Jamaica

Jamaica is a place name occasionally used as a female personal name. It comes from an island nation located in the West Indies in the Caribbean Basin. The island was first named Xaymaca by the indigenous Taíno/Arawak people who populated the area for at least two thousand years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus accompanied by his Spanish territory-taking flag. Xaymaca is said to mean “land of wood and water” or “land of springs” in the native Arawakan language.  Columbus tried to rename the island Santiago (St. James) but his new moniker would not stick. Jamaica became the Hispanicized form of Xaymaca.  

 

In 1494, Columbus claimed Jamaica for Spain, but some 150 years later, the British would take control by force. Incidentally, shortly after Columbus came, Jamaica became a refuge place for Jews fleeing the Spanish Inquisition and the general anti-Semitism rampant in Europe at the time.  It also became a haven for pirates. Both the Spanish and the British made Jamaica a slave-dependent nation for over 200 years, mainly to work the lucrative sugar-exporting industry. Eventually black people outnumbered white people by a large factor and, given the poor treatment of blacks, rebellions were a natural outcome. In the early 19th century, over 80% of the population was represented by slaves. Over time, though, Jamaica slowly gained its independence from British rule and in 1962, the little island nation gained full independence (though inequality certainly still exists). 

 

Jamaica is also known for being the birthplace of the Rastafari movement which took hold in the 1930s. Considered more of a “Way of Life” rather than a formal religion, Rastas placed their worship on the Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie (who ruled from 1930 to 1974) as a Jesus-like figure or incarnation of JAH (Jehovah/Yahweh). Zion – commonly known as the Jewish Promised Land – is believed to be Ethiopia for the Rastafarians. Rejection of the Babylonian sins of material pleasures and oppression, Rastas are well-known for communicating their powerful message in the form of reggae music and celebrating their spirituality through the use of marijuana.