JAMAICA, FLAG OF

national flag with two green and two black triangles separated by a yellow saltire (diagonal cross). The width-to-length ratio of the flag is 1 to 2. After dissolution of the West Indies Federation, a group formed in 1958 of British-ruled islands, Jamaica moved quickly to establish a national flag in anticipation of its independence day, August 6, 1962. The legislative committee responsible agreed that the flag should have the colours black, yellow, and green. These stood for the difficulties faced by the nation (black), its natural wealth and the beauty of its sunlight (yellow), and agriculture and hope (green). This was summed up in the phrase Hardships there are, but the land is green and the sun shineth. The proposed flag had unequal horizontal stripes of green, yellow, black, yellow, and green. When it was discovered that this was similar to the new national flag of Tanganyika (now in Tanzania), the present design, incorporating a diagonal division of the black and green surmounted by a yellow saltire, was selected. This saltire was distinctive, but it did not have any official symbolic meaning. The coat of arms established for Jamaica in 1661 appeared in the flag badge used on the British Blue Ensign when Jamaica was a colony. Although it is not used on the national flag, this coat of arms is still in effect, with minor modifications. The original motto, Both Indies shall serve the same purpose, has been replaced by one more modern and appropriate, Out of many, one people. The coat of arms shows a red cross on a white shield, the traditional emblem of St. George of England, with five golden pineapples to represent the tropical produce of Jamaica. Whitney Smith History The following history of Jamaica focuses on events from the time of European contact. For treatments of the island in its regional context, see West Indies, history of, and Latin America, history of. David J. Buisseret James A. Ferguson Early period The first inhabitants of Jamaica probably came from islands to the east about 5000 BC or earlier. The Arawak arrived about AD 600 and eventually settled throughout the island. Their economy, based on fishing and the production of corn (maize) and cassava, sustained as many as 60,000 people in villages led by caciques (chieftains). Columbus reached the island in 1494 and spent a year shipwrecked there in 150304. The Spanish crown granted the island to the Columbus family, but for decades it was something of a backwater, valued chiefly as a supply base for food and animal hides. In 1509 Juan de Esquivel founded the first permanent European settlement, the town of Sevilla la Nueva (New Seville), on the north coast. In 1534 the capital was moved to Villa de la Vega (later Santiago de la Vega), known today as Spanish Town. The Spanish enslaved many Arawak people and forced them to labour in the gold mines and plantations of nearby islands; most died from European diseases and overwork. By the early 17th century, when virtually no Arawak remained in the region, the settlers on the island numbered about 3,000, including a small number of African slaves. The economy Jamaica's economy is mixed but increasingly based on services, notably tourism and finance. Since independence in 1962, Jamaica has developed markedly but unevenly. The government controls some key industries, but there are many foreign-owned companies, especially those controlling exports (bauxite and aluminum) and tourism, which are Jamaica's main sources of foreign exchange. Mining and manufacturing became increasingly important to the economy in the latter part of the 20th century; however, the mining sector has been highly vulnerable to fluctuations in the world market for aluminum. The island experienced a protracted recession in the 1990s after aluminum prices declined and many U.S. manufacturers relocated off the island. Resources Large deposits of bauxite (the ore of aluminum) are found in central Jamaica. Iron ore, gypsum, and marble are in eastern Jamaica, and clays occur in the west. Silica sand and limestone are found throughout the island. Other mineral resources include peat, gravel, and smaller quantities of lignite, copper, lead, zinc, and phosphates; Jamaica's black sands contain some titanium. The land Relief Interior mountains and plateaus cover much of Jamaica's length, and nearly half of the island's surface is more than 1,000 feet (300 metres) above sea level. The most rugged topography and highest elevations are in the east, where the Blue Mountains rise to 7,402 feet (2,256 metres) at Blue Mountain Peak, the island's highest point. Karst (limestone) landscapes with ridges, depressions, and sinkholes (cockpits) characterize the hills and plateaus of the John Crow Mountains, the Dry Harbour Mountains, and Cockpit Country, a region covering 500 square miles (1,300 square km) in western Jamaica. The Don Figuerero, Santa Cruz, and May Day mountains are major landforms in the southwest. Coastal plains largely encircle the island, and the largest alluvial plains are located in the south. Drainage and soils Numerous rivers and streams issue from the central highlands, but many disappear intermittently into karst sinkholes and caves. Few rivers are navigable for any great distance, because of their rapid descent from the mountains. The Rio Minho in central Jamaica is the longest river, flowing for some 58 miles (93 km) from the Dry Harbour Mountains to Carlisle Bay. The Black River in the west and the Rio Cobre near Kingston are each longer than 30 miles (50 km). More than half of the island's surface is covered with white limestone, beneath which are yellow limestone, older metamorphic rocks (compact rocks formed by heat and pressure), and igneous rocks (formed by the cooling of molten material). The shallow soils of many upland areas are particularly susceptible to erosion. Alluvial soils on the coastal plains chiefly consist of deep loam and clay, and residual clays cover the valley floors. The people Ethnicity and language Spanish colonists had exterminated the aboriginal Arawak Indians by the time the English invaded the island in 1655. The Spaniards themselves escaped the island or were expelled shortly afterward. The population of English settlers remained small, but they brought in vast numbers of African slaves to work the sugar estates. Today the population consists predominantly of the black and mulatto descendants of those slaves, with small groups who trace their ancestry to the United Kingdom, India, China, Syria, Portugal, and Germany. English, the official language, is commonly used in towns and among the more privileged social classes. Jamaican Creole is also widely spoken. Its vocabulary and grammar are based in English, but its various dialects derive vocabulary and phrasing from West African languages, Spanish, and, to a lesser degree, French. The language's characteristics include pronouncing the letter combination th as if it were a d or t and omitting some initial consonant sounds, principally the h; moreover, its lyrical cadences, intonations, and pronunciations may be unintelligible for some English-speaking visitors. The Creole languages of Belize, Grenada, and St. Vincent are similar to that of Jamaica. Religion Freedom of worship is guaranteed by Jamaica's constitution. No single religious group has a majority of adherents, but the majority of Jamaicans are at least nominally Christian, including roughly two-fifths in Protestant denominations and one-tenth in the Roman Catholic church. Evangelical Christian churches have increased in size from the late 20th century. About one-tenth of the population are Pentecostals (mainly of the Church of God), and there are lesser numbers of Seventh-day Adventists and Baptists. Only a small percentage of the total attends the Anglican church, which, as the Church of England, was the island's only established church until 1870. Smaller Protestant denominations include the Moravians, Disciples of Christ, Society of Friends (Quakers), and United Church of Christ. The Jewish community is one of the oldest in the Western Hemisphere. Jamaica also has a small Hindu population, a Muslim mosque, and a branch of the Ethiopian Orthodox church. Some syncretic religious movements base their beliefs on Christianity and West African traditions. The central feature of the Pocomania sect, for example, is spirit possession; the Cumina sect has rituals characterized by drumming, dancing, and spirit possession. Rastafarianism has been an important religious and cultural movement in Jamaica since the 1950s and has attracted adherents from the island's poorest communities, although it represents only a small proportion of the total population. Rastafarians believe in the divinity of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia and in the eventual return of his exiled followers to Africa. Rastafarianism has become internationally known through its associations with reggae music and some of Jamaica's most successful musical stars.