Founding of Jamaica

Jamaica gained independence from Britain after more than three centuries of colonial rule. The island was inhabited by the Taino people when Christopher Columbus reached it in 1494, and Spain held it until England captured it in 1655. Under the British it became a leading producer of sugar, grown on plantations worked by enslaved Africans, and slavery was abolished in the 1830s. Protests and labour unrest in the twentieth century led to universal suffrage in 1944 and gradual self-government. Alexander Bustamante became the first prime minister of independent Jamaica in August 1962. The country remains a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth, and it is known worldwide for its music, including reggae and the legacy of Bob Marley.

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