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Jamaica, did you know?
Ornella Green
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The wisest persons throughout the ages have often said that one's history is as much a part of his life as one's present and future. History is important in order to know where you are heading because you need to know where you are coming from.
In this little feature, TEENage shares with you some interesting tidbits about our wonderful island that you may not know. So here goes:
1 Jamaica is known as the "Little Jewel in the Caribbean" and has approximately 120 lakes and rivers, over 252 species of birds (27 of which are exclusive to Jamaica), over 550 different varieties of fern (more than anywhere else in the world) and the second largest butterfly in the world, The Giant Swallowtail.
2 Jamaica has won more Olympic medal than Portugal, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Iceland, Singapore and Kuwait combined. Jamaica has competed in the Summer Olympic Games 16 times, with the most recent being in Beijing, where we made our most spectacular performance yet nabbing seven gold medals. And despite our tropical climate, Jamaica has competed in the Winter Olympic Games five times.
3 Jamaica was the first country in the Western world to construct a railway, even before the United States! This was only 18 years after Britain. However, we do not travel via railway anymore.
4 Jamaica was the first team from the English-speaking Caribbean to qualify for the Football World Cup. This was the 1998 championship.
5 Jamaica stands strong in third place on the list of countries to win the Miss World titles the most. The only countries to have it more than Jamaica are India, Venezuela and UK.
6 Jamaica was the first commercial producer of bananas in the Western Hemisphere. Jamaica was also the first island in the Caribbean to produce rum on a commercial basis.
7 The Manchester Golf Club in Jamaica, established in 1868, is the oldest golf club in the Western Hemisphere.
8 Jamaica was the first country to impose economic sanctions against the apartheid regime of South Africa and the first country to sign a Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria grant agreement.
9 Jamaica was the first colony England acquired by conquest, in 1655, when the Spanish were driven from the island; and Jamaica was the first British colonial territory to establish a postal service in 1688.
10 Jamaican art is regarded as some of the best to come out of the Caribbean and artists like Edna Manley and Ronald Moody are collected all over the world.
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