Jamaica

[juh-mey-kuh]

noun

1. an island in the West Indies, S of Cuba. 4,413 sq. mi. (11,430 sq. km).

2. a republic coextensive with this island: formerly a British colony; became independent in 1962, retaining membership in the Commonwealth of Nations. Kingston.

Jamaica

/ dʒəˈmeɪkə /

noun

1. an island and state in the Caribbean: colonized by the Spanish from 1494 onwards, large numbers of Black slaves being imported; captured by the British in 1655 and established as a colony in 1866; gained full independence in 1962; a member of the Commonwealth. Exports: chiefly bauxite and alumina, sugar, and bananas. Official language: English. Religion: Protestant majority. Currency: Jamaican dollar. Capital: Kingston. Pop: 2 909 714 (2013 est). Area: 10 992 sq km (4244 sq miles)

Jamaica

1. Nation in the West Indies, situated south of Cuba and west of Haiti, in the Caribbean Sea. Its capital and largest city is Kingston.

The country has a high level of poverty.

Tourism is a major industry.

It was the leading world sugar producer in the eighteenth century, when a large slave population grew up around sugar plantations.

A British colony from 1865 to 1962, Jamaica then became completely independent.

Example Sentences

Tracey Richards told the audience her husband George suffered years of "fear, pain and silence" after struggling to prove his immigration status, decades after arriving from Jamaica as a child.

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Hurricane Melissa, one of the most powerful ever to hit the Caribbean, devastated entire regions of Jamaica and flooded Haiti and Cuba.

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BELÉM, Brazil—In the week preceding this year’s United Nations climate negotiations, hurricanes and typhoons battered countries including Jamaica and the Philippines.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Though British rule over his home country of Jamaica ended in 1962, independence and economic mismanagement led to high unemployment and a foundering youth culture.

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A star since the 1960s, he helped to bring the sound of Jamaica to a global audience through hits such as Wonderful World, Beautiful People and You Can Get It If You Really Want.

Read more on BBC