X-Nico

71 unusual facts about Jamaica


1907 Kingston earthquake

After the earthquake tsunami were observed along much of the north coast of Jamaica at Hope Bay, Port Antonio, Orange Bay, Sheerness Bay, Saint Ann's Bay, Buff Bay, Port Maria and Annotto Bay; there were also some reports of waves along the south coast.

Above Rocks

Not really urban in character, Above Rocks is dominated by St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church and its many institutions: the health clinic, St. Mary's All-Age School, St. Mary's College, Jamaica, the School for the Handicapped, and the Trade Training Centre which has recently become a HEART Academy.

Alan Dugan

Dugan grew up in Jamaica, Queens, and served in World War II, experiences which entered his poetry, though he was not a confessional poet.

Alfred H. Grebe

At the age of 9 he was given a radio set by his father, and soon came to be such an expert that his science teacher at Public School 88 in Jamaica said Alfred knew more than he did.

Anthony Red Rose

Born in St. Mary, Cameron initially recorded under the name Tony Rose, adopting 'Anthony Red Rose' to avoid confusion with Michael Rose, who at the time also performed under the name Tony Rose.

Audley Shaw

Also, in October, 2013 during the Heroes' Day Awards Ceremony at King's House in Kingston.

Balaclava, Jamaica

The now disused Balaclava railway station served the Kingston to Montego Bay main line.

Briton Hammon

And so seeing nothing further to do he left on a ship to Jamaica, and from there on to London.

Charactosuchus

In 1969, a lower jaw of a crocodilian that dated back to the Lutetian stage of the Eocene was found in Saint James Parish, Jamaica, and was described as belonging to a new species of Charactosuchus named C. kugleri.

Constant Spring, Jamaica

Constant Spring is a residential neighbourhood in the north of Kingston, Jamaica.

Cross Roads, Jamaica

Cross Roads is a primarily commercial neighbourhood of Kingston, Jamaica.

Dame Walters

Dame "Tweety" Walters (born December 27, 1976 in Clarendon Parish) is a Jamaican soccer player, currently without a club.

Dane Richards

Richards was a member of the youth system of Jamaican National Premier League side Seba United and while attending Cornwall College in Montego Bay, where he won the DaCosta Cup and Oliver Shield.

David Pottinger

Self-taught as an artist, he began his career in the 1940s after participating in Edna Manley's classes at the Junior Centre in Kingston.

Denham Town

Denham Town is a predominantly residential neighbourhood in west-central Kingston, Jamaica.

Edward Baugh

He won a scholarship to study English literature at the University College of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica, and later did postgraduate studies at Queen's University in Ontario and the University of Manchester, where he earned a Ph.D. in 1964.

Edward Philip Livingston

Edward Philip Livingston (November 24, 1779 Kingston, Jamaica - November 3, 1843 Clermont, Columbia County, New York) was an American politician.

Erna Brodber

She subsequently worked as a civil servant, teacher, sociology lecturer, and at the Institute for Social and Economic Research in Mona, Jamaica.

George Lamming

He entered academia in 1967 as a writer-in-residence and lecturer in the Creative Arts Centre and Department of Education at the University of the West Indies, Kingston (1967–68).

Gloria Escoffery

Having held her first solo exhibition in Kingston in 1944, Escoffery exhibited extensively in Jamaica and elsewhere.

Green Grotto Caves

The Green Grotto Caves are show caves and a prominent tourist attraction in Discovery Bay, St Ann on the north coast of Jamaica.

Half Way Tree

Half Way Tree is a neighbourhood in the city of Kingston, Jamaica.

Havendale

Havendale is a suburban, neighborhood located in Kingston, Jamaica.

Heavy D

Myers was born on May 24, 1967 in Mandeville, Jamaica, the son of Eulahlee Lee, a nurse, and Clifford Vincent Myers, a machine technician.

Helene Davis-Whyte

In the early 1980s Davis-Whyte worked at the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation.

Henry Kitchener, 2nd Earl Kitchener

After retiring he remained in Jamaica where he was a property owner and he got involved in local politics and contested the St Andrew Parish in the Legislative Council elections but was not elected.

Indo-Jamaican

The labourers were given one suit of clothing, agricultural tools and cooking pots on their arrival, divided into groups of 20 or 40 and sent, first by mule cart and in later years on overcrowded freight trains to the plantations in Portland, St. Thomas, St. Mary, Clarendon and Westmoreland.

Inter-Secondary Schools Boys and Girls Championships

The Championships began as a standardized sports day for six of Jamaica’s oldest high schools, Potsdam (now Munro College), St. George’s College, Jamaica College, the Wolmer’s School, New College and Mandeville Middle Grade School.

Islam in Jamaica

Outside of Kingston, organizations include Masjid Al Haq in Mandeville, Masjid Al-Ihsan in Negril, Masjid-Al-Hikmah in Ocho Rios, the Port Maria Islamic Center in Saint Mary and the Ahmadiyya Mahdi Mosque in Old Harbour.

Jamaica Constabulary Force

The history of law enforcement in Jamaica began in 1716 when night watchmen were appointed to serve the cities of Port Royal, Kingston, and the parishes of Saint Catherine and Saint Andrew.

Jamaican local government election, 2012

It was decided by the independent candidate that the mayorship of Falmouth, the capital of Trelawny, would be awarded to the PNP with the JLP receiving the deputy mayor position.

Jamaican Prime Ministers Medal of Appreciation

At the time of the Medal presentation, Fritz was assigned by the International Salvation Army to the Caribbean Territorial Headquarters stationed in Kingston, Jamaica.

James Talacek

In May 2007, Talacek and other NURP/UNCW divers, including fellow Aquarius divers Mark Hulsbeck and Jim Buckley, set up a coral monitoring station pylon offshore from the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory in Discovery Bay, Jamaica for a cooperative program among Caribbean countries called Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC).

Jeremy II

Little is known about his reign, though he tightened relations with Great Britain through the colony of Jamaica.

On 25 June 1720, Nicholas Lawes, the governor of Jamaica signed a formal agreement with a Miskito king named Jeremy to provide 50 men to track down Maroons (former enslaved Africans who had escaped bondage) in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica.

John Bernard Stephenson

John Bernard Stephenson (November 24, 1938 – March 30, 1982), also called Jack Stephenson was a Jamaican lawyer and Member of Parliament for North West St. Catherine and founder of the Charlemont High School, Jamaica.

Joy Gardner

Joy Gardner was a 40-year-old African-Caribbean community mother and illegal immigrant from Jamaica who was killed during a struggle with the police at her home in Crouch End, London on 28 July 1993.

Kenneth Abendana Spencer

Spencer had talent as a painter of scenes of Jamaican life which, as a boy, he would sell for pocket-money in the capital of Kingston.

Knox College

Knox College, Jamaica, a Junior School, High School, and Community College in Spaldings, Jamaica

Mark Hulsbeck

In May 2007, Hulsbeck and other NURP/UNCW divers, including fellow Aquarius divers James Talacek and Jim Buckley, set up a coral monitoring station pylon offshore from the Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory in Discovery Bay, Jamaica for a cooperative program among Caribbean countries called Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change (MACC).

Matthew Finlason

Matthew Finlason (born on March 29, 1975 in Mandeville, Jamaica) is a designer, art director, and producer of film and television projects.

Maurice Ashley

Maurice Ashley (born March 6, 1966 in St. Andrew, Jamaica) is a chess grandmaster, author, commentator, app designer, puzzle inventor, and motivational speaker.

Mona, Jamaica

Mona is a neighbourhood in southeastern Saint Andrew Parish, approximately five miles from Kingston, Jamaica.

Nickardo Blake

Born in Clarendon, Jamaica, Blake was selected by Toronto FC as the 14th pick of the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft.

Nii Allotey Odunton

In 1988, he became the first Officer in charge of the United Nations Office for the Law of the Sea in Kingston, Jamaica, where the Preparatory Commission met and the Seabed Authority was to establish its headquarters.

Osmond Watson

Born in Kingston, Watson attended art classes at the Junior Centre of the Institute of Jamaica from 1948 until 1952; from that year until 1958 he attended the Jamaica School of Art in Kingston.

Pamela E. Bridgewater

Between 1980 and 1990 she was posted as Vice-Consul to Brussels, and Labor Attaché/Political Officer in Kingston, Jamaica.

Postal codes in Jamaica

Although Kingston, the country's capital, along with part of the parish of St Andrew, was already subdivided into postal zones, these were not incorporated into the new codes.

Prezident Brown

Fitz Albert Cotterell was born in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica in the mid-1960s and raised in Oracabessa, St. Mary.

Reginald Scarlett

Reginald Osmond Scarlett (born August 15, 1934, Port Maria, St Mary, Jamaica) is a former West Indian cricketer who played in 3 Tests in 1960.

Rikrok

While attending Manchester High School in Mandeville, Jamaica, he discovered his singing talent and soon realized he had a flair for songwriting.

Rob Rainford

Born in Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica November 30, 1966, Rainford moved to Canada with his family when he was three.

Robert Henry Clarence

After his downfall, he was rescued by a British warship that took him into exile together with 200 refugees to Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, and later to Jamaica.

Rusty Torres

The Puerto-Rican born Torres came to live in New York City early in life, attending from NY Vocational High School in Jamaica, Queens.

Sabrina Colie

Colie completed her elementary education at Mt. St. Joseph Preparatory and high school and sixth form at Manchester High, Mandeville where she was valedictorian.

Sabrina Diana Colie (b. 4 November 1980 in Mandeville, Jamaica) is a Jamaican actress, voice over artist and director.

Sarita Choudhury

Her parents, Prabhas Chandra Choudhury, a scientist, and Julia Patricia Spring, married in 1964 in Lucea, Jamaica.

St Martin-In-The-Fields High School for Girls

The school has a long-standing exchange link with Anchovy High School, Anchovy, near Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Stephen Malcolm

Malcolm died in a car accident, only hours after playing Bulgaria in a friendly international in Kingston.

Stony Hill, Jamaica

Stony Hill is a residential neighbourhood in St. Andrew Parish, Surrey County, on the northern outskirts of Kingston, Jamaica.

T. Rice Holmes

In 1888, he married Isabel Isaacs, the daughter of Lionel Isaacs of Mandeville, Jamaica.

Ternstroemia bullata

It is a critically endangered species with only two remaining individuals known, both in Clarendon Parish.

Thomas Waterman Wood

The artist found the proper model for this work with the aid of the Secretary of State, Dr. George Nichols, in the person of an actual country doctor, then representing the town of Jamaica in the legislature.

Tivoli Gardens, Kingston

Tivoli Gardens, a political Garrison, is a West Kingston neighbourhood in Kingston, Jamaica.

Tower Air

The airline was headquartered in Building 178 and later in Hangar 17 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Jamaica, Queens, New York City.

Twinkle Brothers

The Twinkle Brothers were formed in 1962 by brothers Norman (vocals, drums) and Ralston Grant (vocals, rhythm guitar) from Falmouth, Jamaica.

Victor Stafford Reid

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Victor Reid was the son of Alexander Reid, a businessman who worked in the shipping industry in the United States and married Margaret Reid.

Victor Stafford Reid (1 May 1913 – 25 August 1987) was a Jamaican writer born in Kingston, Jamaica, who wrote with an intent of influencing the younger generations.

Walter Rodney

He taught at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania during the period 1966-67 and later in Jamaica at his alma mater UWI Mona.

William Layton Nelson

William Nelson was born in the small village of Providence, in the Saint James Parish, Jamaica

William Rous

Including privateers such as Samuel Axe and Lewis Morris, Rous spent the next three years raiding Spanish settlements throughout the Caribbean, including participating the conquest of Jamaica in 1644.


Acheson Irvine

In 1962 the RCMP sold the ship, which was converted to a yacht, the Miriana; she sank at Montego Bay, Jamaica in May 1971.

Allison George

She ran in the sixth and final heat against seven other athletes, including Jamaica's Sherone Simpson and LaVerne Jones-Ferrette of the Virgin Islands, both of whom were heavy favorites in this event.

Aston Cooke

In 1985, Cooke was responsible for writing the first episodes of Oliver at Large for Jamaica's "King of Comedy" Oliver Samuels‚ which became Jamaica's most successful scripted television series to date.

Barry Reckord

After living most of his adult life in Britain, mostly with his companion Diana Athill, in the last few years of his life he returned to Jamaica, where he died.

Bobby Routh

Routh is a graduate of the William Cullen Bryant High School and received his bachelors from St. John's University.

Briar Stewart

In 2010, Stewart won an AMPIA Award for her documentary "Journey to Jamaica", a story that followed a group of First Nations cadets from Hobbema, Alberta on an exchange that took them to the slums of Spanish Town, Jamaica.

Children Under a Palm

After colonial service in Jamaica and Hong Kong, the Blakes retired to Myrtle Grove in County Cork, Ireland.

Daniel Bedingfield

In December 2009, he co-wrote material with Tessanne Chin as well as recorded three songs with Busy Signal at DJ Karim's Stainless Records studios in Kingston, Jamaica.

East Caribbean dollar

In 1822, the British government coined 1/4, 1/8, and 1/16 fractional 'Anchor dollars' for use in Mauritius and the British West Indies (but not Jamaica).

Fabian Dawkins

Fabian Dawkins (born 7 February 1981 in Duncans, Trelawny Parish) is a Jamaican footballer, who currently plays for the Arnett Gardens F.C..

Frank Gillingham

He then went on to tour Jamaica with the Hon. L H Tennyson's team in 1927.

German submarine U-558

U-558 torpedoed and sank her approximately 90 miles southeast of Port Morant, Jamaica.

Gregory Mair

She came to Jamaica to study English and married his father, founder and owner of the Desmond G. Mair insurance brokerage.

Henry Bentinck

Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland (1682–1726), British MP for Southampton and Governor of Jamaica

History of cricket in the West Indies to 1918

1655 is a significant year in British colonisation of the West Indies for its forces under Admiral Sir William Penn and General Robert Venables seized the Spanish island of Jamaica, full colonisation commencing in 1661.

History of Jamaica

Under early English rule, Jamaica became a haven of privateers, buccaneers, and occasionally outright pirates: Christopher Myngs, Edward Mansvelt, and most famously, Henry Morgan.

HMLA-775

To enhance the squadron's readiness and demonstrate its versatility, HMLA-775 also participated in anti-drug and Border Patrol operations in support of Federal Agencies in locations such as Key West, FL, Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Nassau, South America, California, Oregon, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Nevada, and Jamaica.

Jamaican Gold

Aad Van Der Hoek founded the label in 1992 and has since been working closely with Jamaican producers and sound engineers, transferring usually the music directly from the original mastertape in Jamaica.

Jhigli

Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens has seen a tremendous amount of newly opened Bangladeshi restaurants mainly by Sylhetis and a great influx of such residents attracted by the real estate boom there.

Juan Sánchez Ramírez

He requested to assistance from the British army established in Jamaica, for force the French to surrender Santo Domingo (what was seld to France with the Treaty of Basel, 1795).

Just to Let You Know...

Just to Let You Know... is the debut album by British/Jamaican reggae artist Bitty McLean.

Knibb

William Knibb, English Baptist minister and missionary to Jamaica

Leila Arcieri

Such work eventually brought her to the attention of writer-producer Timothy Stack, who cast her in the role of Jamaica St. Croix in his new series, Son of the Beach, a parody of Baywatch.

Marvin McCoy

However Marvin's exceptional performances during this season earned him place in the Antigua and Barbuda national team, playing his part in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers where Antigua was eliminated by the United States and teammate Joel Grant's Jamaica.

Maurice Chambers

Maurice Anthony Chambers (born 14 September 1987 in Port Antonio, Jamaica) is a cricketer representing Essex.

Mauro Blanco

A player from The Strongest he obtained a total number of nine caps for the Bolivia national football team in 1997, scoring two goals; both in a friendly match against Jamaica on 1997-03-23 at his debut in the Estadio Jesús Bermúdez in Oruro, Bolivia.

Oil in My Lamp

The song has been recorded many times and was a hit in Jamaica in 1964 for Eric "Monty" Morris, as well as appearing on The Byrds' 1969 album Ballad of Easy Rider.

Oliver Foot

Jamaica Blue sold and used Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee and served locally supplied Jamaican foods, cakes and crafts; Air Jamaica transported all the coffee at a discount price and even flew shipments of Jamaica's own St Catherine's peak spring water.

Patois

Also named "Patuá" in the Paria Peninsula of Venezuela, and spoken since the 18th century by self colonization of French people (from Corsica) and Caribbean people such as JAMAICA, which is the main country that speaks this language (from Martinique, Saint Thomas, Trinidad, Guadeloupe, Haiti) who moved for cacao production.

Persona Communications

In 2005, several longtime executives of Persona Cable, including former CEO Brendan Paddick, moved on to construct and develop a Caribbean-based cable provider named Columbus Communications, which currently operates in The Bahamas, Grenada, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago.

Peter Alfred Taylor

With John Stuart Mill he was a parliamentary spokesman for the Jamaica Committee, formed in response to Edward John Eyre's brutal suppression of riots in Jamaica during the Morant Bay rebellion.

Pro Moves Soccer

Fictional players player for each team (nations range from Argentina to Jamaica and Russia).

Red-billed Streamertail

When the Black-billed Streamertail of eastern Jamaica (found mostly in the parish of Portland) is considered a separate species, the Red-billed Streamertail occurs west of a line from Morant Bay following the Morant River, and via Ginger House and the middle Rio Grande to Port Antonio.

Richard Mille

Yohan Blake, Jamaican sprinter: Blake allegedly wore a customised Tourbillon in Jamaica's national colours.

Roads in Jamaica

On 2009-09-15 Jamaica's prime minister, Bruce Golding, announced to Parliament that Highway 2000 was to be renamed in honour of Usain Bolt.

Robert Edmond Miller

Robert Edmond Miller (born 24 January 1947 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a Jamaican diplomat, currently serving as Jamaica's High Commissioner to Abuja, Nigeria.

Roy Shirley

With the assistance of the Jamaican government his body was returned to Jamaica, where he was buried and where a memorial service was held, attended by musicians including Ken Boothe and Dwight Pinkney and representatives of the government.

Sagicor Financial Corporation

In 2014, the Royal Bank of Canada decided to cut its losses in Jamaica and sold its Jamaican banking assets to Sagicor Group Jamaica Ltd.

Salsa d'Haïti

Additionally, jet-powered aircraft were to be added in 2011 to serve international destinations in Kingston, Jamaica and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

Samuel Oughton

Originally associated with James Sherman's Independent Congregational Surrey Chapel, and from time to time invited back by Sherman, he was closely associated with the Baptists in Jamaica, who were largely organised along Congregational lines and among the predominantly African-Caribbean population, following their founding by George Lisle, a former slave from America.

Sarah Buck

Whilst most of her work has been based around the UK’s South West, there have also been several overseas projects including Mmabtho Airport in Southern Africa, a new 15 km long sewerage scheme for Negril in Jamaica, and roads in Southern Africa.

Seed Herbarium Image Project

:The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, founded in 1872, is an arboretum located in the Jamaica Plain, and Roslindale sections of Boston, Massachusetts.

Sharaya J

Sharaya later went on to work with other top choreographers, Laurieann Gibson, Tanisha Scott, Fatima Robinson, Hi-Hat, and Jamaica Craft (formerly one-third of The Goldmind's act So Def).

Shermain Jeremy

She also recorded a remix to the single with renowned Jamaican singer Vybz Kartel.

The Ethiopians

The Ethiopians were a ska, rocksteady, and reggae vocal group, founded by Leonard Dillon (b. 9 December 1942, Port Antonio, Jamaica, d. 28 September 2011), Stephen Taylor and Aston Morris.

The Kingdom of this World

Bouckman: Bouckman is of Jamaican origin and leads the secret gathering of trusted slaves, where he speaks of French requests for freedom for black slaves, but also of the resistance displayed by plantation landowners.

Tivoli Gardens, Kingston

Patrick Callum, was born in 1973 and he is the President of the New York Chapter of G2K (Generation 2000), which is headquartered in Jamaica, West Indies.

Willie Hordge

Hordge received the baton identical to Usain Bolt of Jamaica, and then pulled away from him down the stretch, as he and teammates Ashton Collins, Wes Felix, and Ivory Williams set a new world junior record of 38.92.