The island of Jamaica has had a significant economic and cultural influence on the outside world and vice versa.

In pre-Columbian times, Jamaica was most likely integrated into regional trade networks.  Native people in Jamaica probably traded with people from neighboring islands, and perhaps with the mainland as well.

When European colonists arrived in the late fifteenth century they drew the island into an international economic system.  Jamaica became part of the Atlantic system, which linked Europe, the Americas and Africa.

European settlers brought new crops and livestock to the Americas.  The most important crop they introduced was probably sugarcane.  This crop, which originated in New Guinea, the Malay/Indonesian Archipelago or Southeast Asia, went on to become the mainstay of Jamaica’s economy for several centuries.

Intensive sugarcane plantation agriculture developed in the Middle East and the Mediterranean Basin.  From here it was brought westward to the Atlantic Islands off the coasts of Africa and Europe by European colonists.  In the New World, intensive sugarcane planting was first practiced in northeastern Brazil.  From here the sugarcane complex moved to the English colony of Barbados.

Sugarcane brought wealth to landowners on the island of Barbados, due to the high demand for sugar in Europe.  English settlers in Jamaica took note of the Barbadian example and began to plant sugarcane themselves.

Sugarcane plantations are very labor-intensive.  As a result, everywhere that sugarcane plantations were established, large numbers of workers had to be brought in.  In the Americas the preferred source of labor were African slaves.  African-born slaves tended to die quickly, due to disease and the rigorous work regimen.  As a result, sugar plantations had an insatiable demand for new slaves.  This demand fueled the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.  This trade brought African captives to the Americas, and made the fortunes of many European traders and shipbuilders.

As one of the largest slave colonies in the Caribbean, Jamaican planters helped to fuel the slave trade.  The sugar that these slaves produced was exported to Britain, Europe and North America.  Jamaican sugar helped to sweeten the tea that Englishmen drank.

Many of Jamaica’s sugar plantation owners were absentees.  They lived in Britain, entrusting the day-to-day running of their Jamaican estates to hired managers.  Jamaican sugar money allowed some absentees to enjoy aristocratic lives of leisure in England.

Slave trader and/or African slaves brought West African crops, like ackee trees, and African yams.  African slaves also brought African farming techniques with them.  Garden farming by people of African descent helped to provide a significant proportion of the island’s food.

The island was not self-sufficient in food, however.  The constant demand for sugar plantation laborers meant that Jamaica’s population was artificially large.  Furthermore, much of the best arable land was used for sugarcane and other cash crops rather than food crops.  Food to supplement the Afro-Jamaicans’ gardens was imported from British North America (the United States and Canada).  The American colonies/the U.S.A. provided wheat and salted meats.  Newfoundland’s biggest export to Jamaica was salted cod.  Today Jamaica’s national dish, ackee and saltfish, contains a locally grown ingredient of West African origin (ackee) and a North American import (salted cod or saltfish).

In the early nineteenth century, a large slave rebellion broke out in the western part of Jamaica.  This rebellion helped to push the British Parliament to abolish slavery in the British Empire.  The original plan for emancipation called for an intermediate period of ‘apprenticeship’.  During this period former slaves were expected to continue to work for former masters with no pay.  The latter were expected to help prepare the ex-slaves for full freedom.

The apprenticeship system was ended ahead of schedule, however, and ex-slaves received their freedom earlier than planned.  This was mainly due to abuses of the apprenticeship system.  The decision to end apprenticeship early was based largely on the testimony of abuses provided by Jamaican apprentices.

In the late nineteenth century Jamaica experienced economic hardships.  Many residents emigrated in search of work.  Jamaicans emigrated around the world.  In the ‘banana republics’ of Central America, the helped provide the backbone of the labor force for banana plantations on the Caribbean coast.  In Panama, Jamaicans and other West Indians made up most of the labor force that built the Panama Canal.  Other Jamaicans settled in Cuba, Colombia and other parts of Latin America.  Many others emigrated to the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

During the mid-twentieth century, the former British colonies of the West Indies moved towards independence.  At first the various colonies of the British West Indies formed a federation.  Jamaica eventually broke away, however, helping to bring about the collapse of the federation.

Reggae and dancehall music have been the island’s most famous cultural exports.  These forms of music have attracted an international fan base.  Rastafarianism is another Jamaican export.  This religious movement began on the island but has now been exported around the world, notably to other Caribbean islands.  The island is also a popular tourist destination, attracting many visitors from North America, Western Europe and Japan.

The island of Jamaica has had a significant cultural and economic impact on the outside world, both historically and in more recent times.  At the same time, the world has had a great influence on Jamaica past and present.