Jamaican Facts

We thought we would share a few Jamaican Facts with you. These were contributed by Totlyn Oliver.

On his second voyage to the New World in 1494, the tip of the Blue Mountains in Jamaica was the first land sighted by Christopher Columbus. Jamaica was the first commercial producer of bananas in the Western Hemisphere. Jamaica also was the first island in the Caribbean to produce rum on a commercial basis. The Manchester Golf Club in Jamaica, established in 1868, is the oldest in the western hemisphere! 2006-2007: World Fastest man and woman are Jamaicans [Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser]. Jamaica was the first country to impose economic sanctions against the apartheid regime of South Africa. Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean. Jamaica was the first Caribbean island to enact legislation, "The Motion Picture Industry (Encouragement) Act" to promote the making of films. Jamaica is the first country to sign a Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria grant agreement. Jamaica was the first tropical country to enter the IOC Winter Olympics. The bobsleigh team's efforts inspired the film ‘Cool Runnings’. Jamaica was the first colony England acquired by conquest. This was in the year 1655 when the Spanish were driven from the island. We have the second largest butterfly in the world? (The Giant Swallowtail). Jamaica was the first British colonial territory to establish a postal service (in 1688). Jamaica was the first Caricom country to liberalize the telecommunications sector. Since then, other Caricom countries have opened up to competition. Jamaica was the first country in the Caribbean region to launch a web site, www.jamaicatravel.com. This was in 1994! Jamaica is the birth place of Robert ("Bob") Marley Port Royal in Jamaica was once labelled 'The wickedest city on Earth'? On July 5/09; CNN reported that (HPI) named Jamaica the 3rd happiest place on Earth, based on 1:life expectancy, 2: happiness - how satisfied with their lot the citizenry says they are, and 3: ecological footprint. Contributed by Totlyn Oliver