Jamaica

Discover the British and Spanish colonial heritage of Jamaica, an island blessed with natural beauty from golden beaches to the Blue Mountains.

The original inhabitants of Jamaica are believed to be the Arawaks, also called Tainos. They came from South America 2,500 years ago and named the island Xaymaca, which meant ““land of wood and water”. The Arawaks were a mild and simple people who grew cassava, sweet potatoes, maize, fruits, vegetables, cotton and tobacco. The Arawaks were destroyed by the Spaniards some years after Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1494.

Jamaica has a rich colonial heritage; a tale beginning with the Spanish who ruled for over 100 years until 1655, Admiral William Penn and General Robert Venables led a successful attack on Jamaica. The Spaniards surrendered to the English, freed their slaves and then fled to Cuba. It was this set of freed slaves and their descendants who became known as the Maroons.

The British used the island as a penal colony and it became the home for pirates, with Port Royal in Kingston having the dubious accolade of being one of the wealthiest ports in North America in the 17th century.

Sugar boomed in the 18th century and this accelerated the slave trade that reduced the white population of Jamaica to the minority. Great sugar estates were built, many of which can be visited to this day. The abolition of the slave trade and competition from nearby Cuba meant the sugar industry went into decline in the last 19th century. On August 6, 1962, Jamaica was granted its independence.

Beyond the beach it is a joy to explore the scenic highlands, rich history and local villages in the company of your expert local guide. 

Other cultural highlights include Port Antonio, Firefly (Noel Coward’s home overlooking the Caribbean Sea), the scenic Blue Mountains or a journey by raft on the Martha Brae or Rio Grande Rivers. Explore the UNESCO protected John Crow Mountains National Park or the restored plantation house at Rose Hall. The capital city of Kingston offers stories of the wild and fearless buccaneers based at Port Royal, as well as home to the National Gallery and Natural History Museum, and for music lovers the Bob Marley Museum.

Enjoy a holiday in Jamaica or perhaps stop-over on your way to Latin or Central America.