, wood carvers
and other traders have set up their offerings in simple wooden shacks.
There are smaller and larger markets for tourists - "craft markets" -
and even in normal shops that sell souvenirs, it's all about bargaining,
bargaining, bargaining. This can make souvenirs 10 to 50% cheaper, but
on average you can get goods 1/3 cheaper.
Jamaican cuisine is characterized by a variety of influences. There
are African, Indian, Chinese and British influences. In general, people
like to eat "hot" and a lot of coconut is used in the preparation of the
dishes. A particular culinary specialty is "Ackee", a tree fruit whose
yellow flesh is braised with salt fish, onions, spices and tomatoes and
eaten with "fried dumplings" or "johnnycakes" (fried flour dumplings)
and plantains, especially for breakfast. "Ackee and Saltfish" is the
national dish of Jamaica. "Saltfish" is also known as "Klippfish" from
Norway. Halves of fish marinated and dried in salt, which must first be
left to swell in water before being eaten. Because this type of fish has
become expensive in Jamaica, you can sometimes get ackee and pork.
In some shops you can buy "patties", flat, semi-circular puff pastry
pockets with various spicy fillings, and on the streets improvised food
stalls offer stews, such as "chickenfoot soup" in which the chicken feet
have been cooked, "pepperpot" - a well-seasoned soup with spinach and
meat, "curry goat" - goat curry (be careful! the goat meat is chopped up
with a machete before cooking, the splintered bones are cooked with the
meat, but tastes great), "rice and peas" - rice with red beans, the rice
turns reddish brown by adding coconut flakes and coconut milk, and the
popular "jerk chicken and jerk pork" - spicy marinated chicken halves
and pork belly grilled in an oil drum. The "jerk" is also smashed with a
machete and sold with skin and bones and by weight (e.g. half pound),
while the chickens are sometimes sold as quarters or half chickens.
The diet of ordinary Jamaicans consists largely of so-called "food",
which means yams, sweet potatoes, green bananas and boiled dumplings.
Another special delicacy is breadfruit roasted over an open fire. Fruits
include various types of mango, papayas, pineapples, soursap, oranges,
limes, lemons, tamarinds and avocados. Sugar cane is bought in pieces
and the sweet juice is sucked out of the woody fibers.
Fish
dishes in all variations play an important role, although the price of
fish has risen sharply, as the Caribbean has also been fished out. On
the beaches frequented by locals, whole fried fish are offered with
"festivals", a delicious pastry made of fried corn flour dough. Large
fish fresh from the sea are sliced and fried: king fish, boanito,
marlin; small fish are fried whole: goat fish, red snapper, yellow tail.
For several years now, freshwater fish have been successfully bred on
the island and sold on the market. These are generally tilapia perch, a
breed from this island. On the menu is "Escovitch Fish", which is fresh
fish, fried in a pan and seasoned with onions and a variety of spices.
Lovers can also afford lobster in the Caribbean. It is known here as
"lobster" and is available from 25 US dollars, about 18 euros.
A
special drink is "beer punch", a mix of Guinness beer and sweet milk.
The beer brewed in Jamaica is called "red stripe", but Heineken beer is
also produced under license. Popular soft drinks are "ginger beer" and
various fruit lemonades, most of which are very sweet and taste only of
chemicals, as well as frozen fruit juice drinks, which are mainly
offered by street vendors.
Jamaica rum is of course also part of
Jamaica. Unfortunately, only a handful of the originally countless rum
distilleries and labels remain. And, believe it or not, Jamaica has to
import rum. Bacardi rum can now be found on many supermarket shelves.
Another drink has suffered as a result: rum punch, which used to be
something of a delicacy if the bartender had a good hand at it. There
are countless recipes, but few good ones. Today, tourists in some hotels
still receive a "rum punch" as a welcome on arrival: a shot of rum mixed
with sweet juice, which gets a reddish color from the addition of cherry
syrup. A good rum punch consists of three types of rum, white, brown and
very dark, plus a little orange liqueur and "Tia Maria", a coffee
liqueur produced in Jamaica. The whole thing is topped up with pineapple
juice, orange juice and papaya or mango juice. This drink only becomes
particularly good after it has been stored for 24 hours. That's why a
very good bar always has a large plastic canister of it in the fridge.
In Montego Bay, and not only there, nightlife is limited to a few
good bars. There are countless, but they are mostly very commercial.
American tourists, who paid well in the past, are particularly found
there. The "jam" sessions (dance hall) that take place everywhere at
night are an absolute musical highlight. Even these amateur
self-promoters are usually better than any reggae and dancehall sampler
(compiled abroad)!
In recent times, however, there have been more
and more problems with live performances. Since the new economic crisis,
there has been no money to pay artists or electricity because the
average Jamaican does not have the entrance fee to go there. In
addition, well-known musicians have always had little understanding of
keeping to appointments and only arrived hours late or not at all. This
is one of the reasons why the world-famous "Reggae Sunsplash" has not
been held for years. Apparently there will be another attempt in 2009.
This is also one reason why Jamaicans are so keen on "business".
Unfortunately, this is a shame, as they are otherwise very nice and
communicative people. If you are lucky enough to meet a Jamaican who has
even traveled to Europe, for example, then you should try to book him as
a tour guide and get to know life on the island.
You can stay in hotels as well as guesthouses. Due to the increasing
number of "all-inclusive offers", hotels are often a little isolated
from individual life in Jamaica.
Attention:
On September 1st,
2012, the government introduced a "bed tax" of 4.00 US dollars per night
and person for hotels. During my stay in October, there were still
different practices. Some hotels held out their hand to tourists as soon
as they checked in and collected the money. Other hotels generally
increase their overnight prices, but do not charge a bed tax.
The restrictions on homosexuals in Jamaica are great. On the one
hand, there are restrictions on the part of the state, which punishes
anal sex with up to 10 years in prison and "grossly immoral behavior"
between men (which can be as simple as holding hands) with up to two
years in prison. Homosexual behavior between women, on the other hand,
is legal. Homophobic views are also very widespread among the population
- Jamaica is considered one of the most homophobic countries in the
world. Violent attacks and even murders of homosexuals occur again and
again. Cases of so-called "corrective rapes" of lesbian women are also
reported, i.e. the perpetrators try to "cure" the woman of her
homosexuality. Some popular dancehall and ragga musicians glorify or
trivialize such crimes in their songs. No protection can be expected
from the police either. On the contrary: harassment and mistreatment of
homosexuals also come from police officers. Therefore, it is not a good
idea to openly reveal your homosexuality.
Marijuana - in Jamaica
it is called ganja - even though it is cheap and works well, is illegal
on the island. Tourists caught with ganja can go to prison, have to pay
a fine and be deported.
Violent crime is high. There are special
gun courts without a jury for armed robbers. Wearing camouflage clothing
is prohibited so that criminals are not confused with security forces.
There is a state hospital in every district town, and several in the
capital. The care in public hospitals is inadequate and should only be
used in extreme emergencies. There are around 6,000 hospital beds. Care
in private hospitals is of a much higher standard, some work closely
with North American clinics. The number of independent doctors is 600
and 75 dentists. You can get addresses from your hotel or from the
"Yellow Pages" of the telephone book. Getting sick on the island can be
expensive. It is therefore advisable to take out international health
insurance beforehand. In Germany, the amounts are then more or less
reimbursed.
The water quality is generally good and safe. In
specialist newspapers you often read: no ice cubes in drinks - that is
pure nonsense, only applies to people with extremely damaged immune
systems. In rural areas, the water supply can sometimes fail for several
hours a day.
Nevertheless, it can happen that you get diarrhea,
which is not necessarily due to the water. An old home remedy: drink
Coca Cola and eat pretzel sticks.
Toilets outside of hotels and
good restaurants are usually in a catastrophic state. When you travel
through the country, there is often just a simple wooden shack with no
running water and no paper. So you should always take an extra pack of
tissues and cleaning or refreshing wipes with you.
Since the first AIDS case in 1982 until the end of 1998, 3,109 AIDS cases were reported. Since then, 1,166 men and 666 women have died from it. The Jamaican government spends US$2.4 million annually on caring for these patients. A further 15-20,000 cases are expected in the next five years.
The climate is characterized by uniformity. In Kingston, the average
annual temperature is 26°C, with a difference of 3.1° between the
coldest and warmest months. In Newcastle, 1,211m above sea level, the
corresponding figures are 19.4° and 3.9°C.
Ice only rarely forms
on the Blue Mountain Peak summit, and then only in the form of
hoarfrost; snow is also unknown there. The amount of rainfall in
Kingston is 1,220 mm per year, in Newcastle 900 mm.
From
mid-April to mid-May there is a small rainy season on the island, and
from mid-September to mid-November the main rainy season takes place.
Due to global climate change, however, it can rain for a whole week even
in the months with little rain, or there is no rain during the rainy
season. The months of July to October are months in which the weather
can be severely affected by passing cyclones. Jamaica lies in a path of
frequent cyclones.
There is a saying or rhyme on the island about this topic:
June - too soon, July - stand by, August - it must, September -
remember, October - all over.
June - too soon, July - get ready
for it, August - here it comes, September - always remember, October -
all over.
Due to global climate change (which any layperson could
clearly see in Jamaica 25 years ago), this old rhyme is unfortunately no
longer true. Hurricanes are occurring earlier and earlier in the year,
with the last ones moving through the Caribbean in mid-November.
On September 12, 1988, a Monday, Hurricane Gilbert reached the coast of Jamaica after having already caused severe damage on the island of BABADOS. From Morant Bay, it cut a swath of devastation across the island to Montego Bay. Around 230,000 people spent the time in emergency shelters. The electricity and water supplies collapsed, radio stations stopped operating. The airports were badly damaged, as were factories, hotels, churches, hospitals, restaurants and schools. Even some prisons did not withstand the storm. There was also severe damage to the agricultural sector and valuable forest areas in the Blue Mountains were destroyed. During the height of the storm, looters roamed around and stole millions of dollars. The police were only able to confiscate goods worth 2.5 million dollars, 108 looters were arrested and three were shot. Nationwide, 45 people were killed in the storm. America, England and the European Union provided 55 million US dollars in emergency aid. It took over a year to repair the damage - even today in Montego Bay you can still see the overgrown ruins of hotel complexes that were so badly damaged that repairs were not worthwhile.
During the 2004 hurricane season, seven major hurricanes developed
over the Atlantic in just five weeks, leaving a trail of destruction
across the Caribbean islands and the North American continent. "Ivan"
proved to be one of the largest tropical storms. As a category 3 storm,
it passed north of the island of TOBAGO, almost completely devastated
the island of GRENADA and continued on its way in a northwesterly
direction. It strengthened to a category 5 storm. On September 10, the
Prime Minister declared a national emergency in Jamaica. In the Kingston
area, 500,000 residents were asked to evacuate.
The hurricane had
a diameter of over 300 km, wind speeds were over 250 km/h, and it was
only moving forward at around 15 km per hour. On its pre-calculated
route from Kingston across the island to Montego Bay, it changed
direction 50 km from the south coast and moved along the south coast
before heading towards the CAYMAN ISLANDS.
For safety reasons,
the power supply was switched off, telephone connections failed. Trees
and power poles were knocked down. In Kingston, only 5,000 residents
were able to be evacuated. The houses on the hillsides of Cherry Garden,
Red Hills and Stony Hills were particularly damaged. A power station in
Kingston failed. The road to the airport was blocked in several places.
Tidal waves destroyed or damaged many roads near the coast, and the
heavy rainfall led to landslides and flooding.
Immediately after
the storm, the banks provided $450 million in emergency aid for
reconstruction. According to government sources, it is hoped that the
worst of the damage will be repaired within six months.
Jamaicans are a tolerant, harmony-loving, musical and communicative people. However, any form of communication is used to initiate a deal with the respective conversation partner, which can be very annoying. Rejecting Jamaicans can also lead to outbursts of anger. However, as long as you tell the Jamaicans with a smile that you have no ambitions to enter into a deal at the moment, you will be answered with a smile ("Ok!"). Women are also very popular and should think about a few phrases in advance.
Postcards from Jamaica to Germany cost 100 JA$ for airmail in 2012.
However, it takes a good 14 days for the card to arrive in Germany.
Letters can take three to four weeks.
In Jamaica, there are more
and more mobile phones and a decreasing number of landline phones. It is
quite normal for a Jamaican to have at least two mobile phones. For
customers who live in the city, the landline is hardly a problem. For
those who live outside the city, it is, as the copper cable is often
stolen and therefore often does not stay in place for long or is often
expanded. Thanks to further developments in WiFi and mobile internet,
bmobile will soon be able to offer nationwide broadband internet via
mobile phone. The main providers of mobile phone connections are digicel
and bmobile. Landlines are handled by Cable & Wireless.
Tourists
are finding fewer and fewer public (card) phones and when they do, the
receiver is often missing or the whole device is broken. Hotels charge
disproportionately high fees. If you already have an American-compatible
dual or quad band cell phone without a SIM lock or number lock, you
should definitely take it with you. At Digicel, for example, a Jamaican
SIM card costs 10 US $ (7.50 euros), and you must show your ID, just
like in Germany. If you top up this card with 15 US $ (10 euros), you
can use it to make calls to Germany at any time and with ease - for
around 45 minutes. The employees at Digicel are very friendly and carry
out the whole procedure for tourists.
Tips:
Jamaicans are rightfully proud of their many achievements: Bob Marley, Rastafarians, good rolling techniques. Safe driving is not one them. Make sure your driver is not getting stoned while driving.
The name of the country comes from the distorted Indian word "Haymaka" (Arawak. Xaymaca), which literally means "island of springs" or "land of springs."
Jamaica is the third largest island in the Greater Antilles group. The main island is located between 17° and 19° north latitude and 76° and 79° west longitude, 145 km south of Cuba, 160-190 km west of Haiti, 290 km southeast of the Cayman Islands. The nearest point of the continent - Cape Gracias a Dios (Nicaragua) - is located 630 km to the south-west. With the length of the island from west to east for 225 km, from north to south - from 35 to 82 km, it has an area of 10,991 km². The length of the coastline is 1022 km.
Jamaica is located in a tropical climate zone with the
dominance of the northeast trade winds, which noticeably affect, along
with the absolute height of the area, the climate of the country.
In the metropolitan area, the average temperature for the year
varies from 24 to 27 ° C, and in the town of Gordon Hill in the Blue
Mountains - from 4 to 7 ° C.
The temperature during the year
varies slightly, the average values in January are 24-25 °C, in July -
26-27 °C.
Precipitation is seasonal and is especially intense in
May and October, although thunderstorms with heavy rain also occur
during the summer months. The average annual rainfall is 2100 mm, but it
also depends on the region. The southern coast receives 635 mm of
rainfall, while the John Crow Mountains in the northeast of the island
receive up to 7600 mm. The rainy season lasts from May to October, and
in the winter months (December to March), cold northern winds from the
North American continent reach the island.
Jamaica is located in
the Atlantic belt of hurricanes, which cause great damage to the
population and economy. Among the particularly strong hurricanes that
swept right across the island are hurricanes Charlie (1951), Allen
(1980) and Gilbert in 1988. Hurricanes Ivan (2004) and Dean (2007)
caused extensive damage and several deaths on the island.
Most of the territory (approximately 2/3) of Jamaica is a
limestone plateau with a height of 500 m to 1 km, in some places higher.
The Blue Mountains are located in the eastern part of the island, where
the highest point of the country is located - Mount Blue Mountain
(altitude 2256 m). To the southwest is Mount Malvern (725 m) and to the
west is Dolphin Head (545 m). In the western part of the island, karst
landforms are common, represented in the mountains of John Crow, Dry
Harbor and in the Cockpit Country karst basin with an area of about
1300 km². The hollow is a complex of low hills separated by narrow
valleys. This area is characterized by karst funnels and underground
watercourses.
Alluvial lowlands are located along the southern
and western coasts. The south coast of the island is heavily indented,
with reef-fringed harbours, such as the harbor town of Kingston. On the
west coast near the city of Negril, a coral sand beach stretches for 11
km. The northern coast is poorly dissected and has a rocky character. In
its center is the Jamaican Riviera, popular with tourists, a narrow
strip of beaches of fine-grained white sand.
The position of
Jamaica in the seismically active Antilles-Caribbean tectonic region was
expressed in the catastrophic earthquakes of 1692 and 1907. The most
important mineral is bauxite, the reserves of which Jamaica occupies a
leading position in the world.
There are many small rivers and streams in Jamaica, originating in the central highlands and often disappearing into karst cavities. The total volume of renewable water resources is 9.4 km³ (2000). The longest river in length is the Minho (93 km) flowing from the mountains of Dry Harbor to Carlisle Bay. Two more rivers - the Black River in the western part and the Rio Cobre near Kingston, have a length of more than 50 km. Of all the rivers of the island, the Black River is navigable for a considerable distance - small ships can rise 48 km from the mouth. The only river that does not flow in a northerly or southerly direction is Plantaine Garden in the east of the island.
Kingston (Jamaica)
Spanish Town
Portmore
Montego Bay
The island is known for its diverse ecosystems, including low-growing
forests high in the mountains, selva on the northeastern slopes of the
mountains and in the valleys, savannahs in the south and west, as well
as sandy areas where only cacti and other xerophytic plants grow. Since
the 15th century, when the island was completely covered with forest
except for small agricultural areas, the vegetation has changed a lot.
The colonists cut down trees for building needs and cleared plains,
savannahs, and mountain slopes for soil cultivation. Many species have
been introduced including sugarcane, bananas and citrus fruits.
The forest area on the island is about 194 thousand hectares (1/5 of the
entire territory). The cotton tree is the most common, in hard-to-reach
places virgin stands of large-leaved, ebony and dalbergia are preserved,
in some places there are thickets of bamboo and logwood, as well as
plantings of Caribbean pine and eucalyptus. The southern coast is
overgrown with mangroves in many places. In the western and southwestern
parts of the island, in places where the land is not used for
plantations, savanna-type vegetation (cereals and isolated trees) is
common. There are more than 3,000 species of flowering plants growing on
the island, including 200 species of orchids and hibiscus sabdariffa
(which is used to make hibiscus).
The fauna of Jamaica is
relatively poor: birds, rodents (rats, mice), rabbits, mongooses,
reptiles (turtles, snakes, crocodiles and iguanas) and 20 species of
bats. There are few local animals in Jamaica; in the course of human
development, the fauna of the island was badly damaged. In pre-Columbian
times, numerous members of the Huti family lived on the island, but
later their numbers declined due to hunting and habitat destruction.
Local crocodiles may also be at risk of extinction. Mongooses, brought
in 1872 from India to fight poisonous snakes, spread widely.
The
waters of the island and coastal areas are rich in fish. Freshwater fish
are represented mainly by mullet, there are 4 types of freshwater
crayfish. Manatees live in coastal waters.
More than 250 species
of birds, including migratory ones, have been recorded, with 25 species
and 21 subspecies being endemic, including the national symbol, the
pennant-tailed hummingbird. Among the introduced species are mynas.
The island's protected areas include the Cockpit Country, Hellshire
Hills and Litchfield forest reserves. In 1992, the first marine park was
organized in Montego Bay and has an area of 15 km². In 1993, the Blue
Mountains and John Crow National Park were created.
In the 7th century AD, the first Taíno (a people belonging to the Arawak) from South America arrived on the island. They lived in tribal communities and engaged in agriculture and fishing. They built their houses from reeds and straw. During the course of the 15th century, small groups of Caribs came to Jamaica. In contrast to the practice on many other islands, they did not drive the Taíno away, but lived alongside them. When Christopher Columbus was the first European to land on Jamaica during his second voyage in 1494, around 100,000 people lived there. Caves with paintings similar to those on other Caribbean islands were found at Pedro Bluff in Saint Elizabeth.
After a long-standing dispute between Diego Columbus, the son of
Christopher Columbus, and the Spanish crown over ownership of some
Caribbean islands, he eventually became viceroy of all the islands
discovered by his father. He was given the right to keep a share of the
gold found there for himself and to collect taxes. In 1509 he had
Jamaica conquered by Juan Ponce de León and called it Santiago. This
name never caught on. The Spanish also used the original indigenous
names Chaymakas or Xaymaca, which they distorted into Jamaica. In less
than ten years the culture of the indigenous population collapsed; it
was decimated by imported diseases and brutal treatment by the settlers.
They have been considered extinct since the second half of the 17th
century. To compensate for the lack of workers, the Spanish brought the
first African slaves to the island from 1517 onwards, mainly from the
Gold and Slave Coast. In 1611, for the first time, there were more black
Africans than European inhabitants. Nueva Sevilla, today's Spanish Town,
became the capital. The Encomienda administrative system was initially
introduced in agriculture. Spaniards received large tracts of land,
together with the indigenous people living there, whom they could employ
for work and whom they evangelized. The system contributed significantly
to the extinction of indigenous culture. Shortly before the conquest by
England, the more humane repartimiento was introduced, in which
indigenous village communities had to provide two to four percent of
their labor force to the colonial rulers.
Since no precious
metals were found on the island, the Spanish crown's interest quickly
shifted to Mexico. Many settlers left the island again, leaving behind a
weak garrison.
Due to its enormous size and difficult geographical conditions, Spain
was never really able to protect its possessions in America - especially
in the Caribbean. In the decades after the defeat of the Spanish Armada
in 1588, but especially since the final decline of Spanish supremacy in
the second half of the 17th century, the English, French and Dutch
increasingly penetrated the Spanish sphere of influence.
On May
10, 1655, English troops under Robert Venables and Admiral William Penn
Sr. landed at the site of present-day Kingston. They had been sent by
Oliver Cromwell to conquer bases in the Caribbean as part of the Western
Design. The administration in Spanish Town surrendered the next day, and
some of the remaining Spaniards fled to Cuba without a fight. In the
hope of an uprising, they had previously freed their slaves and equipped
them with weapons. However, there was no fighting at first, as the
former slaves retreated into the inaccessible interior of the country,
where they lived under the name Maroons. Despite the surrender, the last
Spanish governor, Cristobal Arnaldo de Ysassi, gathered guerrilla troops
on the north coast and in the interior. He received support from Cuba
twice, but had to give up for good after two defeats by the English army
in 1657 and 1658. In 1664, an elected assembly was set up to carry out
local administrative tasks. Jamaica formally became the property of
Great Britain in 1670 through the Treaty of Madrid.
The goods produced in Jamaica's plantation economy (sugar and
molasses, from 1730 coffee, bananas) ultimately made the island a
valuable possession of the English crown for over 150 years. In the
first two decades after the British took possession, however, the island
and its newly founded capital, Port Royal, were primarily a port of call
and base for privateers from all over the world. These were not only
tolerated by the British governor, but also viewed as a valuable
military asset in the defense of the island against possible Spanish
attempts to reconquer it. Thanks to the protection of the island
governor, privateers such as Henry Morgan were able to launch their
attacks on the Spanish colonial empire from here without hindrance. This
in turn benefited Jamaica's economy, as the pirates sold and squandered
a large part of their loot after their return, thus feeding it into the
economic cycle. The pirate era on the island ended with the destruction
of the city by an earthquake on June 7, 1692. Spanish Town became the
capital again until it was replaced by Kingston in 1755. The port city
became one of the most important transshipment points for the British
slave trade in the Caribbean.
In 1694, the Frenchman Du Casse
landed with 1,500 soldiers in the north and east of Jamaica. His attempt
to conquer the island failed due to the resistance of the settlers.
After ten days of fighting, the French had to retreat to their ships. Du
Casse destroyed several plantations and kidnapped around 1,300 slaves.
The last attempt to conquer the island failed in 1782, when the French
fleet intended for the invasion was defeated by the British in the
Battle of Les Saintes.
From the 1730s onwards, conflicts with the Maroons became more
frequent. They refused to hand over escaped slaves to the British and
attempted to free more slaves. The First Maroon War reached its climax
in 1734 when Nanny Town, one of the Maroon settlements in the Blue
Mountains, was destroyed. The conflict lasted until peace was concluded
in 1739. The treaty negotiated by Granny Nanny guaranteed the Maroons an
independent colony on the condition that they brought back escaped
slaves and helped defend the island.
The largest slave rebellion
in Jamaica was Tacky's Rebellion in 1760/61, in which hundreds of people
died and British troops were deployed.
The Second Maroon War
broke out in 1795 after the Maroons refused to hand over any more
people. The trigger for the fighting was the torture of two slaves.
5,000 soldiers and bloodhounds trained to hunt people put down the
rebellion. The Maroon leaders were captured and deported to Nova Scotia
in Canada, from where they were later taken to Sierra Leone.
In
1807, the lucrative overseas trade in slaves was banned, but the labor
system itself remained unchanged. There were several minor riots until
the Christmas Uprising broke out in the area around Montego Bay in 1831
under the leadership of Samuel Sharpe. Although it was quickly and
bloodily suppressed, it was part of a development that led to the
Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, i.e. the abolition of slavery. It took
another four years for the new law to be enforced in Jamaica. In the
following years, more and more immigrants came to the island
voluntarily, including a group of workers from India. They were employed
on the plantations, but could not stop the beginning decline of the
sugar industry. Sugar from Cuba was cheaper on the world market.
The living conditions of the freed slaves remained catastrophic.
Although they had gained freedom, they were mostly propertyless and
could not participate in the administration of the island due to a poll
tax. The anger and despair of the population erupted in 1865 in the
Morant Bay uprising led by Paul Bogle and George William Gordon. The
uprising was crushed by the British on the orders of the governor with
massive violence, the local administration was dissolved and Jamaica was
declared a crown colony. More than 1,000 people, including Bogle and
Gordon, were killed. The violence caused horror in Great Britain and led
to closer monitoring of the governors.
In 1866, the new governor, John Peter Grant, began numerous reforms.
The education system was made accessible to larger sections of the
population, labor laws were improved, and the infrastructure was
expanded. The railway network reached its greatest extent, and an
underwater cable to Europe was laid. In 1914, martial law was declared
on the island, and around 10,000 Jamaican soldiers took part in World
War I on the Allied side.
From the 1930s onwards, motivated in
part by the work of Marcus Garvey, there were unrest and uprisings
against British rule. The residents demanded more independence and
fairer taxation. In 1938, the People's National Party (PNP), the first
of the two major parties, was founded by Norman Washington Manley. In
1944, a new constitution came into force, which again granted the
country a certain degree of self-government. Jamaica is one of the few
countries where women's suffrage became law during World War II. For the
first election on November 20, 1944, universal active and passive voting
rights already applied. When independence was achieved on August 6,
1962, universal voting rights were confirmed. In the same year, the
first free, general and equal elections took place.
During the
Second World War, Jamaica was used by Great Britain and the USA as a
naval base. The country itself supported the Allies with troops and
money. After the war, there were attempts to place the West Indian
colonies under a joint administration. In 1947, the first negotiations
to establish the West Indian Federation took place in Montego Bay. A
year later, the University of the West Indies, a joint university for 16
Caribbean states, was founded in Mona near Kingston. In 1958, Jamaica
and nine other British territories in the Caribbean joined the West
Indian Federation, but left again in 1961 after a referendum.
Independence from Great Britain was achieved on August 6, 1962, and
membership of the United Nations followed on September 18. Jamaica has
been a free member of the Commonwealth of Nations since then. The first
Prime Minister was Alexander Bustamante of the Jamaica Labour Party
(JLP), which remained in power until 1972. The first session of
Parliament was opened by Princess Margaret. In the following years,
Jamaica joined several international organizations, including the UN
Human Rights Committee.
In 1966, both Elizabeth II and Haile
Selassie, who was important to the Rastafarian movement, visited the
island to great cheers; the same year the British Empire and
Commonwealth Games took place, the largest sporting event in the
country's history. In October, gang wars in Kingston led to the
declaration of a state of emergency. It took the police and military a
month to bring the situation under control. After his term ended in
February 1967, Bustamante withdrew from the leadership of his party. His
successor, Donald Sangster, won the parliamentary election on February
21, 1967 with 33 of 53 seats. A few weeks later, he suffered a stroke,
was flown to Canada for treatment and died there on April 11, 1967. Hugh
Shearer ruled until the end of the legislative period. His term of
office saw the switch to the metric system in 1968 and the introduction
of the Jamaican dollar in 1971, a drought in 1967–1968 and a nationwide
police strike for higher wages.
Failed measures to combat the effects of the drought and the strike
caused the population to doubt Shearer's leadership qualities. The
People's National Party (PNP) under Michael Manley won 37 of the 53
seats in the parliamentary elections on 29 February 1972. In the first
years after independence, Jamaica had pursued a pro-Western foreign
policy. Manley, on the other hand, declared democratic socialism to be
the form of government and established relations with socialist states.
Numerous companies were nationalised and bought up, particularly in the
mining industry. The new policy was not directly communist - the
democratic structures remained in place and large parts of the market
remained privately owned - but was often interpreted as such because of
Manley's close friendship with Fidel Castro and because of a trade
mission to the Soviet Union. Despite intensive negotiations, relations
with the International Monetary Fund broke off in 1979 and the economy
stagnated. In June 1980, four months before the parliamentary elections
on October 30, 1980, the police uncovered preparations by the Jamaica
Defence Force for a coup. 24 soldiers and three civilians were arrested
and sentenced to several years in prison.
Nevertheless,
international relations did not break off completely. Jamaica joined the
ACP states through the Lomé Agreement of 1975. The agreement and its
successor, the Cotonou Agreement of 2002, secured the country
development aid and tariff preferences, including on the European
market, but also forced it to open some of its markets to foreign
products. Many of the concessions, especially on the banana market,
expired in 2006.
The increased poverty resulting from international isolation gave the
JLP a clear election victory in 1980 with 51 seats to nine, a success
that was repeated in the local elections a year later. The new Prime
Minister, Edward Seaga, returned to a pro-Western foreign policy.
Manley's domestic measures, which included nationalization and the
expansion of social facilities, largely remained in place. Relations
with the International Monetary Fund were resumed and relations with
Cuba were broken off. In the same year, Jamaica received assurances from
the UN that the headquarters of the newly founded International Seabed
Authority would be built in Kingston. The USA and the EU in particular
now granted loans and economic aid to strengthen the economy and improve
the dilapidated infrastructure. Nevertheless, by 1983 the Jamaican
dollar had lost so much value against the US dollar that the government
was forced to call new elections. The PNP refused to participate because
it felt disadvantaged by the division of the constituencies. The JLP won
all 60 seats and was able to govern without opposition until 1987.
In October 1983, the US invasion of Grenada began, which lasted a
week. According to the official US statement, Jamaica, among others, had
expressed a desire to overthrow the communist government there in the
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. In reality, however, the
initiative came from the US. For the first and only time since
independence, the island made soldiers available for foreign deployment.
Together with Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, St. Lucia and St.
Vincent, it sent 300 men, but they were not used for combat operations.
On September 12, 1988, Hurricane Gilbert reached Jamaica. The eye of
the storm crossed the entire length of the island and caused great
damage. Damage amounted to four billion US dollars, and 40% of the
cultivated areas were destroyed. Kingston and Saint Andrew Parish as
well as Hanover Parish were the worst affected, with water and
electricity supplies failing for several days. In the following months,
there was extensive international aid, which only partially reached the
people due to corruption and embezzlement, but which did stimulate the
economy again.
Delays in rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure,
especially in the small communities along the coast, damaged the
population's confidence in the government's abilities. In the
parliamentary elections in 1989, it only won 15 of the 60 seats. Michael
Manley became Prime Minister again, but had to resign in 1992 for health
reasons. Percival J. Patterson became his successor and remained in
office until 2006. Thanks to international aid, the economic situation
was again relatively favorable in 1990 and encouraged the establishment
of many banks and insurance companies that took on large financial
risks. In 1996, unexpectedly sharply rising interest rates led to a
collapse of the entire financial sector.
For several years,
Jamaica has been trying to get involved in international organizations
to raise awareness of its problems. For example, it took over the
presidency of the United Nations Security Council for one month in July
2000 and November 2001.
Jamaica is a stable parliamentary representative democratic monarchy. The constitution, drawn up in 1962 by a joint committee of the parties represented in the Jamaican parliament, is based on the system of the United Kingdom (Westminster system). Every citizen over the age of 18 is entitled to vote. Virtually all state agencies are based in the capital, Kingston.
The head of state is King Charles III, who bears the title King of
Jamaica. He is represented by a governor general, who is appointed by
the prime minister and his cabinet. Both the king and the governor
general have largely ceremonial duties, including the appointment of the
prime minister and ministers. The government is headed by the prime
minister. As is usual in countries with a Westminster system, he is
endowed with extensive powers and can make many important decisions
without consulting parliament. The actual administration of the country
is carried out by authorities headed by a specialist minister. After
being appointed by the Governor General, the Prime Minister
automatically becomes the leader of the party that holds the majority in
Parliament. A change in the party leadership leads to the appointment of
a new Prime Minister within a few weeks.
In the early
parliamentary elections on September 13, 2020, the Jamaica Labour Party
(JLP) was able to significantly expand its position and the previous
Prime Minister Andrew Holness remained in office.
On the occasion
of the visit of British Prince William and his wife Duchess Kate on
March 23, 2022, Prime Minister Andrew Holness indicated that the country
would secede from the Crown.
The Parliament of Jamaica consists of two chambers, the House of
Representatives and the Senate. The members of the House of
Representatives (Members of Parliament or MPs) are directly elected
every five years. Jamaica traditionally has a two-party system, only the
People's National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) are
represented in Parliament, both of which have provided Prime Ministers
several times in the past. In the parliamentary election on December 3,
2020, the JLP won 49 of the 63 parliamentary seats, significantly
expanding its very narrow majority won in the 2016 election. Other
parties and coalitions play no role. The government's strong position
limits the chamber's actual influence.
The Senate consists of 21
members. The senators are appointed by the Governor General, 13 of them
on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, eight on the recommendation
of the Leader of the Opposition. A say in political decisions only
exists in a few areas.
The legal system is based on English common law. The judges are
appointed by the Governor General on the recommendation of the Judiciary
Committee. In the case of court presidents, the Prime Minister and the
Leader of the Opposition have a say.
The highest court in the
country is the Court of Appeal, chaired by the Chief Justice in
Kingston. It is a pure appeals court for the lower courts. Like all
Jamaican courts, it is responsible for both civil and criminal law.
Serious offenses and civil disputes are heard in the Supreme Court.
Decisions are made by juries in the case of capital crimes. The Supreme
Court is centrally organized, but the hearings usually take place in the
relevant parishes.
To deal with lesser offenses, each parish has
a Resident Magistrate’s Court, divided into specialist courts. Appeals
from this court bypass the Supreme Court and are sent directly to the
Court of Appeal. The lowest level of jurisdiction is the Petty Sessions.
They are subordinate to the local Magistrate’s Courts and act as
arbitration bodies in civil cases and negotiate fines. The Magistrate’s
Court is permitted as an appeals court.
Even above the Court of
Appeal is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. Like
many other Caribbean states, Jamaica has appeals for particularly
serious offenses heard there. Since 1970, Jamaica has been trying to set
up a joint court for the Caribbean with other states. In February 2001,
an agreement was signed between twelve countries to establish the
Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ). The court, based in Port of Spain,
Trinidad and Tobago, has been operational since 2005, but has not yet
been taken into account by Jamaican law, so it cannot yet be invoked.
Shortly after his election, Bruce Golding announced that he wanted to
make the CCJ the final court of appeal by means of a referendum.
Jamaica retains the death penalty. However, it has rarely been carried
out in recent years because the Privy Council has always commuted the
sentence to life imprisonment when it was appealed to. Opponents of the
CCJ argue that it was only created to prevent these pardons. In a first
decision, however, the court prevented an execution in Barbados.
Even before Jamaica's independence, a two-party system was
established. Both the People's National Party (PNP) and the Jamaican
Labour Party (JLP) have been in power several times since 1962. Other
parties are insignificant and are not currently represented in
parliament.
Both parties are closely linked to one of the two
major unions, the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) and the Trade
Union Congress (TUC). The BITU, founded by Alexander Bustamante in 1938,
became the JLP in 1943, which provided the first prime ministers after
independence. Bustamante's cousin Norman Washington Manley founded the
PNP in 1938, around which the TUC was formed. Both parties describe
themselves as social democratic and their current party programs hardly
differ.
Many sides accuse the parties of maintaining armed gangs
and violently controlling entire districts of Kingston. In fact, there
have been riots in all elections to date, usually with several deaths.
Jamaica is a member of a large number of international organizations,
including the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Caribbean Development
Bank, CELAC, the UN and Interpol. For many years it has been one of the
spokesmen of the Caribbean states, and in 2005 it chaired the G77
development conference. Jamaica is not involved in any international
conflicts, and its soldiers are not deployed outside the country. In
recent years there have been disagreements with the US government, which
suspects the parties of supporting gangs in Kingston in smuggling drugs
from South to North America and protecting them from police
intervention. Apart from that, the relationship between the two
countries is good, and Jamaica received 18.5 million US dollars in
economic aid in 2004.
Relations with the European Union (EU) have
deteriorated after the latter opened its markets to products from other
countries. The increased competition is endangering the cultivation of
bananas and sugar cane, which is already in crisis. Infrastructure
projects financed by the EU are intended to help the country overcome
the problems. Jamaica has embassies in almost all European countries.
Trade has traditionally played an important role in international
relations, which is why the Ministry of Trade and Foreign Affairs are
combined under Minister Anthony Hylton.
The Jamaican army was officially established after Jamaica's independence on July 31, 1962 and is called the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF). It emerged from the West India Regiment and in 2019 consisted of a 3,500-strong professional army and a reserve. There is no conscription. The main task of the JDF is to protect the country and ensure internal security. It reports to the Prime Minister, represented by the Minister for Security and Justice.
Inflation since the 1980s and the increase in the value of the US
dollar compared to the Jamaican dollar have caused prices to rise,
particularly for imported goods. Due to lower exports, many jobs were
lost, especially in agriculture. In addition, almost every resident lost
at least part of their savings when the financial sector collapsed.
Rural exodus increased, especially to Kingston, where there are many
slum-like residential areas. The government made great efforts to create
housing; tens of thousands of cheap apartments were built in Portmore,
for example. But the basic social problems were not solved.
The
poor quality of life encourages crime, which is now the island's biggest
problem. Gangs have formed in the cities that earn money through drug
trafficking and protection rackets. Since the 1970s, the unions and the
parties closely linked to them have also maintained armed gangs that
control neighborhoods where a particularly high number of their own
supporters live. Young people in particular see the gangs as the only
way to get money quickly. In 2009, 1,683 people died as victims of
crime, which corresponds to about 60 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. For
comparison: In 2002, the rate in the USA was 5.7 per 100,000
inhabitants. In 2006, another 277 people were killed during operations
by the Jamaican police. The number of murders fell to 1,124 in 2011 (40
per 100,000 inhabitants), but the murder rate is still one of the
highest in the world. 1,498 died in 2022, and the murder rate in 2021
was 52.1.
Other Caribbean countries such as Honduras and El
Salvador are also struggling with gang crime.
The crime rate is
one of the highest in the world; the crime clearance rate is around 40%.
The few prisons mostly date back to the colonial era and are
overcrowded. Prison conditions are generally poor. Jamaica is a transit
point for drug trafficking from South to North America. According to
estimates by the Ministry of Security, around 80 tons of cocaine pass
through the island every year. Smuggling is very lucrative for
middlemen. Many coastal regions are controlled by mafia organizations,
which is partly due to the fact that the police are concentrated in the
cities. Cooperation with the USA has not been able to affect business,
which is partly due to the widespread corruption among high-ranking
officials. Transparency International ranks Jamaica 83rd out of 176 in
its 2016 corruption report.
The Jamaican armed forces are
increasingly cracking down on gang crime. The government has often
declared a state of emergency.
On June 2, 2015, the Jamaican government led by Portia Simpson Miller
decided to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana for private, medical
or scientific use. It may only be subject to a fine. The appendix to the
existing law defines two ounces as the minimum amount for an arrest.
“Too many of our young people have ended up with criminal
convictions after being caught with a spliff, something that has
affected their ability to do things like get jobs and get visas to
travel overseas”
“Too many of our young people have ended up with
criminal convictions after being caught with a spliff, something that
has affected their ability to do things like get jobs and get visas to
travel overseas.”
– Justice Minister Mark Golding
Population -
2.8 million (July 2010 est.)
Birth rate - 19.5 per 1000
Mortality
- 6.5 per 1000
Emigration - 5.5 per 1000
Annual population growth
- 0.7%
Fertility - 2.2 births per woman
Average life expectancy -
71.8 years for men, 75.3 years for women
Infection with the
immunodeficiency virus (HIV) - 1.6% (2007 estimate)
Literacy - 84% of
men, 92% of women
Urban population - 53%
Ethno-racial
composition: Africans 91.2%, mulattoes 6.2%, other 2.6% (according to
the 2001 census).
Languages: The main spoken language is Jamaican
Creole ("Patois") based on English and Spanish, with Standard English
being the official language.
Religions: Protestant of various
persuasions 62.5%, Catholics 2.6%, Rastafari 10%, atheists 20.9%, other
and undecided 4% (according to the 2001 census). Protestants are
represented by Baptists, Anglicans, Methodists, Pentecostals from the
Church of God and the Assemblies of God, etc.
Largest cities:
Kingston (660 thousand people), Montego Bay (83 thousand).
Jamaica is one of the wealthier countries in the Caribbean.
Nevertheless, one in five inhabitants lives below the poverty line. The
price level for consumer goods and many foods in supermarkets is
comparable to that of some European countries (in 2011, 15 US dollars
for a bottle of rum or 150 Jamaican dollars for a beer, 115 Jamaican
dollars for a liter of gasoline in the supermarket). Until the 1940s,
the export of agricultural products was the country's only source of
income. Since then, tourism and the mining and processing of mineral
resources have become the most important economic sectors.
Since
the early 1980s, there have been attempts to modernize the economy and
build a stable infrastructure with the help of international funding.
From 1985 to 1995, the economy grew slowly but steadily. Despite this,
inflation reached a record high of 80.2% in 1991, caused by rising oil
prices and financial instability on the island, among other things.
In the 1990s, the government succeeded in attracting more foreign
investors by liberalizing the market, which particularly promoted
tourism and stabilized prices. The economy developed well until 1995,
when renewed financing problems and the worst drought in 70 years in
1997 led to four years of recession.
Since 2000, economic growth
has resumed and inflation has reached a low of 6.1%. The terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001 and the devastating hurricane season in
2005 had a negative impact, but did not stop the positive overall
development. The most important trading partners are the USA, Canada,
France and Trinidad and Tobago.
The unemployment rate was 6% in
2022, but has fallen repeatedly in recent years. In 2013, for example,
it was still at 15.3%. Around 60% work in the service sector, 16% in
industry and another 16% in agriculture. The gross domestic product,
calculated on the basis of purchasing power parity, was 16.2 billion
euros, and here too the figure is continuously increasing. The GDP per
capita was €5,472 in 2022. In the Global Competitiveness Index, which
measures the competitiveness of a country, Jamaica ranks 75th out of 138
countries (as of 2016). In the Index of Economic Freedom, the country
ranked 41st out of 180 countries in 2017. The economy in Jamaica suffers
from the high debt burden of the state. At 13.56 billion euros, the
national debt in 2022 was around 88% of the gross domestic product.
As with many other Caribbean countries, the most important source of
foreign currency is still money transferred by emigrants to relatives on
the island. The US dollar is also (legally) accepted as currency on the
island.
16% of the population work in agriculture. The main products produced
are bananas, sugar cane, coffee beans, fruit and spices for export.
Jamaica is also the world's main exporter of allspice, with a market
share of around 65%, and covers the world's demand. In addition,
coconuts, grains, ginger, sweet potatoes, yams, beans, peas, annatto and
sisal are produced for the local market. Some of the sugar cane is
processed into sugar and alcohol directly on the island. A well-known
product here is rum, for example. Some coffee is also produced directly
on the island. Despite the high level of employment, the industry only
contributes 4.9% to the GDP. In addition to a large number of small
businesses, the export goods are mainly produced on large plantations.
In recent years, competition for Jamaican products has grown. While
205,000 tons of sugar were exported in 2001, this figure had fallen to
just 127,000 in 2005. By 2007, however, sales had recovered to 162,000
tons. Only the export volume of rum grew from 23.7 to 24.7 million
liters during this period. The common people prefer JB rum. Appleton
products are also available everywhere. Other rum brands that are also
well known in Europe are Myer's and Captain Morgan.
For the sake
of the environment, it was decided to reduce the amount of chemical
agents used in agriculture and non-agricultural applications.
The island's most important export is bauxite, an aluminum ore. It
accounts for two-thirds of export revenue. They are the seventh largest
bauxite producer in the world (as of 2020). A processing plant was built
in Nain in Saint Elizabeth for 125 million US dollars. Important
deep-water piers were built nearby and in Saint Ann. The bauxite is
shipped unprocessed or refined into aluminum oxide. There is a lack of
cheap electricity for processing into aluminum, such as that available
near the bauxite deposits in New Zealand or Iceland.
In addition
to bauxite, gypsum is also mined, but with significantly lower yields.
Attempts to build up a large cement industry - several large processing
plants were built, including in Mona - failed due to a lack of
investment from abroad and initially low demand. In 2005, the import tax
on cement was raised from 15% to 40%, but this did not lead to increased
production in the country, but rather to a shortage of raw materials in
the construction industry.
Banana transporters brought the first tourists to the island around
1900, and large groups began arriving in 1970. Most people arrive via
one of the two international airports in Kingston and Montego Bay or on
a cruise ship. The actor Errol Flynn, who bought a large property in the
1950s, contributed to the image of the tropical paradise.
In
2000, 2.13 million tourists came to Jamaica. After the terrorist attacks
on September 11, 2001, the number of visitors initially collapsed, but
in 2006, 1.7 million air tourists were registered, an increase of 13.5%
over the previous year. The number of cruise passengers rose by 17.7% to
1.3 million. A new high was reached with 3.02 million tourists. In the
years up to 2011, the number of tourists stagnated at around 3 million,
but then continued to increase. In the years 2017-2019, the number of
tourists exceeded the 4 million mark (2018: 4.32 million). With the
outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in spring 2020, tourism suffered a
severe slump to just 1.33 million tourists.
Revenue from tourism
represents a significant share of the Jamaican economy. While revenue
from the tourism sector was still at 878.45 million euros in 1995, it
rose to 2.62 billion euros by 2018, the peak so far. Revenue stagnated
between 2000 and 2014. The share of gross national product (GNP)
fluctuated between 13.97% (2012) and 19.7% (2018).
Most package
tourists come from North America because of the relatively short flight
times of around four hours. Most of these are Americans of European or
African origin from the northern and northeastern states. Most Canadians
come from Ontario. The rest are tourists from Germany, Great Britain and
Italy. All large holiday hotel chains have corresponding hotels, and all
large European tour operators offer package tours to the three main
holiday resorts of Negril in the west and Montego Bay in the northwest,
as well as Ocho Rios in the north. In addition to typical beach tourism
- and also in connection with it - Jamaica is a preferred destination
for female sex tourists from the aforementioned countries.
Ecotourism is becoming increasingly important as another branch of
tourism in the country and in the Pedro Bank. The government is hoping
for particularly large growth from day trippers from cruise ships.
Jamaica's tourism minister Edmund Bartlett is pursuing the ambitious
goal of having 4,600 new hotel rooms built by 2010.
Tourists are
offered a variety of excursion programs, mostly to scenic attractions,
as there are few historical (colonial) buildings in Jamaica. However,
you won't find large shopping centers or pedestrian zones like in
tourist centers in other countries. The markets and shops are designed
to meet the needs of the local population, but there are also (craft)
markets for tourists, where, like everywhere else, you can buy the usual
souvenirs (T-shirts and mugs with a Jamaican theme, homemade jewelry and
wood carvings). There are also no markets with a large selection of
counterfeit branded textiles.
In 2006, around 55,000 people were
employed in the hotel industry. In addition, there were numerous jobs in
the service industry. A large proportion of the hotel complexes belong
to foreign investors who were lured in with tax breaks in the 1970s.
This means that a large proportion of the income does not benefit
Jamaica, but leaves the island again. A large proportion of the food
used in the hotels is imported.
Cruise tourism has also become increasingly important in Jamaica. The
previous highest number of cruise ships calling at the country was
recorded in 2017 with 589 ships. The highest number of cruise passengers
was also in 2017 at 1.89 million. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the
number of cruise ships has plummeted since March 2020: in 2020, 150
cruise ships were counted, in 2021 only 48. The number of passengers was
429,829 in 2020 and 69,525 in 2021.
Ship arrivals are distributed
between the three major cruise ports of Ocho Rios, Montego Bay and
Falmouth, as well as the much smaller cruise port of Port Antonio. Until
2017, Montego Bay recorded the most ship calls, but since 2018 this has
been Ocho Rios.
The inflation rate of the Jamaican dollar is highly dependent on international events. Due to the global economic crisis, Jamaica's inflation rate rose to 22% in 2008, an increase of 13% over the previous year. After declining to 2-5% in the following years, the inflation rate rose to 10% in 2020-2022 as a result of the corona pandemic.
Export in 2017 - $1.34 billion. Main export
commodities: aluminum, including ore and its compounds (up to 50% of the
value), alcoholic beverages (mainly rum), petroleum products, coffee,
sugar, fruits and vegetables
The main buyers are the USA 30%,
Germany 11%, Canada 9.4%, the Netherlands 6.1%, Russia 4.2%.
Imports in 2017 - $5.82 billion: fuel, including petroleum products (up
to 20%), machinery, equipment and vehicles (up to 28%), finished
medicines and other chemical products, including plastic, paper and food
products.
The main suppliers are the USA 41%, China 7.1%, Japan
5.9%.
The origins of the Jamaican population from almost all parts of the world have led to a cultural mix in all areas. Jamaican culture is thus strongly characterized by the clash of different cultural influences, especially West African, European and Asian traditions. The most important public cultural institution in Jamaica, the Institute of Jamaica, was founded in 1879 by the British governor Anthony Musgrave. Its most important publication is the Jamaica Journal, which has been published since 1967.
Music is an important part of Jamaica's national identity and the
image of the island abroad. Many styles spread from here all over the
world. Singing is often in Jamaican Creole (called Patois).
The
music brought by the slaves from Africa was often religious in nature.
One singer recites a text and another responds; the most important
musical instruments are drums. The Maroons introduced the frame drum
Goombay (Gumbe). At the beginning of the 20th century, the mento, a form
of music unique to the island, developed from the rumba. The style was
particularly popular in the 1940s and 1950s. Later musical styles and
Jamaican folk dance developed from it. The direct, sometimes
pornographic lyrics were often distributed in secret under pressure from
the church.
At the end of the 1950s, the first wave of ska
emerged in the poor residential areas of Kingston. In addition to the
mento, it was influenced by American rhythm and blues and jazz; one of
the first important representatives was the group The Skatalites, from
whom the name ska probably also comes. Originally, most performers were
optimistic after the country gained independence in 1962 and sang of a
better future. The deteriorating living conditions led to
radicalization, and the performers began to address social problems. The
line-up of a ska band usually consists of a rhythm section with guitars,
bass, piano or organ and drums and wind instruments such as saxophone,
trumpet or trombone. The dance associated with ska is called skank.
At the end of the 1960s, Jamaica's most famous musical style,
reggae, developed. The most famous performer is Bob Marley with his band
The Wailers. In addition to wind instruments and drums, electronic
musical instruments and studio effects are used. The Jamaican radio
station RJR played reggae all day long. Two forms of reggae have become
particularly popular in the country: Roots reggae is strongly influenced
by the Rastafarians. In addition to religious themes, the lyrics mainly
deal with poverty and social injustice. The first songs that can be
described as roots reggae were written in 1969, with Satta Massagana by
the Abbyssinians being particularly notable. Its popularity has since
decreased noticeably, but reggae is still widespread. Dancehall is
influenced by hip-hop, the lyrics are sometimes violent and homophobic.
The most famous artists today include Spice, Popcaan, Vybz Kartel,
Bounty Killer, Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Shaggy and Sean Paul.
Jamaican literature can be roughly divided into three sections:
colonial literature, anti-colonial literature and post-colonial
literature. The oldest literary works written in Jamaica were written by
Britons who visited the colony from 1655 onwards. The works were mostly
travel reports or poems about the conditions in the colonies influenced
by European culture. They differ little from works written at the same
time in the rest of the West Indies. Many authors tried to justify the
dominance of Europeans over slaves in their works, others such as
Frances Saymore spoke out against this. One exception was Francis
Williams. The son of former slaves, he was sent to England for education
by the Duke of Montagu at the beginning of the 18th century. After
returning to the island in 1738, he opened a school in Spanish Town and
wrote poems, mostly in Latin. He is considered one of the first
Caribbean-born literary figures.
It was not until 1900 that a
literary scene developed on the island that was independent of the
colonial power of Great Britain. In 1912, Claude McKay was the first to
publish a work in Patois, his volume of poems Songs of Jamaica. In his
novel Banana Bottom, he describes rural Jamaica and was one of the first
to make a connection between the country and African culture. McKay left
the island in 1914 and became one of the most important authors of the
Harlem Renaissance and the Négritude movement in New York. A few years
later, Una Marson began publishing her poems. She campaigned primarily
for Jamaican women and is considered one of the first dark-skinned
feminists. The independence movement in the 1930s increasingly produced
authors who were aware of the importance of African culture for the
island and saw it as a means of creating a national consciousness. One
example is Roger Mais. He served a prison sentence until 1940 for his
involvement in the 1938 workers' uprisings. During his time in prison he
wrote The Hills Were Joyful Together, a novel that deals with the
problems of the working class in Kingston. In later works he sympathized
with the Rastafari movement. Marcus Garvey made the return to African
roots the focus of his poems. He also left the island for the USA, where
he founded the civil rights movement UNIA-ACL.
It has always been
difficult for authors to earn enough money in Jamaica to finance their
living. They find it difficult to attract attention from the Caribbean,
as there are hardly any publishers who can distribute their works. Since
the 1950s, many writers have left the island to continue their careers
abroad. Over time, "colonies" of Jamaican artists have formed,
particularly in Canada and Great Britain. Some authors, such as Erna
Brodber (Jane and Louisa Will Soon Come Home 1980), have retained their
connection to Jamaica even abroad, while others have adapted to the
local cultural scene over time. Many works from the post-independence
period were not written in Jamaica. Personal identity is an important
theme for younger authors, as are the social circumstances and
developments in their old homeland. In The Painted Canou (1983), Anthony
C. Winkler gives an insight into the life of a simple fisherman. Another
recurring theme is the clever spider Anansi (usually written Anancy in
Jamaica). Originally a West African spider deity, she is a symbol of the
African origins of the population. She is usually described, among
others by Louise Bennett-Coverley, as a clever animal that uses cunning
to prevail against seemingly overwhelming opponents.
The English brought European theatre to Jamaica. The first theatre
was probably built in Spanish Town in 1682, others followed in Port
Royal and later in Kingston. Works by English authors were performed. At
first only wealthy white landowners were allowed to attend, and at the
beginning of the 19th century slaves were also allowed to attend in
separate areas. African and indigenous traditions were suppressed, and
performances were only permitted on special occasions. In 1813 there
were several riots in the Royal Theatre in Kingston, which put an end to
the separation of seats. In 1853 Charles Shanahan, a son of former
slaves, was able to perform his satire The Mysteries of Vegetarianism.
The national movements that emerged in the 1930s also increased the
influence of African traditions on theatre. Marcus Garvey wrote plays
that appealed to the general population. He founded Edelweiss Park, a
cultural centre in which numerous plays with an African background were
performed. Building on English traditions, pantomime developed and was
the most popular form of entertainment at the time of independence. In
contrast to conventional pantomime, there are dialogues, usually in
patois, which are accompanied by music. Sometimes passages are
improvised or the audience is involved in scenes. Basically, anything
can be the subject of a performance, but performances on the Anansi
theme are particularly popular. In the 1960s and 1970s, the theaters
were well attended and attracted audiences from all over the island.
Most of the venues are in Kingston, including the Jamaican Theater with
1,750 seats and the Ward Theater, founded in 1912.
Today, the
theater is suffering from the poor economic situation. On the island, it
is difficult to find enough audiences to put on professional
performances. Most of those involved work in other jobs on the side. The
Ward Theater in particular is suffering from financial constraints and
is in urgent need of renovation. The state supports actors through the
Institute of Jamaica and the University of the West Indies. In addition,
education at drama schools is free.
As in practically all other cultural areas, it took until the 20th
century for an independent art scene to develop in Jamaica. Edna Manley,
Norman Manley's wife, was the first to incorporate African traditions
into her statues and paintings. Her most important work is the statue
Negro Aroused, a bronze replica of which now stands in Kingston and
shows a rising man in the style of African artists. Manley founded the
first Junior Center at the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ) in 1941 with the
aim of promoting young artists. A second center has existed in Portmore
since 1996. Both are financed by the state and donations through the
IOJ. The Edna Manley College of Visual And Performing Arts, where
degrees can be obtained in various artistic fields, is also named after
Manley. A documentation center for the visual arts is the National
Gallery of Jamaica in Kingston. It is part of the IOJ as a subsidiary
organization.
The most famous painters include Barrington Watson,
Eugene Hyde and Karl Parboosingh. All three were trained abroad and
painted in an expressionist style. In contrast, John Dunkley (1891-1947)
was inspired by African traditions, as were Robert Cookhorn (known as
Omari Ra), Douglas Wallace (known as Khalfani Ra) and Valentine
Fariclough (known as Tehuti Ra) since the 1980s. The artist names, which
come from Africa, are intended to underline the connection to this
continent.
In addition to painting, numerous artists make wooden
or stone figures in the African tradition. The main motifs are animals,
including the spider Anansi. The production of these works is partly
industrialized to serve the tourist market.
The country's press is one of the freest in the world and the freest
on the American continent.
There are currently two large
broadcasters in Jamaica that broadcast both television and radio
programs. The most important national broadcasters are CVM and
Television Jamaica. There are also specialty channels such as Reggae Sun
Television and Hype TV, which mainly broadcast music. In addition, many
North American and British channels can be received via satellite. The
BBC also has its own broadcasting license for terrestrial transmissions.
Some channels are also broadcast via the Internet. There is a large
selection of radio stations, both local and national. The first station
received its license in 1940. Today, 19 companies and organizations have
a broadcasting license. The state largely withdrew from the media sector
in the late 1990s and only one radio station remains in public hands.
Despite the widespread use of television and radio, daily newspapers
are still the most important source of information for the population.
Four newspapers have a circulation of more than 100,000 copies: The
Gleaner, The Star and Jamaica Observer. The Gleaner was founded in 1834
and is the oldest newspaper in the Caribbean still in existence.
The diverse landscape of Jamaica has been used as a filming location
by foreign productions since the 1950s, for example for the James Bond
films Live and Let Die and Dr. No. There were no financial resources to
develop a domestic film industry. The first local production to achieve
international fame was The Harder They Come (1972), which tells the
story of Ivanhoe "Rhygin'" Martin, a singer and gangster. The work has
been performed as a musical in London since 2006. Numerous other films
subsequently chose the theme of music. The most famous actor in Jamaica
is Paul Campbell, who is best known for his roles in the musical film
Dancehall Queen and the commercially successful police film Third World
Cop.
The Jamaica Film Commission, founded in 1984, is tasked with
finding investors and coordinating projects on behalf of the government.
Jamaican cuisine is very diverse and influenced by African, European
and Asian cultures. It is known for its hot sauces and spicy dishes.
Locally grown fruit and vegetables, as well as poultry (jerk chicken)
and saltwater fish are used. Although cattle and pigs are raised in
western Jamaica, their meat is rarely prepared, and most of it is
exported. A traditional method of preparation is marinating and then
roasting it in an open fire or in cut-open metal barrels. A curry made
from goat meat is often offered at festivals. A very common fruit is the
ackee tree. Sweet dishes made from mango and soursop ice cream are
popular for dessert. The Rastafarians, who mostly refuse to eat pork and
alcohol, have their own cuisine.
Traditionally, various spirits
are produced in Jamaica, mainly based on rum. One of the world's
best-known brands is Captain Morgan, which is one of the world's
best-selling rum brands. Jamaican lagers are also popular, such as Red
Stripe, which is produced by two breweries on the island. Some of the
coffee, which has been grown more in the Blue Mountains in recent years,
remains in the country and, like tea, is processed into mixed drinks or
drunk directly. The word tea mainly refers to all types of hot drinks,
mainly alcoholic ones.
The most popular sport in Jamaica is cricket, which is also the
official national sport. It came to the island with the British and
spread among the population from the end of the 19th century. The
country's first internationally successful athletes were cricketers, who
were mainly under contract in Great Britain. These successes in a sport
that was originally dominated by the colonial rulers contributed to the
formation of the national consciousness of Jamaicans. Today there are
two large cricket stadiums available, Sabina Park in Kingston with a
capacity of 21,000 and the newly built Greenfield Stadium in Trewlany
Parish with 25,000 seats. At the international level, Jamaica appears
together with other Caribbean countries in the West Indies cricket team.
The West Indies Cricket Team has taken part in almost every Cricket
World Cup, winning the first two editions in 1975 and 1979 and only
missing the 2023 tournament. In 2007, one of the semi-finals of the 2007
Cricket World Cup was held on the island.
The athletes receive
the most international attention. At the 1952 Summer Olympics in
Helsinki, the 4 x 400 meter relay won gold against the favored
Americans. There was also another gold medal in the 400 meters and three
silver medals. The athletes involved are still revered as heroes in
Jamaica today. The runners in particular have been able to prevail time
and again at the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. At the 2006
Commonwealth Games, the country finished 7th with ten gold medals. At
the 2004 Summer Olympics, Veronica Campbell won the gold medal in the
200-meter race, and the women's 4 x 100-meter relay was also successful.
In both events, Jamaica was one of the most successful countries in
terms of population. One of the world's most successful athletes in
history is eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt, who set world records
as a sprinter in the 100- and 200-meter races, as well as in the 4 x
100-meter relay.
The foundation in athletics is strong, many
children and young people try to emulate their idols and, not least, to
secure a secure source of income. The largest sporting event in Jamaica
to date was the hosting of the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in
Kingston in 1966, in which 1,300 athletes took part. The island's
largest stadium, Independence Park, with 36,000 seats, was built for the
occasion.
There are various programs in which sport is used to
get young people off the streets and thus away from the influence of
criminal gangs.
The Reggae Boyz, the nickname of the Jamaican
national football team, celebrated their greatest success at the World
Cup in France in 1998. After their only successful qualification for the
finals, the team was eliminated after two defeats and one win. In 1991,
1998, 2005, 2007 and 2014 they won the Caribbean Football Championship.
Despite its increasing popularity, football has not yet managed to
replace cricket as the most popular sport.
The Jamaican bobsleigh
team rose to fame when it took part in the 1988 Winter Olympics in
Calgary. The film Cool Runnings tells the story.
Special Olympics
Jamaica was founded in 1978 and has participated in the Special Olympics
World Games several times.