On October 12, 1492, one of the most important “first contacts” of the modern era was made when three ships of Spanish origin approached the island archipelago now known as the Bahamas, cautiously dropping anchor as the captain of the fleet gazed across to what he assumed was the coast of India. According to the popular version of the story, amazed at the sight of ships and men of such unfamiliar appearance, the native people of the island plunged into the clear waters of the western Atlantic, expertly swimming or aboard dugout canoes, and came out to greet the strangers. 

The entries into Christopher Columbus’ log as he recorded his first encounters with the indigenous people of the “Indies” are very telling. The island people arrived alongside his ships, offering humble gifts that Columbus described as “parrots and balls of cotton and spears and many other things, which they exchanged for the glass beads and hawks' bells.” These were the Taínos people, or the “Arawaks” as they would come to be known, and Columbus described them as “well built…with good bodies and handsome features.” 

What Columbus wanted in the first instance was gold, and he was quick to observe the small items of gold jewelry worn by his visitors, which alerted him immediately to the fact that there was gold to be found somewhere on these islands. To get to the bottom of it, Columbus would waste no time. Thus, a chain of events was set in motion that would permanently affect Western civilization. 

It was, indeed, information gleaned from the natives of Hispaniola that an island across the straits to the east was the regional source of gold that prompted Columbus himself, on his second voyage (1493-1496), to investigate. He arrived on the north coast of Jamaica on May 5, 1494, aboard the caravel Niña, dropping anchor in what is today known as Saint Ann’s Bay. He named the place Santa Gloria, remarking in his journal that the island was the fairest that any eye has beholden. He described it as “mountainous and the land seems to touch the sky…all full of valleys and fields and plains.” 

One of the largest islands in the Caribbean and also home to the Arawak and Tainos, Jamaica may have been inhabited as far back as 5,000 years ago, and between 1000 BCE and 500 BCE, a somewhat more advanced Mesolithic race known as the “Ciboneys” or the “Guanahacabibe” began arriving, settling in Jamaica, the Bahamas, Cuba, and Haiti. Two centuries later, the Ciboneys were followed by a wave of Neolithic migrants, comprising broadly the Taínos, and later by the Kalinagos, also widely known as the “Caribs” or “Island Caribs” to differentiate from an allied people of the mainland. 

Life in Jamaica changed rapidly with the arrival of the Spanish, beginning a torturous history of European colonization that only resulted in Jamaica’s independence in 1962. Imperialism not only affected indigenous people, but also gave rise to modern nationalist movements and famous advocates like Marcus Garvey. 

Modern Jamaica: The History of the Caribbean Island from Christopher Columbus to Today chronicles how the island’s history progressed, from Columbus’ historic voyages to the modern era. You will learn about Jamaica like never before.