Jamaica

By trevor.rocke
  • 491 BCE

    Got its name

    Got its name
    The original inhabitants of Jamaica are believed to be the Arawak, also called Tainos. They came from South America 2,500 years ago and named the island Xaymaca, which meant ““land of wood and water”.
  • May 5, 1494

    Discovered

    Discovered
    On May 5, 1494 Christopher Columbus, the European explorer, who sailed west to get to the East Indies and came upon the region now called the West Indies, landed in Jamaica. This occurred on his second voyage to the West Indies.

  • Seized by the British

    Seized by the British
    The Invasion of Jamaica was an amphibious expedition conducted by the English in the Caribbean in 1655 that resulted in the capture of the island from Spain. Jamaica's capture was the casus belli that resulted in actual war between England and Spain in 1655.

  • Slavery Abolished

    Slavery Abolished
    Because of the loss of property and life in the 1831 Baptist War rebellion, the British Parliament held two inquiries. Their reports on conditions contributed greatly to the abolition movement and passage of the 1833 law to abolish slavery as of August 1, 1834, throughout the British Empire.

  • Morant Bay Rebellion

    Morant Bay Rebellion
    The Morant Bay Rebellion broke out after prolonged disputes between the planters and the settlers.

  • Internal Autonomy

    Internal Autonomy
    On May 5, 1953, Jamaica gained internal autonomy, and, in 1958, super headed the organization of the West Indies Federation.

  • 1961 Event

    1961 Event
    Jamaica withdrawals from the federation of the West Indies.

  • Founded

    Founded
    The island of Jamaica was colonized by the Taino tribes prior to the arrival of Columbus in 1494. The Spanish enslaved the Tainos, who were so ravaged by their conflict with the Europeans and by foreign diseases that nearly the entire native population was extinct by 1600.

  • Independence

    Independence
    The Colony of Jamaica gained independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962. In Jamaica, this date is celebrated as Independence Day, a national holiday.

  • Hurricane Gilbert

    Hurricane Gilbert
    Hurricane Gilbert was an extremely powerful tropical cyclone that formed during the 1988 Atlantic hurricane season and brought widespread destruction to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. It was the most intense hurricane ever observed in the Atlantic basin, until Hurricane Wilma surpassed it during 2005.