Jamaica 

Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean Sea and was inhabited by the Arawak Indians who named the island Xamayca, or "land of wood and water". In 1494, it was discovered by Christopher Columbus who claimed it for Spain and set up a fort there. In a short period of time, the Arawak population was more or less wiped out by the Spanish, either through direct violence or because they had no immunity to diseases such as smallpox and yellow fever brought to the island by the Spanish. In 1655, British Admiral William Penn seized the island for the British crown and established it as an official colony.Over the next two centuries, a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee was established.Jamaica became one of the leading world producers of Sugar enabled by the use of slave labour brought to the island from Africa. In 1834, slavery was formally abolished after over 500 years and the social dynamic shifted on the island. The abolition of slavery freed over two hundred and fifty thousand slaves. Many became small farmers out of bare necessity for self sustenance. Those who had some form of skill found themselves in high demand since their work was no longer obligatory, but still necessary. Blacksmiths, Carpenters, and Masons for example became some of the first freed men capable of buying their own land. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and in 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica remained a British protectorate till 1962 when it finally gained independence.