History And Geography

History

Historical records state that the original inhabitants of Jamaica were the Arawak Indians. On May 5, 1494 Christopher Columbus who intended to sail west in order to reach East Indies discovered the region, which is known today as West Indies and landed in Jamaica. The arrival of Christopher Columbus sparked off two centuries of Spanish rule in which the entire Arawak race was systematically wiped out. While most of them were either tortured or killed, others were overworked, ill treated, or exposed to a wide range of European diseases to which they had little or no immunity. The island was occupied by the Spanish from 1509 to 1655, who brought along with them, large numbers of African slaves.

On May 10, 1655, Admiral William Penn and General Robert Venables attacked Jamaica and conquered the region successfully. The Spaniards were defeated and were forced to surrender to the English forces. Jamaica remained colonized under the British rule until 1962. The process of abolition of slavery began in 1830 and was completely removed by 1839. Sir Alexander Bustamante established the Jamaica Labour Party in the 1930's and later led the country to independence in 1962. The country of Jamaica has its own constitution today, which sets out a specific set of laws by which its citizens are governed. The constitution grants freedom, equality and justice for all who reside in this beautiful tropical country.

Geography

Jamaica has a diverse and varied geography, unlike some of its Caribbean neighbors. It is generally seen that most tropical islands are plain and featureless. However, Jamaica being a large island has the capacity to house a host of topographical features that include mountainous terrain, waterfalls, forests, rivers, forests, caves, bays, and beaches. The total land area of Jamaica is 4,000 square miles.

The mountain range in Jamaica extends down the center of the island from east to west, creating a vast network of 160 rivers and cascading waterfalls in the process. The Black River is the largest river in the entire island and is navigable for about 25 miles. Other important rivers on the island include the Rio Cobre, the White River, the Rio Grande, and the Lethe. The mountains in Jamaica form some sort of boundary between the Portland and St. Thomas parishes, and extend for about 50 miles. Geologists believe that the mountains were formed as a result of the uplifting of a limestone plateau. The highest point on the mountain is 7,500 feet above sea level.

The mountainous terrain in Jamaica is divided into two ranges. The first is the northern section of the mountainous range called the Central Range. The second is the Port Royal Mountains that rises above the Liguanea Plain, just north of Kingston. The highest elevation point on the island is the Blue Mountain Peak (2,256 m) while the lowest point on the island is the coastal areas of the Caribbean Sea (0 m)