The History
By the beginning of the 20th century the Caribbean islands were an
assembly of ethnicities and nationalities, a melting pot of cultures and
languages. The history of the region and social relations within it,
however, made the Caribbean different from any of the other colonies.
Indeed, there were three crucial factors which determined everything
about Caribbean life up until the middle of the 20th century, when the
most recent wave of migration to Britain took place.
Firstly, the Europeans and European governments - Spain, Holland, France
and Britain - had settled the region and having more or less
exterminated the original inhabitants were it's first foreign landlords.
Secondly, the bulk of the population had arrived by force, during the
period of slavery. Thirdly, the dominant economic activity was the
production of one crop - sugar cane.
Slavery and indentured labour was central to all these factors, and it
is impossible to understand Caribbean attitudes, beliefs and even the
continuing relationship of Caribbean people to the region, without
understanding the nature of slavery in the region. Slavery was more
than a phase in the region's history, or a part of its activity. It
was, for a period, during the 18th and 19th centuries, the prime reason
why anyone was there, and it determined almost every element of the
region's culture.
Jamaica has been an independant nation since 1962. This is the time line of the history:
600-1000 AD: Arawak Indians arrived in Jamaica from South America
1494: Columbus made his first visit to Jamaica
1503-1504: A shipwreck strands Columbus on the island’s north coast during the explorer’s fourth expedition. The explorer stays at Santa Gloria, now St. Ann’s Bay.
1509: The first Spanish colony is established in Jamaica in what is now St. Ann’s Bay.
1513: Enslaved Africans arrive in Jamaica.
1520: Jamaica begins to cultivate sugarcane.
1598: The Spanish governor proposes a separate area for the Arawak
Indian population, which was quickly diminishing due to disease and hard
labor conditions. The proposal fails.
1655: British troops invade and take over Jamaica. No Arawaks remain alive on the island.
1656: British colonists settle at Port Morant; most die from disease.
1670: Peace of Madrid officially puts Jamaica under British rule.
1678: First mention of slave uprising.
1690: First significant slave uprising in Clarendon; many slaves escape into Cockpit Country.
1690-1739: First Maroon War fought across the island as British fight Maroons.
1692: Port Royal suffers a catastrophic earthquake and thousands die.
1760: Slave uprising in St. Mary led by Tacky, a runaway slave.
1795: Second Maroon War.
1831: Hanging of Sam Sharpe, leader of last great slave rebellion, in Montego Bay.
1834: Slavery brought to an end. For four years after this event, slaves had to work without pay.
1835: Small groups of Germans arrive in Jamaica in Seaford Town.
1838: Slavery officially abolished in Jamaica.
1838-1917: Large migration of Indians into Jamaica.
1860-1893: Large migration of Chinese into Jamaica as indentured workers.
1960: Tourism industry begins.
1962: Jamaica becomes independent country.
1980: Elections result in hundreds of deaths in violent protests across island.
1988: Hurricane Gilbert hits Jamaica.
The Culture
The culture of Caribbean migrants in Britain has been always complex and it is changing every day. The Caribbean culture is the result of two strong facts. First,
there was the need for migrants to adapt to their changed circumstances. When they arrived in Britain they had to face a whole different way of
life. Secondly they wanted to preserve the identity they already had.
The culture that has emerged over the last few generations has been
shaped by the influences the migrants brought with them and
developed, the experience of living in Britain, and by their interaction
with the landscape, the people and the events in their new environment. But cultural influences flow both ways, and the inventiveness and
accessibility of Caribbean culture has had an influence on wider British
culture, especially in the area of music and the arts.
Caribbean religious festivals are generally similar in content to
English ones and the sheer diversity of the Caribbean migrant population
made festivals based on distinctly Caribbean common cultural traditions
unlikely to envolve. The carnival tradition, however, was most highly developed in Trinidad,
and took place in the week before Easter. It spawned its own
industries, its own culture and its own stars. Calypso singers like The
Mighty Sparrow and Lord Kitchener were awe-inspiring celebrities in
1950s Caribbean, and it was not long before the influence of the
carnival culture began to appear amongst the migrant population in
England.
The Langage
Because English is the official language in the Uk, African-Caribbean
immigrants did not have a lot of communication difficulties when they arrive Britain like the other immigrantscomming from other regions. However the indigenous Britons were not used to the distinct Caribbean dialects, creoles and patois spoken by many African - Caribbean immigrants and their descendants. It was a big reason about the difficulties that they had in the education domain. The British Carribean children at the beginning had a lot of diffuculties in British schools because of the fact that they used to speak dialectes with their families.
This is repartition of the jamaican people in differents parts of the UK woth idfferents criteria
| Year | Numer of Jamaicans granted British citizenship |
Naturalisation by residence |
Naturalisation by marriage |
Registration of a minor child |
Registration by other means |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 732 | 327 | 279 | 114 | 12 |
| 1998 | 1,370 | 571 | 564 | 221 | 14 |
| 1999 | 1,437 | 678 | 526 | 226 | 7 |
| 2000 | 1,882 | 927 | 664 | 281 | 10 |
| 2001 | 2,070 | 1,025 | 710 | 330 | 0 |
| 2002 | 2,025 | 1,035 | 705 | 285 | 0 |
| 2003 | 2,795 | 1,285 | 985 | 520 | 5 |
| 2004 | 3,180 | 1,415 | 1,060 | 640 | 65 |
| 2005 | 3,515 | 1,585 | 1,080 | 770 | 80 |
| 2006 | 2,525 | 1,110 | 710 | 655 | 55 |
| 2007 | 3,165 | 1,575 | 825 | 725 | 45 |
| 2008 | 2,715 | 1,275 | 695 | 700 | 45 |
- London – 250,000
Brent, Croydon, Hackney, Haringey, Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark, Waltham Forest and Enfield. - Birmingham – 35,000
Handsworth, Winson Green, Aston, Ladywood, Newtown and Lozells - Bristol – 20,000
St. Paul's and Redfield - Manchester – 10,000
Old Trafford, Moss Side, Cheetham Hill, Chorlton, Didsbury, Wythanshawe, Urmston and Sale - Gloucester – 4,000
Barton, Tredworth and Tuffly - Leeds – 4,000–5,000
Chapeltown and Harehills - Leicester – 3,000–4,000
Highfields and St Matthews - Sheffield – 2,000
- Liverpool – 1,000–2,000
Granby and Toxteth - Preston - 800
References
- http://www.movinghere.org.uk/default.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Jamaican
