Jamaica

Christopher Columbus landed on Jamaica on May 5, 1494 and claimed it for Spain. The adventurer named the island St Iago (St James).

On a later voyage, Columbus, in an effort to induce the natives of Jamaica to continue provisioning him and his hungry men, successfully intimidated the natives by correctly predicting a total lunar eclipse for February 29, 1504.

C. Colomb's Eclipse. Caption: "Fig. 86. — L'éclipse de lune de Christophe Colomb."

The indigenous Arawak people called the island Xaymaca (meaning Land of Wood and Water, or Land of Springs) from which the name Jamaica derives.

The other main indigenous people were the Tainos, whom the Spaniards enslaved. They had all died out by the time the British arrived in 1655.

The Taino language has given us the words cassava, maize, papaya and savannah.

Upon assuming control over England, Oliver Cromwell sent out the Royal Navy to capture territory from Spain in the Caribbean. The British invasion of Jamaica began on May 19, 1655. The English expedition was easily able to capture Jamaica from the Spanish because the island had no fortifications. It was a very important territorial gain for the English as it gave them a prime staging ground to launch privateering raids at the Spanish. 

Below is the 1657 Battle of Santa Cruz during the 1654–60 Anglo-Spanish War, painted by Charles Edward Dixon.

In 1658, the Spanish launched a major invasion, with an army of over 2,000 men. The English forces were outnumbered, but they were well-prepared and they had the advantage of fighting on home turf.

The Battle of Rio Nuevo, the largest battle ever fought on Jamaica, took place between 25 and 27 June 1658, between Spanish forces under Cristóbal Arnaldo Isasi and English forces under governor Edward D'Oyley. The battle was fought in the Rio Nuevo valley, which is located in the St. Mary Parish of Jamaica.

The Battle of Rio Nuevo was very bloody. In the end, the English were victorious, and the Spanish were routed. The Battle of Rio Nuevo was a turning point in the English conquest of Jamaica, and it ensured that the island would remain under English control for the next 300 years.

At its peak in the 18th century, there were an estimated 814 sugar plantations on Jamaica. The sugar industry was the backbone of the Jamaican economy for centuries, and it was the driving force behind the island's slave trade.

Sugar plantations were incredibly profitable, and they generated vast wealth for their owners. However, they were also brutal and exploitative institutions. Enslaved people were forced to work long hours in harsh conditions, and they were subjected to physical and psychological abuse.

The sugar industry declined in the 19th century, due to a number of factors, including the abolition of slavery and the rise of competition from other sugar-producing regions.

The mongoose was imported to Jamaica to rid the cane fields of rats in 1872. The mongooses have also eaten almost all the snakes is Jamaica.

When the Second World War war ended, James Bond author Ian Fleming retired to Jamaica where he built a house called "Goldeneye."

August 6th is Independence Day in Jamaica, celebrating their independence from the the British-protected Federation of the West Indies on August 6, 1962.

The flag of Jamaica was adopted on August 6, 1962, the original Jamaican Independence Day. Jamaica is the only country with no red, white or blue in its flag which is green, yellow and black symbolizing the land, sun and strong people.

Jamaica won twelve medals at the London Olympics in 2012 which works out at one medal per 225,485 of the population. The only country to do better than Jamaica in terms of medals per head was Grenada, but they won only one medal.

Jamaica and Mauritania are the only countries whose flags have no red, white or blue in them.

Jamaican patois is the most commonly spoken language, a creole based on English.

Jamaica has the most churches per square mile of any country in the world.

Source Daily Express