Racial development in Jamaica

      Jamaica is a multiracial country and it has a population of 2.8 millions revealt in the latest census. African Jamaicans is the largest ethnic group in the island and it comprises more than 90 percents of the population of the island. People with mixed ancenstry is the second largest ethnic group. There are around 6 persents of Jamaican in this group. Besides, East Indians comprises 1 persent of population and there are also a few whites and Chinese reside in the Jamaica. How do these ethnic groups appear and develop in the island. Now I will find the answers through looking back to the history.
      The original residents of Jamaica were Tainos, a large group of Indians residing in the West Indies. They lived for thousands of years in the island when Christopher Columbus arrivied at the island in 1494. The first European immigrants were Spaniards and they built their first settlement in 1509. At that time, Jamaica became a Spanish colony and whites began to reside in the island. The native people suffered disease and Spaniards' coercion and they had to flee to the mountains. As a result, the group of natives gradually disappeard in the island.
      In 1655, British catched the island from Spanish and found that the island was not comfortable residence for Europeans as well as other islands of West Indies. Instead, they made the island become a base of sugar plantation. Hence, British brought a great number of black slaves from Western Africa to work in the plantation. Blacks soon became the major population in the island after 1670. Actually, Jamaican economy and society relied on large planation and slavery heavily for near 200 years and blacks outnumbered whites by a ratio of almost 20 to1 at the beginning of 19th century. When the slavery was abolished in 1834, there were about 316,070 blaks, 15,000 whites, and 40,000 mixed race. The mixed race has mixed ancestry of white and black. In fact, many mixed-blood have ancestry of Irish. In fact, many Irish indentrued servants has migrated to Jamaica since 1655 and they were easier to marry with blacks than other whites because of their lower status. People with mixed race usually identified themselves as a nation of "Jamaican" and now they comprise the second largest group in the islands, just next to African Jamaicans.
       When slavery was abolished in 1834, British Brought East Indians and Chinese indentured servants to supplement the laboul pool in the plantation in the latter half of 19th century. The descends of these indentured servants continue to live and become influential groups in the island.
        Nowadays, Africans Jamaicans are much more than other ethnic groups and they make the fundation of Jamaican society. They work in all types of jobs, including the highest political, professional, and commercial activities. Most African Jamaicans, however, live a relative poor and unhealthy life and their skin color is still considered as a symbol of uncivilized, ignorant, lazy, and untrustworhy. The bulk of national wealth is owned by the few white families. In addition, East Indians and Chinese usually live as middle class. East Indians move gradually from agricultural labor into professional and mercantile activities while Chinese usually engage in retail and wholesale activities.
 
Resources
1. Countries and their Cultures: Culture of Jamaica, Advameg.Inc, 2011

2. Rob Mullally, A Short History of the Irish in Jamaica, Port 1-3. 2010