In the spirit of the celebratory “Emancipendence” season, it’s only right that as Jamaicans we make sure to look back at our history and remind ourselves of what exactly it is that we’re celebrating. The Caribbean has been shaped by an alarming amount of successive and unfortunate events that can not only be hard to remember but also easily mixed-up and Jamaica is no exception! So, get your pens out because I’ll be recapping Jamaica’s history from our first ever recorded discovery right up to independence!

Pre-recorded History– The Tainos arrive in Jamaica. Believed to have followed herds of animals across the Bering Strait, the Tainos (also referred to as Arawaks) are the first people known to set foot in Jamaica. They along with the Lucayans, Mayans, Kalinagos and other Asianic people divided the entire Western Hemisphere amongst themselves.

1494– Christopher Columbus’ arrival in Jamaica. Christopher Columbus wasn’t right about many things but the one thing he was right about was the fact that the Earth was spherical. However, what he was wrong about was the Earth’s size. Unbeknownst to him, the Western Hemisphere of the planet housed completely new lands and instead of circling to Asia he had arrived in what is known today as the Caribbean. From this encounter the Spanish began to settle in Jamaica. Evident of this can be seen in the names of places today like Rio Grande and Rio Minho which are both Spanish names.

1500’s– The Enslavement of the Indigenous people. Under the Encomienda System, the Tainos were not explicitly referred to as slaves but Christopher Columbus and the Spanish’s exploitation of the kind people and their unbearable working conditions made them out to be as such. By the end of the century, the Tainos, Jamaica’s very first people, were considered extinct.

1655– The British take over Jamaica. Up until this point Jamaica was nothing more than a base for weapons and other goods. But when the Spanish began losing their grip on the many Caribbean territories they owned, every other European nation saw their opening and fights for land ensued. Jamaica was no exception. When the British invaded, the few enslaved Africans were known to retreat to the mountains, these were the very first maroon people knows as the Winward Maroons. It may also be worth mentioning that not long after the British usurpation of Jamaica, the French tried to seize the island but the British were too strong and they were forced to retreat.

1660’s – The Introduction to Sugar and The Transatlantic Trade. Not long after the British settled in the Jamaica the Dutch introduced them to the lucrative business of the sugar plantation and the heavy enslavement of the Africans. Needless to say, they went a little overboard.

1692– A violent earthquake destroys the wealthiest and wickedest city in the world. While Port Royal today is mostly uninhabited, there was time when it was home to some of the most infamous buccaneers in the word. The deeds committed there were legendary as such were its people, until a massive earthquake plunged the city into chaos and it has never been the same since.

1739– The Boom of Slavery. By now Jamaica was fully dunked in the sugar plantation economy and moreso, the crime against humanity known as the enslavement of the Africans. Sugar was now the most lucrative business in Europe and owning a slave was a lot like the modern version of buying stocks. A strategic investment and purely transactional.

1760– The Easter Rebellion. On Easter Monday, Tacky, a Ghanan Coromantee chief who the Europeans made the sad mistake of enslaving, led the Easter Rebellion. An estimation of 60 whites and 300-400 blacks were killed. Tacky’s cause of death is still unknown today.

1739-1740– The First Maroon War. After intense battles between the likes of Nanny of The Maroons and Major-General Robert Hunter, the British propose a peace treaty. The peace treaty officially declared them owners of land, called for no more animosity between the two parties and more. This treaty, however, sparked major controversy because it had stipulated that the Maroons were no longer able to assist runaway slaves but had to help capture them instead and return them back to their masters. Both the Winward and Leeward maroons eventually signed.

1798– The Second Maroon War. The Maroons and the British co-existed relatively peacefully until the Maroons were accused of stealing pigs from the British and two maroons were subsequently flogged. What a mistake that was. The maroons retaliated and this gave way to The Second Maroon war but the maroons were overpowered this time and retreated. Over 500 maroons were deported to Canada but many maroon communities still exist today.

1808– The Abolition Act. Thanks to the consistent rebellions of the Africans and the fight pushed by British humanitarian groups, it was now signed, sealed and delivered by The House of Commons that no one was to engage in the trading and selling of Africans. But clearly, rules were meant to be broken, right?

1823– The Introduction of the Amelioration System. Now, slave owners were stipulated by law to treat slaves better, record lashes, and keep professional records of their handlings with their slaves. But once again, clearly rules were meant to be broken. Many slave owners hardly bat an eyelash.

1831-1832– The Christmas Rebellion. This Rebellion is largely considered to be the final straw for the Abolition of slavery. Led by Sam Sharpe who was certain that slavery was already abolished and their masters were withholding their freedom, all slaves were supposed to refuse to work after Christmas day until they were given wages. Unfortunately, like a game of Chinese telephone gone wrong, the message became skewed and many plantations were lit up in the flames. There was murder and fire for months into 1832. Sam Sharpe was subsequently hung.

1834– The Introduction of Apprenticeship– By now, most people stopped buying and selling Africans and now in order to prepare the Africans for their eventual Emancipation they were to become “Apprentices”. While on paper it stipulated a bunch of benefits like land, in reality, the were still slaves and treated as such. Hardly a thing changed and the enslaved were furious.

1838– Emancipation. While the Apprenticeship period was supposed to last until 1840, it came to an abrupt end after heavy outcry. Two years before early, Emancipation was declared and Jamaican slaves were set free August 1, 1848. But not all was as it seemed because many slaves had no choice but to work for their old masters again in order to earn wages. There were not many economic opportunities.

1865– The Morant Bay Rebellion– Although slavery as an institution was ended, its effects were still present. In order to bargain for better wages, adequate housing and other basic needs, Paul Bogle among others marched to the Morant Bay courthouse and, naturally, violence ensued. More than 430 people were executed or shot, hundreds were flogged and 1,000 dwellings destroyed. Paul Bogle and George William Gordon were subsequently hung.

1872– Jamaica’s capital was changed from Spanish Town to Kingston. Now, social services and basic needs were being prioritised. During this time economic and educational opportunities began surfacing for the ex-slaves.

1930’s– Crisis and Trade Unions. Due to international economical restraints, Jamaica’s market was plunging toward disaster and it was from this imminent disaster that birthed Jamaica’s first two labour unions: BICU formed by Alexander Bustamante and The National Workers’ Union formed by Norman Manley. Those names sound familiar? That’s because later on Bustamante and Manley went on to form Jamaica’s first political parties under Universal Adult Suffrage, the JLP and the PNP respectively.

1944– The First General elections held in Jamaica. The JLP, ran by Alexander Bustamante, won. Sorry, to everyone who put the ‘x’ beside the head.

1958– The Birth of The West Indies Federation. The West Indies Federation (WIF) was the first major attempt at regional integration. Its predecessors like CARIFTA and CARICOM may sound a little more familiar. However, the fall of WIF was fairly quick after Jamaica’s departure and the other countries, too small to continue, eventually disbanded as well. And people deny that we’re the best Caribbean island? Wow. That’s crazy.

1962– Independence. On August 6, 1962 Jamaica finally got our Independence. And well, the rest is history.

— Matthew Dawkins