Independence of Jamaica

The Spanish Empire began its official rule in Jamaica in 1509, with formal occupation of the island by conquistador Juan de Esquivel and his men.

The Spaniards enslaved many of the native people, overworking and harming them to the point that many perished within fifty years of European arrival.

[2] Disappointed by the lack of gold on the island, the Spanish mainly used Jamaica as a military base to supply colonizing efforts in the mainland Americas.

[3] After 146 years of Spanish rule, a large group of British sailors and soldiers landed in the Kingston Harbour on 10 May 1655, during the Anglo-Spanish War.

[2] British colonial jurisdiction over the island was quickly established, with the newly renamed Spanish Town named the capital and home of the local House of Assembly, Jamaica's directly elected legislature.

[5] The Anglo-Spanish war afforded the opportunity to escape slavery to people enslaved by Spanish colonizers, and many fled into the mountainous and forested regions of the colony to join the ranks of surviving Tainos.

The formerly enslaved and their descendants, known as the Jamaican Maroons, were the source of many disturbances in the colony, raiding plantations and occupying parts of the island's interior.

Largely owing to the easily defendable, dense forest of Cockpit Country, the British were unsuccessful in defeating the Maroons.

[8] Following a period of intense debate, the native and African populace of Jamaica were granted the right to vote; as the 19th century continued the government allowed some of them to hold public office.

Garvey, rather than advocating independence of Jamaica and other colonies, promoted the Back-to-Africa movement, which called for everyone of African descent to return to the homelands of their ancestors.

Upon returning from international travels, he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League in 1914, which promoted civil rights for blacks in Jamaica and abroad.

[14] The following year, the JLP led government enacted a new constitution that granted universal adult suffrage, undoing the high voter eligibility standards put in place by British.

British Government and local politicians began a long transition of Jamaica from a crown colony into an independent state.

Jamaica's participation in the Federation was unpopular, and the results of the 1961 West Indies referendum held by Premier Manley cemented the colony's withdrawal from the union in 1962.