Colony of Jamaica

Jamaica and Dependencies
Colony of England (1655–1707) Colony of Great Britain (1707–1801) Colony of the United Kingdom (1801–1962)
1655–1962
Flag (1957–62) Badge
Motto Indus Uterque Serviet Uni "The two Indians will serve as one"
Anthem God Save the King/Queen
Location of Jamaica in 1962
Capital		Port Royal (1655–1692) Spanish Town (1692–1872) Kingston (1872–1962)
Languages		English, Jamaican Patois, Spanish
Religion		Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Bedwardism, Rastafari movement
Government		Colony under Parliamentary republic (1655-1660) Colony under Constitutional monarchy (1660-1962)
Head of State
•	1655–1658	Oliver Cromwell
•	1952–1962	Elizabeth II
Governor
•	1655	William Penn
•	1957–1962	Kenneth Blackburne
Chief Minister
•	1953–1955	Alexander Bustamante
•	1955–1962	Norman Manley
Legislature		Parliament
•	Upper house	Legislative Council
•	Lower house	House of Representatives
History
•	Established	10 May 1655
•	Attachment of Bay Islands British Honduras Cayman Islands Turks and Caicos	15 June 1852 1749 18 July 1670 4 April 1873
•	Detachment of Bay Islands British Honduras Cayman Islands Turks and Caicos	14 July 1860 2 October 1884 4 July 1959 4 July 1959
•	Independence	6 August 1962
Area
•	1943	12,114 km² (4,677 sq mi)
Population
•	1943 est.	1,249,900
Density		103.2 /km²  (267.2 /sq mi)
•	1956 est.	1,577,410
Density		130.2 /km²  (337.3 /sq mi)
Currency		Spanish dollar (1655–1840) Jamaican pound (1840–1962)
Preceded by Succeeded by Spanish Jamaica Spanish West Indies Captaincy General of Guatemala Turks and Caicos Islands Jamaica Cayman Islands Bay Islands British Honduras Turks and Caicos Islands
Today part of		Belize  Cayman Islands  Honduras  Jamaica  Turks and Caicos Islands

Jamaica was an English colony from 1655 (when it was captured by the English from Spain) or 1670 (when Spain formally ceded Jamaica to the English), and a British Colony from 1707 until 1962, when it became independent. Jamaica became a Crown colony in 1866.

In late 1654, English leader Oliver Cromwell launched the Western Design armada against Spain's colonies in the Caribbean. In April 1655, General Robert Venables led the armada in an attack on Spain's fort at Santo Domingo, Hispaniola. However, the Spanish repulsed this poorly-executed attack, known as the Siege of Santo Domingo, and the English troops were soon decimated by disease.

Weakened by fever and looking for an easy victory following their defeat at Santo Domingo, the English force then sailed for Jamaica, the only Spanish West Indies island that did not have new defensive works. In May 1655, around 7,000 English soldiers landed near Jamaica's Spanish Town capital. The English invasion force soon overwhelmed the small number of Spanish troops (at the time, Jamaica's entire population only numbered around 2,500).

In the following years, Spain repeatedly attempted to recapture Jamaica, and in response in 1657 the English Governor of Jamaica invited buccaneers to base themselves at Port Royal on Santiago, to help defend against Spanish attacks. Spain never recaptured Jamaica, losing the Battle of Ocho Rios in 1657 and the Battle of Rio Nuevo in 1658. For England, Jamaica was to be the 'dagger pointed at the heart of the Spanish Empire,' although in fact it was a possession of little economic value then.