During the colonial era, as early as 1512, African slaves who escaped their Spanish conquerors and joined the indigenous people of lands they encountered were called “Maroons”.
[4] Samuel Sharpe and the Baptist War served as a catalyst to force the British Empire to focus greater attention on the moral and practical issues of slavery.
The underlying motives of Britain was apparent in their immediate efforts to compensate the slave owners first which gave them the power to dictate such institutions as six-year apprenticeships.
[5] In 1865 the Morant Bay Rebellion marked a moment in Jamaican history when the dialogue between the government and the oppressed reached a fever pitch, led by Baptist deacon and activist Paul Bogle.
[6] John Stuart Mill's social influence on the Jamaican government system was profound because he headed the now defunct Jamaica Committee, which helped create a necessary process of intervention on the behalf of the governed and oppressed that would put into question and challenge the necessity of excessive punitive actions against opposition; ultimately, this helped foster the growing sentiment of freedom of speech.
In the mid-1940s, the JLP and Bustamante held the majority in Jamaica's limited-autonomy government under the authority of the Colonial office in London and the governor for a decade.
As reported by Amnesty International, the government of Jamaica continues to foster a “culture of fear” with the impunity that is afforded law enforcement.
[4] Sodomy and/or buggery in Jamaica is a crime that can lead to prison time at hard labour for up to 10 years, however the law is oftentimes not enforced.
Some reports of abduction and rape come from inner-city communities, where local non-governmental organisations have expressed concerns about high incidences of violence against women.
[10] Jamaica has been described by some human rights groups as the most homophobic country in the world because of the high level of violent crime directed at LGBT people.