|
Uniquely Jamaica
Jamaica for all its size, have
over its history,
have had a significant influence on the rest of the world's culture,
music and
economy. The following are a few lesser known facts about Jamaica
firsts.
|
 The Ortanique
The
Ortanique is uniquely a Jamaican fruit first propagated in
the parish of Manchester. As the name suggests, it is a cross between
an
orange and
tangerine.
Grapefruit
The
Grapefruit is believed
to have originated in Jamaica because the first written record of the
term 'grapefruit' comes from Jamaica in 1814. Its name comes from that
fact that it grows in clusters like grapes. The grapefruit is a hybrid
of the sweet orange and a citrus plant named shaddock after the captain
who first brought it to the West Indies from Polynesia in the 18th
century.
|
Pineapple
The
pineapple, indigenous to Jamaica, appears on the Jamaican Coat of Arms
and a pineapple
watermark is used for the printing of Jamaican currency. It is believed
Jamaica supplied Hawaii with its first commercial variety of pineapples.
|
Pimento
Pimento
is indigenous to
Jamaica. It was found growing in Jamaica by early Spanish explorers who
were quite impressed with the taste and aroma of the berries and
the leaves. Pimento trees were later discovered in Cuba and were
presumed to have been taken there by migratory birds which had
eaten the berries. Attempts to introduce pimento to other parts
of the world
gave trees that failed to produce fruit and so were largely
abandoned. Jamaica remains the largest producer of pimento,
although it is also grown in Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Brazil
and the Leeward Islands. |
Mutiny on the Bounty and the Breadfruit
Captain Bligh, famous
for the Mutiny on the Bounty,
brought the breadfruit to Jamaica from Polynesia - the Jamaican House
of Assembly paid him five hundred guineas to help pay for his second,
successful, voyage. |
Music
For a
country that's slightly smaller than the state of Connecticut and has a
population of less than 3 million, Jamaica has done more to influence
world music that any other country its size—and far more than numerous
countries that are much bigger. The country's ska, reggae and dub
musical styles and influences are heard around the world. -- Source:
National Geograpic
|
Port Royal - "Richest
and wickedest city in the world"
Port
Royal was the center of shipping commerce in Jamaica in the 17th
century. During this time, it gained a reputation as both the "richest
and wickedest city in the world". After
1670, the importance of Port Royal and Jamaica to England was
increasingly due to trade in slaves, sugar, and raw materials. It
soon became the mercantile center of the Caribbean area, with vast
amounts of goods flowing in and out of the port through an expansive
trade network. Pirates
from around the world congregated
at Port Royal coming from as far away as Madagascar on the far side of
Africa. Known today to 16th–18th-century focused archaeologists as the City that sank,
it is considered the most
important underwater archaeological site in the western hemisphere |
Rum
The island was the
world's first commercial
producer of rum. |
Language
The words barbecue,
canoe, hurricane, potato and
tobacco come from the
language of the first colonists of Jamaica, the Arawak Indians.
|
Coffee
Coffee
from Jamaica's Blue Mountains is among the world's most famous and
expensive. |
 James Bond
Ian
Fleming designed and built his home "Goldeneye" in Jamaica and wrote
seventeen of his James Bond novels there. |
