“Wi likkle but we
Tallawah”
Jamaica is a small island located in the Caribbean. In total, the island is only 4, 244 square miles (*10,991
km) and has a population of approximately 2.7 million people. It is also broken up into 14 parishes, listed
here is no particular order - Hanover, St. Elizabeth, St. James, Trelawney, Westmoreland, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Ann, St. Mary, Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Catherine, St. Mary, Portland and St. Thomas. St. Ann is
the largest parish on the island measuring 1,213 square kilometers, while Kingston is the smallest measuring
25 square kilometers. Sevilla de la nueva, St. Ann was Jamaica’s first capital, followed by Spanish Town, St.
Catherine between 1662 and 1872, the current capital of Jamaica is Kingston.
These fourteen parishes are grouped into three counties, Cornwall, Middlesex, and Surrey. Note however that these counties have no administrative relevance to the island. The counties were established in 1758 to
facilitate the holding of courts of the British County court system.
The Island was first named “Xaymaca” (meaning “Land of Wood and Water” or “Land of Springs”) by
the indigenous Tainos. It was known as “Santiago” after the Spanish possession and then named “Jamaica”
after it became an English colony. Today it is also called the Commonwealth of Jamaica.
Things you probably did not know about this great little island………………….
1. Jamaica is the largest English-speaking Island
5. Jamaica was the first country in the Caribbean
in the Caribbean and the third largest island in the
to construct a railway. The Railways of Jamaica,
Caribbean, behind Cuba and Hispaniola.
constructed from 1845, were the first railway lines
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