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Jamaica i/dʒəˈmeɪkə/ is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 234 kilometres (145 mi) in length, up to 80 kilometres (50 mi) in width and 10,990 square kilometres (4,243 sq mi) in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states of Haiti and theDominican Republic.Its indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno inhabitants named the islandXaymaca, meaning the "Land of Wood and Water", or the "Land of Springs".[4]
Once a Spanish possession known as Santiago, in 1655 it became an English, and later a British, colony, known as "Jamaica". It achieved full independence on August 6, 1962.[5] With 2.8 million people, it is the third most populous anglophone country in theAmericas, after theUnited States and Canada. It remains a Commonwealth realm in concert with the Monarchy of Jamaica holding ultimate executive power, where Queen Elizabeth II is the current head of stateand Queen of Jamaica.[6][7][8] Kingston is the country's largest city and the capitaHistory
Government
Jamaica is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with Queen ElizabethIIserving as the Jamaican monarch.[22] However, as Elizabeth II is shared as head of state of fifteen other countries and resides mostly in the United Kingdom, she is thus often represented as Queen of Jamaica in Jamaica and abroad by the Governor-General of Jamaica.[23] The governor-general is nominated by the Prime Minister of Jamaica and the entire Cabinet and appointed by the monarch. All the membersof the Cabinet are appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister. The monarch and the governor-general serve largely ceremonial roles, apart from their potent reserve power to dismiss the prime minister or parliament.
Jamaica's current constitution was drafted in 1962 by a bipartisan joint committee of the Jamaican legislature. It came into force with the JamaicaIndependence Act, 1962 of the United Kingdom parliament, which gave Jamaica independence.

history

The Arawak and Taino indigenous people, originating in South America, settled on the island between 4000 and 1000 BC.[10] When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1494, there were over 200 villages ruled by caciques (chiefs of villages). The south coast of Jamaica was the most populated, especially aroundthe area now known as Old Harbour.[10] The Tainos were still inhabiting Jamaica when the English took control of the island.[10] The Jamaican National Heritage Trust is attempting to locate and document any evidence of the Taino/Arawaks.[11]
Christopher Columbus claimed Jamaica for Spain after landing there in 1494 and his probable landing point was Dry Harbour, now calledDiscovery Bay.[12] Thereis some debate as to whether he landed in St. Ann's Bay or in Discovery Bay. St. Ann's Bay was the "Saint Gloria" of Columbus who first sighted Jamaica at this point. One mile west of St. Ann's Bay is the site of the first Spanish settlement on the island,Sevilla, which was established in 1509 and abandoned around 1524 because it was deemed unhealthy.[13] The capital was moved to Spanish Town, thencalled "St. Jago de la Vega", around 1534 and is located in present day St. Catherine.[14]
Out of all the British colonies in the Caribbean, Spanish Town has the oldest cathedral.[14] The Spanish were forcibly evicted by the English at Ocho Rios in St. Ann. In 1655 the English, led by William Penn and General Robert Venables, took over the last Spanish fort in Jamaica.[15] The name of MontegoBay, the capital of the parish of St. James, was derived from the Spanish name manteca bahía (or Bay of Lard) for the large quantity of boar used for the lard-making industry.
In 1660, the population of Jamaica was about 4,500 whites and 1,500 blacks,[18] but as early as the 1670s, blacks would form a majority of the population.[19]
When the English captured Jamaica in 1655 the Spanish...