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→Immigration to Jamaica
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===Immigration to Jamaica=== | ===Immigration to Jamaica=== | ||
*Jamaica was a possession of Spain until 1655, when England (later Great Britain) conquered it, renaming it Jamaica. *Under British colonial rule Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with a '''plantation economy dependent on the African slaves''' and later their descendants. The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many freedmen chose to have subsistence farms rather than to work on plantations. | *Jamaica was a possession of Spain until 1655, when England (later Great Britain) conquered it, renaming it Jamaica. *Under British colonial rule Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with a '''plantation economy dependent on the African slaves''' and later their descendants. The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many freedmen chose to have subsistence farms rather than to work on plantations. | ||
*Many slaves managed to escape, forming autonomous communities in remote and easily defended areas in the interior of Jamaica, mixing with the remaining Taino; these communities became known as '''Maroons'''. | |||
*Small numbers of Jews also came to live on the island. | |||
*When the English captured Jamaica, '''most Spanish colonists fled''', with the '''exception of Spanish Jews''', who chose to remain in the island. Spanish slave holders freed their slaves before leaving Jamaica. | |||
*Many slaves dispersed into the mountains, joining the already established maroon communities. During the centuries of slavery, Jamaican Maroons established free communities in the mountainous interior of Jamaica, where they maintained their freedom and independence for generations. | |||
*Beginning in the 1840s, the British began using '''Chinese and Indian indentured labour''' to work on plantations. | *Beginning in the 1840s, the British began using '''Chinese and Indian indentured labour''' to work on plantations. | ||
*The majority of Jamaicans are of '''Sub-Saharan African ancestry''', with significant '''European, East Asian (primarily Chinese), Indian, Lebanese, and mixed-race minorities.''' <ref name="Jam">"Jamaica", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica, accessed 11 June 2021.</ref> | *The majority of Jamaicans are of '''Sub-Saharan African ancestry''', with significant '''European, East Asian (primarily Chinese), Indian, Lebanese, and mixed-race minorities.''' <ref name="Jam">"Jamaica", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica, accessed 11 June 2021.</ref> | ||