Jamaican Culture & History
Arawaks and Columbus, Pineapples and Sugarcane, Pirates and Tourists, Slaves and Revolutions, Great Houses and Mega-Resorts. As the natural beauty of Jamaica is sweeping, so is the history and culture of its people. Jamaica, like the rest of the Caribbean, is a crossroads of history, blending culture, music, cuisine and art from Africa, Europe, the Americas and even parts of Asia.
This unique cultural blend created one of the greatest gifts that Jamaica has shared with the world - Reggae music! Reggae is a powerful musical influence that has spread across the globe for the last 50 years and become synonymous with Jamaica and one of its most famous countrymen, Bob Marley. True reggae fans can plan their Jamaican vacation around one of the numerous Reggae Concerts taking place at all times of the year. Fans of the late Bob Marley should make a point of visiting the singer's hometown of Nine Mile, located in the hills of St. Ann, where the Bob Marley Mausoleum can be visited. The fascinating Bob Marley Experience and Theater featuring a movie highlighting his life, music and concerts can be seen in Ocho Rios. A trip to Kingston will carry you to the Bob Marley Museum housed in the original studio where he recorded most of his songs.
Long before the Europeans "discovered" Jamaica, the island was inhabited by the gentle and peaceful Arawak or Taino Indians. They called the island "Xymaca - the land of wood and water". One visit to this verdant tropical island of rainforests, waterfalls and rivers will confirm it is a fitting name. The Arawak were a carefree and gentle people who lived simple lives, fished for food, and grew cassava and maize. They wore clothing woven from the fibers of wild cotton and adorned themselves with strings of seashells and pearls.
Columbus landed here in 1494, at what is now known as Discovery Bay. As a harbinger of what was to come, he had a fierce battle with the natives and claimed the island for Spain. He returned on his 4th voyage to St. Ann's Bay and was shipwrecked and marooned from 1503 until 1504, when he and 100 survivors were rescued and carried back to Spain.
Traces of Columbus's voyages to Jamaica can be seen at Discovery Bay and the museum located there, as well as the statue of Columbus that commemorates the spot where he was shipwrecked for one year at St. Ann's Bay.
Unfortunately for the Arawaks, their way of life quickly came to an end over the next 50 years of Spanish colonization. European-borne diseases, forced physical labor through slavery, and armed conflict led to the extermination of between 60,000-100,000 of the native Arawaks. Demand for labor brought forth the beginning of slave importation from Africa to replace the Arawak slaves who had been killed.
You can learn about the Arawaks at the Coyaba River Garden Museum in Ocho Rios or the Arawak Museum and the White Marl Taino Museum in Kingston. A visit to such places as the Green Grotto Caves will offer you a glimpse of early Arawak life through preserved cave drawings .
Historic colonial sites abound in Jamaica. To discover remnants of 350 years of Spanish rule in Jamaica, visit the historic sections of Spanish Town, the capital of Spanish Jamaica. Runaway Bay on the north coast is the point where runaway slaves started their escape to other islands, but it is also where Spanish forces fled the British in 1655.
Under the British, the island was one of the most prosperous possessions of the British Empire. Due to its fertile soil, rainfall and thousands of African slaves, the island produced massive amounts of sugar from the many sugar cane plantations that sprang up all over the island. At one time Jamaica produced 22% of the total world's supply of sugar, making it the "Jewel in the British Crown". Many of the Great Houses and estates have been preserved and opened up for tours. In the Montego Bay area you can tour the 200 year old stately Greenwood Great House or the world famous Rose Hall Great House- home of the infamous White Witch of Jamaica who killed her husbands to gain fortune until finding a fitting death at the hands of her own slaves!
