Following the end of World War II, the decolonisation movement began, with local politicians in Jamaica and in the British Empire transitioning their crown colonies into independent states.

[2] Jamaica also entered the West Indies Federation, a political union of 10 colonial Caribbean islands that were combined to become a single, independent state.

Jamaica's role in the WIF was unpopular, which resulted in the popular opinion in the 1961 West Indies referendum of 1961 to rule that the colony will withdraw from the union the following year.

[12] It was reinstated as a national public holiday in 1998 after a six-year campaign led by Jamaican scholar and educational leader Rex Nettleford.

[13][14] Traditionally, people hold vigils on July 31 and at midnight ring church bell and play drums in parks and public squares to re-enact the first moments of freedom for enslaved Africans.