The End Of The Slave Trade in Jamaica
- Details
- Category: Lifestyle/People
- Published: Sunday, 15 December 2013 17:39
- Written by Tim Adams
by Tim Adams
Fifty Six Years before The UNITED STATES EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION.
In 1807, the slave trade between Africa and Jamaica was abolished and no additional slaves were to be brought to the island after March, 1808. Slavery was officially abolished in 1838, at which time many former slaves of African descent scattered to other parts of Jamaica,
leaving plantation owners without workers; many of those owners turned to China and India as source of labor. This is when historically Jamaica realized that British's success was due to the slaves.
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In the 1930's, Norman Manley, a skilled negotiator, workers' rights advocate and founder of the People's National Party, and Alexander Bustamante, founder of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union ( Jamaica's first trade union), and Jamaica's first Prime Minister, began to make changes in the Island. Thanks to them, in 1962, Jamaica achieved independence from Britain and for the first time was able to raise its own flag.
Now, Jamaica is a mixed economy with both state enterprises and private sector businesses. Major sectors of the Jamaican economy include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism, and financial and insurance services. Tourism and mining are the leading earners of foreign exchange. Half the Jamaican economy relies on services, with half of its income coming from services such as tourism. An estimated 1.3 million foreign tourists visit Jamaica every year.
It is historically a place of interest given its importance in South America. It is of no surprise Jamaica is one of the favorite places to travel to.