Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 240 kilometers in length and as much as 80 kilometers in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is 630 kilometers from the Central American mainland, 150 kilometers from Cuba on the north, and 180 kilometers from the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated, on the east. Its indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno inhabitants named the island Xaymaca, meaning either the "land of springs," or the "Land of wood and water." Formerly a Spanish posession known as Santiago, then the British West Indies Crown colony of Jamaica, the country's population is composed mainly of the descendants of former African slaves. It is the third most populous Anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada.

Emigration

Over the past several decades, hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans have emigrated, especially to the United States but also to Canada and the United Kingdom. This emigration appears to have been tapering off somewhat in recent years, however, as the great number of Jamaicans living abroad has become known as the "Jamaican diaspora".

Related Topics:
Emigrated - United States - Canada - United Kingdom - Jamaican diaspora

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Concentrations of expatriate Jamaicans are large in the South Florida metro area of Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta, New York City, Los Angeles in the United States; Toronto in Canada; London, as well as the area of Chapeltown in Leeds, in the United Kingdom. The city of Lauderhill, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale, claims the highest concentration of Jamaican-born elected officials anywhere outside of Jamaica.

Related Topics:
Expatriate - South Florida - Miami - Fort Lauderdale - Atlanta - New York City - Los Angeles - United States - Toronto - Canada - London - Chapeltown - Leeds - United Kingdom - Lauderhill - Fort Lauderdale

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