Jamaica: 14 Interesting Facts You Did Not Know

Most of you reading this know that Jamaica is located in the Caribbean and that Bob Marley is from there, but there’s probably a lot that you didn’t about this island. Today my aim is to change that.

Here are 14 Interesting Facts You Didn’t Know About Jamaica

1. Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean, after Cuba and Hispaniola (which is shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic). The island has an estimated population of 2.8 million.

2. The island is home to a number of important and endangered species, including the Jamaican iguana, the Jamaican boa, and the Jamaican parrot.

3. The island is the birthplace of several important musical genres, including reggae, ska, and rocksteady.

4. The Blue Mountain region of the island is home to some of the best coffee in the world.

5. Depsite having a tropical climate, Jamaica’s bobsled team made its debut in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and became the first team from a tropical country to compete in the games. The film Cool Runnings is losely based on this.

6. Jamaica has a long and rich history, with the island being inhabited by the Taíno people for thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans.

7. The island was a British colony from 1655 until 1962, when it gained independence. That’s the main reason why the population drives on the left side of the road.

8. The official language of Jamaica is English, but a significant portion of the population also speaks Patois, an English-based creole language.

9. Kingston is the capital of the country. It’s also the country’s largest city with an estimated population of 650,000 people. The city was founded in 1692, after the destruction of the original capital, Port Royal (which was struck by an earthquake). One third of the island’s population lives in Kingston.

10. Despite its illegal status in the country, marijuana has a long history of use in Jamaica, and it is widely cultivated on the island. It is often used by Rastafarians, who consider it to be a sacred plant and use it in religious ceremonies.

11. The island actually sits on the summit of a vast underwater mountain. The submarine range which supports the island is known, unsurprisingly, as the Jamaica Ridge. This vast underwater range separates the Cayman Trench and Cayman Basin from the Columbian Basin.

12. The three colours on the country’s flag all have resonance with the island. According the country’s information service  the black symbolises the strength and creativity of the people. The gold represents the natural beauty of sunlight, as well as the wealth of the country. Meanwhile the green signifies hope and agriculture.

13. Ian Fleming wrote all his James Bond thrillers in Jamaica. James Bond was inspired by a covert naval operation the author was engaged in at the time called GoldenEye. The character was born on Fleming’s 15-acre estate. Three Bond films: Live and Let Die (1973), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), and Dr. No (1962) was shot on the island.

14. Other films that have been shot in Jamaica include The Blue Lagoon (1980), Cocktail (1988), Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007).

Well, there you have it, 14 Interesting Facts you did not know about Jamaica. If I left out something important, feel free to comment below.

Watch this space for updates in the Facts category on Running Wolf’s Rant.