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.
The Breadfruit and Mutiny on the Bounty
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 of 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
Language
The words barbecue, canoe, hurricane, potato and tobacco come from the language of the first colonists of Jamaica, the Taino Indians, a subgroup of the Arawakan Indians from northeastern South America.
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.
