JAMAICA

island nation of the West Indies. It is the third largest island in the Caribbean Sea, after Cuba and Hispaniola, with an area of 4,244 square miles (10,991 square km)about half the size of Wales. Jamaica is about 146 miles (235 km) long and varies from 22 to 51 miles (35 to 82 km) wide. It is situated some 100 miles (160 km) west of Haiti, 90 miles (150 km) south of Cuba, and 390 miles (630 km) northeast of Cape Gracias a Dios, Nicaragua, the nearest point on the mainland. The national capital is Kingston. Christopher Columbus, who first sighted the island in 1494, called it Santiago, but the original indigenous name of Jamaica, or Xaymaca, has persisted. Columbus considered it to be the fairest isle that eyes have beheld, and many travelers still regard it as one of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean. The island's various Spanish, French, and English place-names are remnants of its colonial history; the great majority of its people are of African ancestry, the descendants of slaves brought in by European colonists. Jamaica became independent from the United Kingdom in 1962 but remains a member of the Commonwealth. island nation of the West Indies, situated 90 miles (145 km) south of Cuba at a crossroads of major sea trade routes in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. It covers an area of 4,244 square miles (10,991 square km) and is the third largest island in the Caribbean, after Cuba and Hispaniola. The capital is Kingston. The island is about 146 miles (235 km) long from east to west and about 35 miles (56 km) wide from north to south. The population in 1992 was estimated at 2,437,000. Additional reading Geography General introductions to Jamaica's physical features and society include Irving Kaplan et al., Area Handbook for Jamaica (1976); Rex A. Hudson and Daniel J. Seyler, Jamaica, in Islands of the Commonwealth Caribbean: A Regional Study (1989); Mike Morrissey, Our Island, Jamaica (1983, reissued 1989); and Barry Floyd, Jamaica: An Island Microcosm (1979, reissued 1981). R.M. Bent and Enid L. Bent-Golding, A Complete Geography of Jamaica (1966), is an illustrated survey of physical geography. Also of interest are Colin G. Clarke and Alan G. Hodgkiss, Jamaica in Maps: Graphic Perspectives of a Developing Country (1974); and Alan Fincham et al., Jamaica Underground: The Caves, Sinkholes, and Underground Rivers of the Island (1997).Mervyn C. Alleyne, Roots of Jamaican Culture (1988), focuses on African influences in Jamaican culture. Mervyn Morris, Is English We Speaking and Other Essays (1999), explores Jamaica's literary and linguistic dimensions. Kevin O'Brien Chang and Wayne Chen, Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music (1998), traces the development of popular music in the country from the 1940s to the late 20th century. History Clinton V. Black, The History of Jamaica, new ed. (1983, reissued 1988), offers a general outline. Jamaica's history is traced in a regional context in James Ferguson, A Traveller's History of the Caribbean (1999). The opening chapters of Francis J. Osborne, History of the Catholic Church in Jamaica (1977, reissued 1988), survey most of the scholarly publications on the Jamaican Arawak. Francisco Morales Padrn, Jamaica espaola (1952), remains the most substantial work on the Spanish period. S.A.G. Taylor, The Western Design: An Account of Cromwell's Expedition to the Caribbean, 2nd ed. (1969), discusses the English invasion and early settlement. The plantation as an institution is explored in Michael Craton and Garry Greenland, Searching for the Invisible Man: Slaves and Plantation Life in Jamaica (1978). Mavis C. Campbell, The Maroons of Jamaica, 16551796: A History of Resistance, Collaboration & Betrayal (1988, reissued 1990), focuses on activities and communities in the 18th century.Later colonial periods are covered in Kamau Brathwaite, The Development of Creole Society in Jamaica, 17701820 (1971, reissued 1978); B.W. Higman, Slave Population and Economy in Jamaica, 18071834 (1976, reissued 1995); Douglas Hall, Free Jamaica, 18381865: An Economic History (1959, reissued 1969); Philip D. Curtin, Two Jamaicas (1955, reissued 1975); Mavis Christine Campbell, The Dynamics of Change in a Slave Society (1976); and Gad J. Heuman, Between Black and White: Race, Politics, and the Free Coloreds in Jamaica, 17921865 (1981), the last two focusing on the transition from slavery to emancipation. Lord Olivier (Sydney H. Olivier), Jamaica: The Blessed Island (1936, reissued 1971), provides a view of the penultimate stage of British colonial rule.Sociopolitical and economic changes of the 20th century are analyzed in Evelyne Huber Stephens and John D. Stephens, Democratic Socialism in Jamaica: The Political Movement and Social Transformation in Dependent Capitalism (1986); and Anthony J. Payne, Politics in Jamaica, rev. ed. (1994). The impacts of debt and economic reform on ordinary Jamaicans are explored in Claremont Kirton and James Ferguson, Jamaica: Debt and Poverty (1992). James A. Ferguson Administration and social conditions Government Under the Jamaica (Constitution) Order in Council of 1962, by which the island achieved independence, Jamaica is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Citizens at least 18 years of age are eligible to vote. Jamaica has had universal suffrage since 1944. The prime minister, who is head of government, is appointed by the leading political party from its parliamentary members. The monarch of the United Kingdom, who is titular head of state, follows the prime minister's recommendation in appointing a Jamaican governor-general who has largely ceremonial powers. The principal policy-making body is the cabinet, which consists of the prime minister and at least 11 other ministers. The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House has 60 members, who are directly elected. The speaker and deputy speaker are elected by the House from its members. The Senate has 21 members, who are appointed by the governor-general13 in accordance with the advice of the prime minister and eight on the advice of the leader of the opposition party. Senators are appointed for the duration of a single parliamentary term. The president and deputy president of the Senate are elected by its members. General elections must be held at least once every five years, and the governing party may choose to hold early elections. The legal system is based on English common law. The highest court in the Jamaican legal system is the Court of Appeals. It hears appeals from the Resident Magistrates' Court, which includes the Family Courts, the Kingston Traffic Court, Juvenile Courts, and a division of the Gun Court; the Court of Appeals also handles appeals from the Supreme Court, the nation's highest trial court. The governor-general, on the advice of a Jamaican Privy Council, may grant clemency in cases involving the death penalty; occasionally such cases are referred to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. According to human rights organizations, the judicial system is overburdened, with long delays before trials and with prison conditions characterized by overcrowding, insufficient food supplies and funding, and occasional brutality. The island is divided into 14 parishes, two of which are amalgamated as the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, generally corresponding to the Kingston metropolitan area. Parish councils, whose members are directly elected, administer the other parishes. The capitals of some parishes have elected mayors. Jamaica is also traditionally divided into three countiesCornwall, Middlesex, and Surrey. The two main political parties are the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People's National Party (PNP). A third party, the National Democratic Movement, was founded in 1995 but did not win any legislative seats in its first contested election (1997). The largest trade unions are the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (affiliated with the JLP) and the National Workers' Union (affiliated with the PNP). There are also employers' associations. Armed forces and security Violent crime is a major problem on the island, particularly in poor urban areas. Violence and fraud have also marred many national and local elections; however, political violence seemed to diminish in the late 20th century. The Jamaica Constabulary Force is primarily responsible for internal security; it is supplemented by the Island Special Constabulary Force (a unit of police reserves) and, in the event of major disturbances or natural disasters, by the Jamaica Defense Force. Special police units have occasionally been formed in attempts to reduce corruption and to control organized crime. The Jamaican police have been criticized for a high rate of extrajudicial killings, averaging between 100 and 200 annually in the 1980s and '90s. Jamaica has a death penalty, but no hangings have taken place since 1988, owing to protracted appeals to the Privy Council. Jamaica's military services (army, coast guard, and air force) enlist only a few thousand personnel and absorb a small percentage of the GDP; recruitment is voluntary. The main concern for the armed forces, besides political and social unrest, is drug trafficking. In 1998 the Jamaican government signed an agreement allowing U.S. antinarcotics agents to pursue suspected drug smugglers into Jamaican territorial waters.