Jamaica Did You Know Continued….

• The first settlers were the Taino, an Arawak people, and the name Jamaica is a translation of their word Xaymaca which means “Land of Wood and Water”.

• Jamaica is home to very few snakes because in 1872, the mongoose, imported to rid the sugar cane fields of rats, also succeeded in killing off nearly all the island’s snakes.

•  In 1962, Jamaica became the first Caribbean nation to gain its independence from Britain, but chose to remain a member of the British Commonwealth, and so, until her death, Queen Elizabeth II remained the Queen of Jamaica by tradition.

• Jamaica has the most churches per square mile of any country on earth. The National Library of Jamaica reports there are about 2.75 churches per square mile, a fact recognized by the Guinness World Book of Records.

• The country had electricity and running water before the U.S. in 1893

• The world’s second-largest butterfly, the Giant Swallowtail, lives in Jamaica.

• Blue Mountain Coffee is grown in Jamaica and is one of the most expensive and highly-sought

• The ortanique fruit, developed in Jamaica, is a cross between an orange and a tangerine.

• October 31, 1671, Jamaica became the first British colony to establish its own postal service.

• Kingston Harbor is the world’s seventh-largest natural harbor.