| Today, Jamaica is one of most favorite vacation | | | | by of the Spanish settlement and their slaves. In |
| destinations for many travelers. Visitors are | | | | 1655, it was captured by the British expedition led by |
| fascinated by the rich history, unique culture and | | | | Admirals Penn and Venables. The influence of the |
| comfortable climate. A brief visit to the history of | | | | Spanish settlement on the development of social, |
| Jamaica is educational whether you plan to visit the | | | | economic and political life of the island was |
| Island this year or in the future. | | | | insignificant apart from remnants of buildings on the |
| Arawaks Before the Arrival of Columbus The history | | | | Island - Spanish colonial architectural styles, and |
| of Jamaica started long before the arrival of | | | | names of places etc.. The island was not of |
| Columbus in 1494. Jamaica island was inhabited by | | | | significance for Spanish at the time. |
| Arawaks for hundreds of years or even more. They | | | | The Slave Economy A few years after capturing the |
| lived a simple life in small community based on fishing, | | | | island, the British imported African slaves on large |
| hunting, and small scale cultivation. The arrival of | | | | scale for sugar plantations. Unlike the occupation by |
| Spanish led by Columbus opened the door of the | | | | the Spanish, Jamaica brought prosperity to the English |
| island to the world, but the economic activities also | | | | plantation owners and many English cities. Plantation |
| brought new diseases that destroyed native | | | | dominated economic, political and religious life on the |
| Arawaks small communities in a few decades. The | | | | Island. The laws supported the slave system as well. |
| trace of early Arawaks life, today, can only be seen | | | | In 1838, the slaves were freed and the plantations |
| in a few artifacts-facts displayed at the small | | | | started paying wages to its workers. After |
| museum at White Marl. | | | | Emancipation, many of the ex-slaves settled down |
| The Spanish Occupation Between 1494 and1655, the | | | | and cultivated as small farmers in the mountains. As |
| Spanish used Jamaica as a springboard for the | | | | the decline of sugar exportation, they began the |
| conquest of the Americas. The island was occupied | | | | exports of logwood, coffee, and bananas. |