North America
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Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.
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Geography, North America, s.v. "Jamaica," accessed September 13, 2026.
https://www.q-files.com/geography/north-america/jamaica
Jamaica
The island nation of Jamaica is the third largest in the Greater Antilles. The Blue Mountains of Jamaica's rugged interior rise steeply in the east. Their slopes are covered by tropical scrubland and forests. At the coast, the land is flatter, fringed by sandy beaches in the north and west, and swamplands in the southeast. Much of Jamaica has a tropical climate, but the island is at risk from devastating hurricanes. The capital, Kingston, is hot and sunny nearly all year round, while mountain regions are cooler and wetter.
People
Nearly all Jamaicans are descended from Africans who arrived on the island as slaves in the 17th and 18th centuries. A small number have east Indian, Chinese or European ancestors. The most commonly-spoken language in Jamaica is “patois”—a form of English mixed with African and Native American languages. Jamaican patois, widely heard in reggae music, has become recognized all over the world.
Kingston
The port city of Kingston grew up as a major centre for the European sugar and slave trade. Much of the city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1907 and had to be completely rebuilt. Today, its centre and seafront are modern with banks, hotels, high-rise buildings and offices. Western Kingston has, however, been left undeveloped and fringed with shantytowns, and is sometimes the scene of violent clashes, especially amongst gangs involved in the illegal drug trade.
Mining
Mining provides a large part of Jamaica’s foreign income. In west there are large reserves of bauxite, the ore of the metal aluminium. The bauxite is mined and shipped abroad to be processed into aluminium. Mining has severely damaged Jamaica’s environment, leaving toxic lakes of red mud that harm the surrounding plants and wildlife.
Farming and industry
In the countryside, farming is still important. Farmers grow sugar cane, yams and bananas on small farms and plantations along the coasts—and coffee on mountain slopes. In Kingston’s factories, workers produce textiles, clothing and chemicals, mainly for export to the USA and Canada. Tourism is now a major source of income for Jamaica, with more than 3 million tourists visiting each year.
Consultant: Nicholas Harris
Facts about Jamaica
Population 2,824,913 (2024 estimate)
Area 10,831 sq km
Highest Point Blue Mountain Peak 2256 m (7402 ft)
Capital Kingston, population 937,700
Other major cities New Kingston (pop. 583,958), Spanish Town (145,018), Montego Bay (110,115), Portmore (102,861)
Language English, Jamaican patois
Religions Christian (Protestant) 65%, Christian (Roman Catholic) 2%, Rastafari 1%, none 21%, others 11%
Ethnicity black/African 92%, mixed black/European/Indian 6%, others 2%
Currency Jamaican dollar (JMD)
Chief exports alumina, bauxite, sugar, rum, coffee, yams, chemicals, clothing
History of Jamaica
7th century
The Taino, an Arawak people from Venezuela, arrive on the island, capturing and enslaving the Saladoid peoples who live there
1494
Christopher Columbus lands on the island and claims it for Spain
1509
First Spanish settlement built at Sevilla by Juan de Esquivel but is abandoned around 1524. The capital is moved to St Jago de la Vega (present-day Spanish Town) in around 1534.
16th century
Taínos die in large numbers, both from introduced diseases and from enslavement by the Spanish. Spain begins to import slaves from Africa
1655
The British capture Jamaica from the Spanish; the Spanish flee, freeing their slaves, who escape to the mountains where they mix with the surviving Taino. These communities become known as maroons.
1657–70s
Port Royal becomes the home port to English and Dutch government sponsored privateers who are encouraged to attack Spanish ports and ships. It becomes a pirate base, notorious for its lawlessness.
1660s onwards
English develop sugar cane plantations, importing large numbers of both Irish prisoners of war and enslaved Africans to work on them
1692
A massive earthquake destroys Port Royal
1693
The new city of Kingston is founded on a large natural harbour and becomes a major slave-trading port
1700s
Maroon wars: maroons fight two guerrilla wars (1728–39 and 1795–96) against British forces
1760–61
Tacky's War: Led by Tacky, the Akan (Coromantee) people rise up against their white slave masters, but are defeated by British colonial forces assisted by maroons
1831–32
Baptist War: led by Baptist preacher Sam Sharpe, 60,000 enslaved black workers rebel against British plantation owners, setting fire to Kensington Estate near Montego Bay. Colonial authorities crush the revolt, executing Sharpe and killing 500 others.
1834
Slavery is abolished in Jamaica; British owners bring Indian workers (from 1845) and Chinese workers (from 1854) to work on sugar plantations
1865
Morant Bay rebellion: preacher Paul Bogle leads a protest march of former slaves to the courthouse in Morant Bay demanding better conditions. When soldiers kill seven of the protesters, the rebellion erupts. The British Governor, Edward Eyre, orders the resident British army to suppress the uprising. More than 1000 homes are burned down and 439 people killed; Bogle is executed. After the uprising, Jamaica becomes a Crown Colony ruled directly from Britain
1870
Sugar cane industry begins to decline as sugar beet becomes more popular in Europe; production shifts to bananas
1872
Kingston is made Jamaica’s capital
1907
An earthquake devastates Kingston
1944
All adult citizens in Jamaica are allowed to vote
1962
Jamaica becomes independent from Britain (it remains part of the Commonwealth)
1988
Hurricane Gilbert destroys 200,000 houses and Jamaica’s entire banana crop
1999
Unrest in the capital, Kingston, as fuel prices increase and crime levels rise
2004
Hurricane Ivan sweeps through Jamaica, causing severe floods and making 18,000 people homeless
2006
Portia Simpson-Miller becomes Jamaica's first female prime minister; she has two terms in office: 2006–07 and 2012–16
2007
Cricket World Cup held in Jamaica
2010
Tivoli Incursion: an armed conflict between the Shower Posse drug cartel and Jamaica's military and police forces in Kingston, in which 73 people are killed
2025
(October) Hurricane Melissa, the strongest recorded hurricane to make landfall on Jamaica, causes catastrophic damage from powerful winds and severe flooding, with some towns in western Jamaica experiencing almost total destruction. The damage is estimated to be the equivalent to about a third ofJamaica’s GDP.
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