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Share this article via comment Share this article via facebook Share this article via twitter. Jamaica becoming an Independent Nation, now meant that Britain, no longer controlled the affairs of the country. It was now the responsibility of the newly elected Prime Minister and the locally elected Cabinet. Independence also meant that a Constitution, symbols, emblems, an army, Jamaican currency and passports had to be developed for the country.
As an Independent Nation, Jamaica assigns Ambassadors overseas who represent the country. They sign treaties on behalf of Jamaica and become members of various international organisations. This is important, as it gives Jamaica equal rights on various issues relating to international trade, policies and treaties. Every year on August 6, previously first Monday in August , Jamaicans celebrate the removal of our dependence on Britain, to control specific functions of the country.
At this time we also honour all those persons who were responsible for the transfer of power. In October, during National Heritage Week third Monday in October , we also honour our six National Heroes and one Heroine, in recognition of their contribution to the birth of our nation. Skip to content Jamaica Information Service.
Government of Jamaica. Towns were little more than settlements. The only town that was developed was Spanish Town, the old capital of Jamaica, then called St. Jago de la Vega. It was the centre of government and trade and had many churches and convents.
The little attention the colony received from Spain soon led to a major reason for internal strife. This contributed to the weakening of the colony in the last years of Spanish occupation. The governors were not getting proper support from home and quarrels with church authorities undermined their control. The Spaniards surrendered to the English, freed their slaves and then fled to Cuba. It was this set of freed slaves and their descendants who became known as the Maroons.
The early period of English settlement in Jamaica, drew much attention to the buccaneers based at Port Royal. Buccaneering had begun on the islands of Tortuga and Hispaniola.
They were a wild, rough and ruthless set of sea rovers. They took their loot of gold, silver and jewels to Port Royal. Port Royal prior to this time was an insignificant town in Jamaica. The greatest buccaneer captain of all was Henry Morgan. He started out as a pirate and later became a privateer. Morgan mercilessly raided Spanish fleet and colonies. He kept the Spaniards busy defending their coasts that they had little time to attack Jamaica.
Morgan died in A violent earthquake destroyed Port Royal on June 7, The survivors of the earthquake who re-settled in Kingston abandoned the Port. Port Royal became an important naval base in the eighteenth century. The English settlers concerned themselves with growing crops that could easily be sold in England. Tobacco, indigo and cocoa soon gave way to sugar which became the main crop for the island.
The sugar industry grew so rapidly that the 57 sugar estates in the island in grew to nearly by Enslaved Africans filled the large labour force required for the industry.
The colonists were impressed with the performance and endurance of the Africans, as well as the fact that African labour was cheaper and more promising.
They continued to ship Africans to the West Indies to be sold to planters who forced them to work on sugar plantations. The slave trade became a popular and profitable venture for the colonists. The voyage was so named because the journey of a British slaver was 3-sided, starting from England with trade goods, to Africa where these were exchanged for slaves. Afterwards, the journey continued to the West Indies where the slaves were landed and sugar, rum and molasses taken aboard for the final leg of the journey back to England.
The slaves, however, were unhappy with their status, so they rebelled whenever they could. Many of them were successful in running away from the plantations and joining the Maroons in the almost inaccessible mountains. James, led by Sam Sharpe. He has since been named a National Hero. The Maroons also had several wars against the English. In and after two major Maroon Wars, treaties were signed with the British. In the treaty of , they were given land and rights as free men.
In return they were to stop fighting and help to recapture run-away slaves. This treaty resulted in a rift among the Maroons as they did not all agree that they should return run-away slaves to the plantations. The frequent slave rebellions in the Caribbean was one factor that led to the abolition of the slave trade and slavery.
Humanitarian groups such as the Quakers publicly protested against slavery and the slave trade. They formed an anti slavery committee which was joined by supporters such as Granville Sharp, James Ramsay, Thomas Clarkson and later on, William Wilberforce.
On January 1, the Abolition Bill was passed. Emancipation and apprenticeship came into effect in and full freedom was granted in The immediate post slavery days were very difficult for the poorer classes.
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