Central America · The modern Caribbean and isthmus states
Jamaica
1962–present
Jamaica — a former Spanish and then (from 1655) British colony and a major sugar-and-slavery economy — gained independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962, after withdrawing from the short-lived West Indies Federation. Its first prime minister was Sir Alexander Bustamante of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
- Existed
- 1962–present
- Shown on the map
- 1963–2024
- Peak area
- 13k km²
- Region
- Central America
Overview
Jamaica — a former Spanish and then (from 1655) British colony and a major sugar-and-slavery economy — gained independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962, after withdrawing from the short-lived West Indies Federation. Its first prime minister was Sir Alexander Bustamante of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). Jamaica is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy under King Charles III (represented by a governor-general), with its capital at Kingston. Its politics are structured by a two-party rivalry between the JLP and the People's National Party (PNP), founded by Bustamante's cousin Norman Manley.
Later history and present status
Jamaican politics turned turbulent in the 1970s under Michael Manley's democratic-socialist PNP government, with severe partisan violence around the 1976 and 1980 elections. The country wields outsized global cultural influence through reggae, Rastafari, and figures such as Bob Marley, and dominates world sprinting. Andrew Holness (JLP) has been prime minister since 2016, and the government has declared its intention to transition Jamaica to a republic.
Common questions
- What was Jamaica?
- Jamaica — a former Spanish and then (from 1655) British colony and a major sugar-and-slavery economy — gained independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962, after withdrawing from the short-lived West Indies Federation. Its first prime minister was Sir Alexander Bustamante of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
- When did Jamaica exist?
- Jamaica existed 1962–present. On this map it is drawn 1963–2024.
- How large was Jamaica?
- At its greatest extent drawn on this map, Jamaica covered about 13,000 km². That is the largest area the border data gives it across the years it is drawn, not necessarily its greatest extent in history.
- What is the present status of Jamaica?
- Jamaican politics turned turbulent in the 1970s under Michael Manley's democratic-socialist PNP government, with severe partisan violence around the 1976 and 1980 elections. The country wields outsized global cultural influence through reggae, Rastafari, and figures such as Bob Marley, and dominates world sprinting.
Sources
This compendium cites its sources once for the whole document rather than per territory. Its bibliography names the English Wikipedia articles for each polity and for the key figures and events as the basis of these profiles, supplemented by Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Geographic, EBSCO Research Starters and academic sources. The article this entry is anchored on:
- Wikipedia — Jamaica en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica
This entry was last updated .
This entry was researched and drafted with AI from the sources above, and has not been reviewed by a historian. How entries are made
Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0: reuse it with a credit to The World Through Time and a link to this page. Passages drawing on the Wikipedia articles listed above are also licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 by their contributors.
Border geometry for the map itself comes from Cliopatria v0.12 (Seshat Global History Databank, CC-BY-4.0).
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