--------------------------------------------------------------------- Survey of JA History ==================== (Source: Encyclopeadia Britannica, 15th ed.) Spanish Period: Jamaica was discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1494, during his 2nd voyage to the New World. More than 15 years were to pass, however, before colonialization was attempted. The Spanish government was diasppointed in the country's lack of gold, and Jamaica became a neglected part of the property of the Columbus family. Its chief value to Spain was a supply base; its settlers were mainly engaged in cattle-ranching. British Period: In 1655 the island fell to a British invasion force and became the 1st colony in the Americas to be captured by a formal British expedition. Two important features of the early British period were the activities of the Maroons and the buccaneers. The Maroons, also called "cimarrons" (from Spanish: "wild" or "untamed"), were freed or escaped slaves who had taken to the thick woods and mountains at the time of the British invasion. Organized, armed, and encouraged by the Spanish, they harried the invaders with guerilla-warfare ("Burnin' and Lootin'") tactics and were to prove a thorn in the side of the British for almost 150 years. The buccaneers, who preyed on Spanish ships, operated mainly from their base at rich and corrupt Port Royal (west of Kingston). By their relentless attacks on Spanish Carribean cities, they kept the Spaniards occupied at a time when the British were unable to spare a fleet for the protection of the West Indian colonies. The importation of African slave labour, begun by the Spaniards, continued after the new regime. It grew steadily in volume as sugar production increased in extent and value. By the 18th century, Jamaica had become one of tthe most valuable of colonial possesions (mainly for its sugar production). The abolition of slave trade in 1807 and full emancipation in 1838 caused the collapse of the plantation system. This, together with other factors (unemployment, heavy taxations, droughts), produced a crisis in 1865 that changed the old social and economic patterns: In October 1865, an uprising in the easternmost parish of St. Thomas, known as the Morant Bay Rebellion, was put down with terrible severity. The scandalous handling of the crisis by the British governor, Edward Eyre, led to his recall. Before leaving, however, he induced the frightened House of Assembly to vote for its own extinction. In its place a crown colony form of government, in which the governor wielded the only real executive and legislative power, was established by an act of the British parliament in 1866. By 1938 dissatisfaction with the crown colony system, sharpened by hardships and suffering due to the worldwide depression, erupted in serious and widespread rioting. This resulted into the formation of labour unions and political parties linked to them. A growing demand for self-determination became apparent. Transition to Independence: The 1944 constitution provided for a two-party House of Representatives, the appointment of Ministers, and universal adult suffrage. Further constitutional advances took place in 1953 and 1957, until full internal self-government was attained in 1959, A founding member of the Federation of the West Indies from 1958-1961, Jamaica became an independent nation with full dominion status within the Commonwealth on August 6, 1962. --