Jamaica
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Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola (the island containing the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic); the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands lies some to the north-west. Originally inhabited by the indigenous Taíno peoples, the island came under Spanish rule following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494. Many of the indigenous people either were killed or died of diseases, after which the Spanish brought large numbers of African slaves to Jamaica as labourers. The island remained a possession of Spain until 1655, when England (later Great Britain) conquered it, renaming it ''Jamaica''. Under British colonial rule Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with a plantation economy dependent on the African slaves and later their des ...
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Monarchy Of Jamaica
The monarchy of Jamaica is a constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Jamaica. The terms '' Crown in Right of Jamaica'', ''His Majesty in Right of Jamaica'', or ''The King 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. The present monarch is King Charles III—officially titled King of Jamaica—who has reigned since 8 September 2022. He and other members of the Royal Family undertake various public and private functions across Jamaica and on behalf of the country abroad. However, the King is the only member of the Royal Family with any constitutional role, holding ultimate executive authority, though his Royal Prerogative remains bound by laws enacted by his predecessor in parliament and by convent ...
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Afro-Jamaicans
Afro-Jamaicans are Jamaicans of predominant Sub-Saharan African descent. They represent the largest ethnic group in the country. Most Jamaicans of mixed-race descent self-report as just Jamaican. The ethnogenesis of the Black Jamaican people stemmed from the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th century, when enslaved Africans were transported as slaves to Jamaica and other parts of the Americas. The first Africans to arrive in Jamaica came in 1513 from the Iberian Peninsula. When the English invaded Jamaica in 1655, many of them fought with their Spanish masters, who gave them their freedom, and then fled to the mountains, resisting the English colonial administration for decades, becoming known as Maroons. During the period of British rule, slaves brought into Jamaica were primarily Akan, some of whom ran away and joined with Maroons and even took over as leaders. Origin West Africans were captured and enslaved in wars with other West African states, as retribution for crimes co ...
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Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island. In the Americas, Kingston is the largest predominantly English-speaking city in the Caribbean. The local government bodies of the parishes of Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated by the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation Act of 1923, to form the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC). Greater Kingston, or the "Corporate Area" refers to those areas under the KSAC; however, it does not solely refer to Kingston Parish, which only consists of the old downtown and Port Royal. Kingston Parish had a population of 89,057, and St. Andrew Parish had a population of 573,369 in 2011 Kingston is only bordered by Saint Andrew to the east, west and north. The geographical border for the parish of ...
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Jamaican Patois
Jamaican Patois (; locally rendered Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with West African influences, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican diaspora. A majority of the non-English words in Patois come from the West African Akan language. It is spoken by the majority of Jamaicans as a native language. Patois developed in the 17th century when enslaved people from West and Central Africa were exposed to, learned, and nativized the vernacular and dialectal forms of English spoken by the slaveholders: British English, Scots, and Hiberno-English. Jamaican Creole exhibits a gradation between more conservative creole forms that are not significantly mutually intelligible with English, and forms virtually identical to Standard English. Jamaicans refer to their language as ''Patois'', a term also used as a lower-case noun as a catch-all description of pidgins, creoles, dialects, and vernaculars worldwide. Creoles, ...
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Rastafari
Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as Rastafari, Rastafarians, or Rastas. Rastafari beliefs are based on a specific interpretation of the Bible. Central is a monotheistic belief in a single God, referred to as Jah, who is deemed to partially reside within each individual. Rastas accord key importance to Haile Selassie, the emperor of Ethiopia between 1930 and 1974; many regard him as the Second Coming of Jesus and Jah incarnate, while others see him as a human prophet who fully recognised Jah's presence in every individual. Rastafari is Afrocentric and focuses attention on the African diaspora, which it believes is oppressed within Western society, or "Babylon". Many Rastas call for this diaspora's ...
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Prime Minister Of Jamaica
The prime minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Holness, as leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), was sworn in as prime minister on 7 September 2020, having been re-elected as a result of the JLP's landslide victory in the 2020 Jamaican general election. The prime minister is formally appointed into office by the governor general, who represents King Charles III. Official residence and office The prime minister of Jamaica's official residence is Vale Royal. The property was constructed in 1694 by the planter Sir William Taylor, who was one of the richest men in Jamaica at the time. In 1928 the property was sold to the government and became the official residence of the British colonial secretary (then Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs). Vale Royal has subsequently become the official residence of the prime minister. Vale Royal is not open to the public. has been the location of the Office of the Prime Minister since 1972. Prim ...
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Religion In Jamaica
Religion in Jamaica, according to the census of 2011, consists of a breakdown of 69% Christian. Jamaica's laws establish the freedom of religion and prohibit religious discrimination. Christian Protestantism 65% of the Jamaican population are Protestants. Jamaican Protestantism is composed of several denominations: 24% Church of God, 11% Seventh-day Adventist, 10% Pentecostal, 7% Baptist, 4% Anglican, 2% United Church, 2% Methodist, 1% Moravian and 1% Brethren Christian. The Church of God has 111 congregations in six regions: * Western: 10 congregations in the parishes of St. James, St. Elizabeth, Westmoreland and Trelawny * South Central: 27 congregations in the parishes of Manchester and St. Elizabeth * North Central: 17 congregations in the parishes of St. Ann, Manchester and Clarendon * Central: 21 congregations in the parishes of St. Catherine, Manchester and Clarendon * South Eastern: 19 congregations in the parishes of St. Andrew, Kingston and St. Cathe ...
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Indo-Jamaicans
Indo-Jamaicans are the descendants of people who came from the Indian subcontinent to Jamaica. Indians form the third largest ethnic group in Jamaica after Africans and Multiracials. History Due to deteriorating socioeconomic of conditions in British India, more than 36,000 Indians came to British Jamaica as indentured labourers under the Indian indenture system between 1845 and 1917, mostly from Bhojpur and Awadh in the Hindi Belt as well as other parts of North India. A significant minority were from South India. Around two-thirds of the labourers who came remained on the island. The demand for their labour came after the end of slavery in 1830 and the failure to attract workers from Europe. Indian labourers, who had proved their worth in similar conditions in Mauritius, were sought by the British Jamaican government, in addition to workers coming from China. Indian workers were actually paid less than the ex-slaves, who were of West African origin. While slaves obviously ...
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Jamaicans
Jamaicans are the citizens of Jamaica and their descendants in the Jamaican diaspora. The vast majority of Jamaicans are of Sub-Saharan African descent, with minorities of Europeans, East Indians, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and others of mixed ancestry. The bulk of the Jamaican diaspora resides in other Anglophone countries, namely Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Jamaican populations are also prominent in other Caribbean countries, territories and Commonwealth realms, where in the Cayman Islands, Jamaican born residents make up 24.8% of the population. Outside of Anglophone countries, the largest Jamaican diaspora community lives in Costa Rica, where Jamaicans make up a significant percentage of the population. History Census According to the official Jamaica Population Census of 1970, ethnic origins categories in Jamaica include: Black (Mixed); Chinese; East Indian; White; and 'Other' (e.g.: Syrian or Lebanese). Jamaicans of African descent made up 92% of ...
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Jamaican English
Jamaican English, including Jamaican Standard English, is a variety of English native to Jamaica and is the official language of the country. A distinction exists between Jamaican English and Jamaican Patois (or Creole), though not entirely a sharp distinction so much as a gradual continuum between two extremes. Jamaican English tends to follow British English spelling conventions. Sociolinguistics Jamaican Standard English is a type of International Standard English (English language in England). There are several language varieties that have significantly impacted this dialect of English. English was introduced into Jamaica in 1655, because of the colonisation by Britain. British English was spread through post-primary education, and through British teachers that immigrated to Jamaica. Standard English in Jamaica conflated with the British Standard. Individuals who speak the standard variety are often considered to be of a higher social class. Also, American English has ...
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Andrew Holness
Andrew Michael Holness, (born 22 July 1972) is a Jamaican politician who has been the Prime Minister of Jamaica since 3 March 2016, following the 2016 Jamaican general election. Holness previously served as prime minister from October 2011 to 5 January 2012. He succeeded Bruce Golding as prime minister, and decided to go to the polls in the 29 December 2011 general election in an attempt to get his own mandate from the Jamaican electorate. He failed in that bid, however, losing to the People's National Party led by Portia Simpson-Miller, with the PNP gaining 42 seats to the Jamaica Labour Party's 21. Following that defeat, Holness served as Leader of the Opposition from January 2012 to March 2016, when he once again assumed the position of prime minister. In 2020, the Labour Party won a landslide in another general election, and on 7 September Holness was sworn in for another term as prime minister. In October 2011, at the age of 39, Holness became the youngest person ever ...
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Patrick Allen (governor-general)
Sir Patrick Linton Allen (born 7 February 1951) is a Jamaican statesman and former Seventh-day Adventist pastor, who has served as the 6th and current governor-general of Jamaica since 26 February 2009. The fourth of five children in a family of subsistence farmers, Allen spent over a decade as a teacher and principal, before leaving education to be trained as an Adventist minister at Andrews University in the United States. After becoming a pastor, Allen went on to serve in a number of leadership roles within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, eventually becoming the leader of the West Indies Union of Seventh-day Adventists, which had jurisdiction over Jamaica, The Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Allen became Jamaica's sixth appointed governor-general (eighth overall, including two acting governors-general). He replaced Kenneth O. Hall, who resigned for health reasons. Allen's appointment was controversial due to his strong ties to the Seventh ...
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