Jamaica Research Paper

Words: 844
Pages: 4

From its 1494 discovery by Christopher Columbus, Jamaica has dealt with a number of rulers, revolts, and short changings. Jamaica’s original natives, the Arawak’s, where free people who thrived and lived favorably off of the island. It did not take long for Columbus and his crew to wipe out and enslave the native people. Shortly after the downfall of the natives he brought in slaves from Africa to work in the fields, Jamaica and its people became suppressed under the rule of its higher power. However some slaves were able to break free and escape the control of the Spanish, these slaves were called Maroons. They took refuge in the mountains of Jamaica and led rebellions against the Spanish rule. The Spaniards struggled to keep control over Jamaica as the Maroons grew and British moved in. Once Britain grained control over Jamaica slaves left behind by the Spaniards contributed to the Maroon population. The British tried but failed to take control of the Maroons. The British Empire later abolished slavery and the …show more content…
The country has a multitude of religions with different branches. According to the CIA world fact book Protestants make up more than half of the country’s religious affiliation with over sixty four percent of the population. Other religious groups include Rastafarian’s, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and Roman Catholic’s. Rastafarians believe that their holy land is in Ethiopia and worship an Ethiopian emperor named Haile Selassie. The group was established in the 1930s, they are very spiritual and use herbs as a part of their religious practices. While the government promotes religious practices it has denied a group of Rastafarians known as the Church of Haile Selassie because of their use of marijuana. Jamaica’s House of Representatives has recently decriminalized the possession of marijuana but it is still illegal to grow, sell, and use it in religious