Jamaicans

expand_more Description

Jamaica was a slave colony for 300 years—first Spanish then British—producing mainly sugarcane. With emancipation in 1838, former slaves turned to farming. Jamaica received its independence in 1962, becoming a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy as part of the British Commonwealth. English is the official language and Jamaican Creole, commonly spoken. Tourism, remittances from Jamaicans living abroad, bauxite mining and alumina processing are the mainstays of the economy. Also, Jamaica is the major Caribbean grower and exporter of marijuana.

Identifier

Region

• Middle America and the Caribbean

Subregion

• Caribbean

Subsistence Type

• commercial economy

Countries

• Jamaica