In 1509, the new Governor of the Hispaniola, Diego Columbus, sent Juan de Esquivel, a Conquistador born in Seville, Spain, with 70 men to Jamaica to complete the conquest of that island. They first lived in the St. Ann's Bay area and soon Esquivel founded a town, "Sevilla La Nueva" (in English, "The New Seville") on the north coast, one mile to the west of St. Ann's Bay.
Sevilla was abandoned around 1524 because it was deemed unhealthy. The capital was moved to Spanish Town, then called "Saint Jago de la Vega", in the south around 1534.
In 1654 Oliver Cromwell decided to break the Spanish control of the West Indies and he sent a fleet in an expedition) led by William Penn and General Robert Venables. The fleet arrived to the Santo Domingo island on 13 April 1655 but the British lost in two battles on 17 and 25 April and they decided to move to Jamaica.
On 10 May 1655, Penn and Venables led a successful attack on Jamaica. The Spanish surrendered to the English, freed their slaves and then fled to Cuba. It was this set of freed slaves and their descendants living in the Jamaican mountains who became known as the Maroons.
After a long period of direct British colonial rule, Jamaica gained a degree of local political control in the late 1930s, and held its first election under full universal adult suffrage in 1944. Jamaica joined nine other U.K. territories in the West Indies Federation in 1958 but withdrew after Jamaican voters rejected membership in 1961. Jamaica got its independence in 1962, remaining a member of the Commonwealth.
Jamaica is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II serving as the monarch. However, as Elizabeth II is shared as head of state of fifteen other countries (the Commonwealth realm) in addition to the UK and resides mostly in the United Kingdom, she is thus often represented as Queen of Jamaica in Jamaica and abroad by the Governor-General of Jamaica. The governor-general is nominated by the Prime Minister of Jamaica and appointed by the monarch. All the members of the Cabinet are appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister. The monarch and the governor-general serve largely ceremonial roles.
The Parliament of Jamaica is bicameral. This means that it consists of two Houses, the Senate, also called the Upper House, and the House of Representatives, also known as the Lower House. The members of the House (known as Members of Parliament or "MPs") are elected by the people of Jamaica. The leader of the political party with most members in the House of Representatives is appointed by the governor-general to be the prime minister. Senators are nominated jointly by the prime minister and the parliamentary leader of the opposition and are then appointed by the governor-general.
Tarch 2016. Prime Minister Holness acts as head of government of Jamaica.
Jamaica has traditionally had a system of two parties, with power often alternating between the People's National Party and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). The party with current administrative and legislative power is Jamaica Labour Party, with a two-thirds Parliamentary majority as of 2016.
Jamaica is divided into 14 parishes, which are grouped into three historic counties that have no administrative relevance.
In 2011 (last national census), there were 2,697,983 people living in Jamaica: 1,334,533 men and 1,363,450 women. There were 1,453,438 (53.9%) living in towns and cities. The population density was 245.5 persons/km².
The following table shows the parishes with their populations in the 2011 census.
According to estimates about 70% of Jamaicans are Black and the rest of the 30% are composed of mostly Mixed Race people, but also includes White and Asian Jamaicans.
The official language of Jamaica is English and the population also speaks Jamaican Creole English.
The people of Jamaica is 62.5% Protestant (10.8% Seventh-day Adventist Church, 9.5% Pentecostal, 8.3 Other Church of God, 7.2% Baptist, 6.3% New Testament Church of God, 4.8% Church of God in Jamaica, 4.3% Church of God of Prophecy, 3.6% Anglicans, 7.7% other Christian), 2.6% Catholics, 14.2% other or unspecified, 20.9% none.
Jamaica is between latitudes 17° 42"N and 18° 31"N and longitudes 78° 22"W and 76° 11", that is between the equator and the Tropic of Cancer. It has an area of .
Jamaica is the third-largest island country in the Greater Antilles, after Cuba and the Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic); it is larger than Puerto Rico. The island is from east to west; the width, from north to south, varies between to . The country is composed mainly of the mainland, but near the coast there are a few isolated small islands.
The Blue Mountains are the longest mountain range in Jamaica. They include the island's highest point, Blue Mountain Peak, at .
The Rio Minho is the longest river in Jamaica at . It rises close to the island's geographic centre, flows generally south-southwest and reaches the Caribbean Sea at Carlisle Bay in the central south coast, to the west of the island's southernmost point, Portland Point.
The Black River is one of the longest rivers in Jamaica. At a length of , it was believed to be the longest until it was discovered that the Rio Minho was longer. It was originally called Rio Caobana.
The island is known for the Rastafarian movement, as well as reggae artist Bob Marley. The popular sprinter Usain Bolt is also an asset from the country. Usain Bolt won gold in the 100 and 200 races in Rio 2016. England goalkeeper Joe Hart is also born in Jamaica.
Denver
Denver is the capital and largest city in the U.S. state of Colorado and a county named Denver County. For this reason, Denver is the county seat of Denver County. It is at the foot of the Rocky Mountains on the South Platte River, and was founded in 1858. A nickname for Denver is The Mile High City, because Denver is very high above sea level. It is at least 5,280 feet (or 1,609 meters) above sea level at a point in the city's state capitol building. The dome at the top of the capitol building is covered in gold.
Denver City was founded in November 1858 during the Pikes Peak Gold Rush as a mining town in western Kansas Territory. That summer, a group of gold prospectors from Lawrence, Kansas, started a settlement on the banks of the South Platte River. They called it Montana City. This was the first settlement in what was later to become the city of Denver. The settlement faded quickly. By the summer of 1859 it was abandoned in favor of Auraria (named after the gold mining town of Auraria, Georgia), and St. Charles City.
The Colorado Territory was created on February 28, 1861, Arapahoe County was formed on November 1, 1861, and Denver City was incorporated on November 7, 1861. Denver City served as the Arapahoe County Seat from 1861 until consolidation in 1902. In 1867, Denver City became the Territorial Capital. With its new-found importance, Denver City shortened its name to just Denver. On August 1, 1876, Colorado was admitted to the Union.
Denver is the home of the Denver Broncos football team, the Denver Nuggets basketball team, the Colorado Rockies baseball team, the Colorado Avalanche hockey team, and the Colorado Rapids soccer team.
Carl Lewis
Frederick Carlton "Carl" Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American retired track and field athlete. He has won nine Olympic gold medals and eight World Championships. Lewis became an actor and has appeared in a number of movies.
Pink
Pink is a light reddish color. Pink paint can be made by mixing red, rose, or magenta paint and white paint. Pink is an easy color to make with paint by red and white.
Bleach
Bleach is the name for a number of chemical substances which can be used to remove colors, or to make things white. Very often, they act through oxidation. Bleaches on the base of sulfur have been in use for thousands of years. Modern bleaches are usually based on chlorine or on oxygen.