The original Coat of Arms granted to Jamaica in 1661, was designed by the then Archbishop of Canterbury, William Sanderoft. Apart from a partial revision in 1957, it remaines virtually the same as it was originally designed. The Arms shows a male and female Arawak, standing on either side of the shield which bears a red cross with five golden pineapples on it. The Crest is a Jamaican crocodile looking out on the Royal Helmet and Mantlings. The original Latin motto, "Indus Uterque Serviet Uni", has been changed to one in English: "Out of many, one people."

* Pre-Jamaica
Before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494, Jamaica was inhabited by Arawaks, living in simple communities based on fishing, hunting, and small scale cultivation of cassava. The impact of the contact with the Spanish was traumatic, and these communities disappeared in 70-80 years. Plunder, disruption of economic activities, new diseases, and migration destroyed the small population. Only a few artifacts, which are on display at the small museum at White Marl, and a few Spanish names of places (such as Ocho Rios) remain from this period. Otherwise, there is no Arawak influence on further development of life on the island.

* The Spanish Occupation, 1494-1655
Disappointed by the absence of gold on the island, the Spanish used Jamaica as a base for supporting the conquest of the Americas, particularly Mexico with its treasures of gold and silver. The population of the Spanish settlement, including their slaves, was never large. It was administered from the Town of Santiago de la Vega, now called Spanish Town, and much of the architecture of the original buildings is still evident today in the town square.

* The Slave Economy, 1655-1838
After a brief period of experimenting with European labor, the British turned to large scale importation of Africans to be used as slaves on the sugar plantations. In its prime years, Jamaica was one of "the jewels in the English crown" because of the prosperity it brought to the English plantation owners directly, and indirectly to those cities, such as Liverpool and Bristol, which serviced the trade with Jamaica and the rest of the British Caribbean (West Indies). Plantation slavery was based on the Triangular trade among England (manufactured goods), Africa (slaves), and the Caribbean(sugar), which itself was the basis for what later emerged as the international economy. International trade was so important to the Jamaican economy that when the American war of independence disrupted trade between what was then the "North American colonies" and the Caribbean, 15,000  slaves died of starvation in Jamaica alone.

The plantation dominated economic life in every sense. It occupied the best lands, the laws supported the slave system, and in general all commercial and other economic activity depended on the activity of the plantation. Some slaves ran away from the estates to live in small bands in the mountains as Maroons.

By the close of the 18th century, sugar was losing its economic importance because of competition from beet sugar as well as rising production costs. In 1838, the slaves were Emancipated and the plantations had to begin paying wages to its workers. One of Jamaica's national heroes, Rev.Sam Sharpe ( see National Heroes at bottom) after whom Montego Bay's city square is named, is celebrated for his leadership role in the famous Christmas rebellion of slaves in 1831, a few years before Emancipation.

*The Development of the Peasantry. 1838-1938
After Emancipation, many of the ex-slaves settled down as small farmers in the mountains, cultivating steep hill slopes far away from the plantations. Still others settled on small lands in the plains nearby the plantations on land leased or bought in various land settlements organized and sponsored by Christian groups such as the Baptists.

In this period, sugar continued to decline in its importance, but peasant exports of logwood, coffee, and eventually bananas grew steadily. In this way, the economy began to be diversified away from its traditional dependence on sugar alone.

*The National Movement and Decolonization, 1938-1962
The roots of the national movement for independence reach back into the struggles for land in the 19th century. It was inspired by the political ideas of Marcus Mosiah Garvey,(see National heroes at bottom) one of Jamaica's national heroes, and put into action by the reaction of the sugar and dock workers to the economic crisis caused by the Great Depression. It emerged as a political force in the  rebellion in 1938. Its most enduring political institutions, are the two major political parties, and the labor unions affiliated to them. Both the founder of the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) and the Bustamante Industrial Trades Union (BITU), Alexander Bustamante(see National Heroes at bottom), and the founder of the People's National Party (PNP) and the National Workers Union (NWU), Norman Manley ( see National Heroes at bottom), have been declared national heroes for their individual and combined efforts in geting political independence from England. The constitutional change that simplified the emergence of these parties was the granting of adult suffrage and a measure of self-government in 1944.

The period 1944- 1962 not only saw major political changes, but also major transformations of the structure of the economy. From a one crop export economy, the economy became diversified around the export of sugar, bananas and other agricultural commodities, the export of bauxite and alumina, and the tourist industry. These brought about a construction industry. The USA displaced the UK as Jamaica's principal trading partner. There was also a tremendous migration of labor to the UK and the USA which needed labor for the post-war reconstruction and expansion of their economies.

*The First Decade of Political Independence, 1962-1972
Political Independence was granted in 1962, following Jamaica's rejection, by vote, of membership in the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica was given a Westminister style constitution, with a Governor-general as the representative of the British Crown, and a bicameral Parliament. There is a House of Representatives consisting of elected representatives and a Senate appointed by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The government is headed by a Prime Minister, who is required to consult with the Governor General and the Leader of the Opposition on certain matters. The first two governments were formed by the JLP, which had opposed membership in the Federation.

The post-war boom in the economy continued through the 60's, though it gradually slowed down, with the completion of the investment cycle of the bauxite/alumina industry. By the end of the decade, there were well established mining, tourism, manufacturing, and construction sectors, alongside the traditional agricultural and distribution sectors.

*The Second Decade of Political Independence
Between 1972 and 1980, the PNP, the other major political party, held political office and brought into a shift in major economic policies. Most notable was the imposition of the Bauxite Levy in 1974, in order to increase Jamaica's share of the income in that industry. The government positioned the state in the leadership role within the process of economic development, with a view to attenuating and rectifying the inherited economic inequalities.

Related to this was an ideology of social reform to protect the weakest sections of the population, and to promote the welfare of the poor through subsidized food, housing, education, health, and other important social services. In international affairs, Jamaica opened up relations with many non-capitalist countries, and promoted the solidarity of the Third World in international negotiations with the advanced countries.

The international economy was quite unfavorable for a number of reasons. The main ones were the weakness of the aluminum market, and hence, the bauxite industry, the inflation of oil and food prices, and the decline and reversal of capital inflows for private investment.

All of this contributed to the decline in the economy, with the problems of unemployment, inflation, and growing external indebtedness. By the end of the decade, the government sought assistance from the IMF and the World Bank, and since then these two institutions, along with the USAID, have determined the policy framework of the government.

*The Third Decade of Political Independence
From 1980 to 1989, the JLP held political office. They were committed to the same free market development policies as the IMF, the World Bank, and the USAID. Because of a special political relationship with the Reagan administration, Jamaica benefited from generous USA assistance in the first half of the decade. The economy was substantially deregulated, the currency was devalued, and many public enterprises were divested in the process of adjustment, which has now been on-going for some 14 years.

The eighties saw the development of Free Zone manufacturing especially of garments for export to the USA, the gradual recovery of bauxite/alumina production, and the rapid growth of tourism from North America. In the process, the traditional international economic relations, particularly with the USA, were strengthened at the expense of regional relations, such as Caricom trade.

The eighties also saw large volumes of emigrants, primarily to the USA, swelling the ranks of established overseas Jamaican communities, and creating new ones. Jamaicans are contributing in every sphere of human activity, and distinguishing themselves in cultural activities, such as music, and sports. In addition, Jamaicans have been accumulating significant quantities of wealth in assets in the USA and other countries.

National Heroes

back