Culture II: Jamaica by Lety, Vicky and Alicia
Jamaica ( / dʒ ə ˈ m eɪ k ə / ( listen ) ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea , consisting of the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles . The island, 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba , and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola (the island containing the nation-states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic ). Jamaica is the fourth-largest island country in the Caribbean , by area. [8] Inhabited by the indigenous Arawak and Taíno peoples, the island came under Spanish rule following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494. Many of the indigenous people died of disease, and the Spanish imported African slaves as labourers. Named Santiago , the island remained a possession of Spain until 1655, when England (later Great Britain ) conquered it and renamed it Jamaica. Under British colonial rule Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with its plantation economy highly