Portal:Jamaica

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Location of Jamaica
LocationCaribbean

Jamaica (/əˈmkə/ jə-MAY-kə; Jamaican Patois: Jumieka [dʒʌˈmie̯ka]) is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi), it is the third largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about 145 km (90 mi) south of Cuba, 191 km (119 mi) west of Hispaniola (the island containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and 215 km (134 mi) south-east of the Cayman Islands (a British Overseas Territory).

With 2.8 million people,0 Jamaica is the third most populous Anglophone country in the Americas (after the United States and Canada), and the fourth most populous country in the Caribbean. Kingston is the country's capital and largest city. Most Jamaicans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, with significant European, East Asian (primarily Chinese), Indian, Lebanese, and mixed-race minorities. Because of a high rate of emigration for work since the 1960s, there is a large Jamaican diaspora, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The country has a global influence that belies its small size; it was the birthplace of the Rastafari religion, reggae music (and such associated genres as dub, ska and dancehall), and it is internationally prominent in sports, including cricket, sprinting, and athletics. Jamaica has sometimes been considered the world's least populous cultural superpower. (Full article...)

Studio One sign on Studio One Boulevard (formerly Brentford Road), Kingston, Jamaica
Studio One is one of Jamaica's most renowned record labels and recording studios; it has been described as the Motown of Jamaica. The record label was involved with most of the major music movements in Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s, including ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub and dancehall. (Full article...)
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Banton in 2006

Mark Anthony Myrie (born 15 July 1973), known professionally as Buju Banton, is a Jamaican reggae dancehall musician. He is one of the most significant and well-regarded artists in Jamaican music. Banton has collaborated with many international artists, including those in the hip hop, Latin and punk rock genres, as well as the sons of Bob Marley.

Banton released a number of dancehall singles as early as 1987 but came to prominence in 1992 with two albums, Stamina Daddy and Mr. Mention, the latter becoming the best-selling album in Jamaican history upon its release. That year he also broke the record for No. 1 singles in Jamaica, previously held by Bob Marley and the Wailers. He signed with the major label Mercury Records and released Voice of Jamaica in 1993. By the mid-1990s, Banton's music became more influenced by his Rastafari faith, as heard on the seminal albums 'Til Shiloh and Inna Heights. (Full article...)

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Surface weather analysis conducted by the Atlantic hurricane reanalysis project of the storm near peak intensity approaching Jamaica on August 20

The 1944 Jamaica hurricane was a deadly major hurricane that swept across the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico in August 1944. Conservative estimates placed the storm's death toll at 116. The storm was already well-developed when it was first noted passing westward over the Windward Islands into the Caribbean Sea on August 16. A ship near Grenada with 74 occupants was lost, constituting a majority of the deaths associated with the storm. The following day, the storm intensified into a hurricane, reaching its peak strength on August 20 with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/h). At this intensity, the major hurricane made landfall on Jamaica later that day, traversing the length of the island. The damage wrought was extensive, with the strong winds destroying 90 percent of banana trees and 41 percent of coconut trees in Jamaica; the overall damage toll was estimated at "several millions of dollars". The northern coast of Jamaica saw the most severe damage, with widespread structural damage and numerous homes destroyed across several parishes. In Port Maria, the storm was considered the worst since 1903.

Land interaction weakened the hurricane, and the storm maintained this lessened intensity as it passed the Cayman Islands, producing measured gusts of 80–90 mph (130–140 km/h). On August 22, the hurricane moved ashore the Yucatán Peninsula near Cozumel and eventually emerged into the Bay of Campeche as a tropical storm. On August 24, the storm made landfall for a final time near Tampico, Mexico, bringing with it heavy rains that caused flooding throughout the coasts of Veracruz and Texas, killing 12. The storm dissipated over the mountainous terrain of inland Mexico later that day. Heavy rains were reported across the Rio Grande Valley, causing minor flooding. A tornado produced by the storms killed one person in McCook, Texas and injured fifteen others. (Full article...)

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Credit: Adolphe Duperly
Destruction of the Roehampton Estate, January 1832, by Adolphe Duperly

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Rice and peas or peas and rice are traditional rice dishes within some Caribbean countries. The 'peas' used in this dish by some countries are traditionally pigeon peas otherwise called 'Gungo peas' in the Caribbean. Either kidney beans (red peas) or pigeon peas are generally used for this dish. Rice and peas recipes throughout the Caribbean vary, with each country having their own way of making it and name of calling it, and are similar only by the two main ingredients which are the legumes (peas/beans) used and rice to form a mixture. The name "rice and peas" originally is used by Jamaicans to identify the dish, while other countries have different names for it.

In 1961, Frederic G. Cassidy made note that the dish had been referred to as Jamaica's coat of arms. (Full article...)

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