The Caribbean island of Jamaica was inhabited by the Arawak tribes prior to the arrival of Columbus in 1494. Early inhabitants of Jamaica named the land "Xaymaca", meaning "Land of wood and water". The Spanish enslaved the Arawaks, who were so ravaged by their conflict with the Europeans and by foreign diseases that nearly the entire native population was extinct by 1600. The Spanish also transported hundreds of West African slaves to the island.
Michael Norman Manley ON OCC was a Jamaican politician who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1992. Coming from a prosperous background, Manley was a democratic socialist. According to opinion polls, he remains one of Jamaica's most popular prime ministers.
The People's National Party (PNP) is a social-democratic political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by activist Osmond Theodore Fairclough. It holds 30 of the 63 seats in the House of Representatives, as well as a majority of local government bodies, with 151 of the 228 divisions. The party is democratic socialist by constitution.
The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is one of the two major political parties in Jamaica, the other being the People's National Party (PNP). While its name might suggest that it is a social democratic party, the JLP is actually a conservative party. However, it has longstanding ties to the Jamaican labour movement.
Sir Donald Burns Sangster was a Jamaican solicitor and politician, and the second Prime Minister of Jamaica.
The Jamaica national football team is controlled by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), the governing body for football in Jamaica. A member of CFU and CONCACAF, Jamaica has won the Caribbean Cup six times, with their latest win being the 2014 Caribbean Cup when they beat Trinidad and Tobago in the final. Jamaica finished as the runner-up in the 2015 and 2017 editions of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which was their best performance in the competition; losing to Mexico and USA.
Jamaican posses, often referred to simply as posses, are a loose coalition of gangs, based predominantly in Kingston, London, New York City and Toronto, first being involved in drugs and arms trafficking in the early 1980s. It has been claimed that the Jamaican posses are affiliated with Jamaican political parties, such as the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People's National Party (PNP).
Theodore Eccleston Whitmore, OD is a football midfielder from Jamaica. He is the current manager of the Jamaica national football team.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Jamaica, especially men, face legal and social issues not experienced by non-LGBT people. Sodomy and/or buggery are punishable by life imprisonment. On the other hand, sexual behaviour between women is legal.
Portia Lucretia Simpson-Miller,, is a Jamaican politician. She served as Prime Minister of Jamaica from March 2006 to September 2007 and again from 5 January 2012 to 3 March 2016. She was the leader of the People's National Party from 2006 to 2017 and the Leader of the Opposition twice, from 2007 to 2012 and from 2016 to 2017.
Usain St Leo Bolt is a Jamaican retired sprinter. He also is a world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4 × 100 metres relay. His reign as Olympic Games champion in all of these events spans three Olympics. Owing to his achievements and dominance in sprint competition, he is widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time.
Robert Nesta Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career has been marked by blending elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, as well as forging a smooth vocal and distinctive songwriting style. Marley's contributions to music increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide, and made him a global figure in popular culture for over a decade.
The monarchy of Jamaica is a constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch and head of state is the sovereign of Jamaica. The terms Crown in Right of Jamaica, Her Majesty in Right of Jamaica, or The Queen in Right of Jamaica may also be used to refer to the entire executive of the government of Jamaica. Though the Jamaican Crown has its roots in the British Crown, it has evolved to become a distinctly Jamaican institution, represented by its own unique symbols.
David Constantine Brooks, better known by his stage name Mavado, is a Jamaican dj, singer and songwriter, who is signed to We the Best Music Group and formerly to Cash Money Records.
Diplomatic relations between China and Jamaica were established on 21 November 1972. The Chinese government established an embassy in Kingston in 1973. There was no formal representation from Jamaica to China until 1992, when the Jamaican ambassador to Tokyo, Japan was accredited as a non-resident ambassador to Beijing. Jamaica later established a formal embassy in Beijing, and the current ambassador is Courtenay Rattray. The current Chinese ambassador to Jamaica is Chen Jinghua. In 2007, China announced it would provide technical training for more than 2,000 Jamaicans in 2008.
Republicanism in Jamaica is a position which advocates that Jamaica's system of government be changed from a constitutional monarchy to a republic. Both major political parties – the Jamaica Labour Party and the People's National Party – subscribe to the position, and the current Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, has announced that transitioning to a republic will be a priority of his government.
The Jamaican political conflict is a long standing feud between right-wing and left-wing elements in the country, often exploding into violence. The Jamaican Labor Party and the People's National Party have fought for control of the island for years and the rivalry has encouraged urban warfare in Kingston. Each side believes the other to be controlled by foreign elements, the JLP is said to be backed by the American Central Intelligence Agency and the PNP is said to been backed by the Soviet Union and Fidel Castro.
