Understand

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Jamaica, which was originally claimed for Spain in 1494, has a history that has been greatly affected by slavery and the slave trade. The island was taken from Spain in 1655 when British Admiral William Penn and General Venables seized the island. Jamaica for almost two centuries was the world's largest sugar exporter, which was achieved through the use of imported slave labour, resulting in the very large Black population on the island. But, Jamaica does have a sizeable minority of East Indians, and varying numbers of Whites, Afro-Chinese, and persons of Syrian/Lebanese decent. Also, Christianity is the major religion on the island (It is estimated that about 80% of the island's 2.5 million inhabitants are Christians).

You may hear some Jamaicans say "Waah gwan?"or "what tah gwan", which is the patois variation of "What's up?" or "What's going on?". More respectful greetings are usually "Good morning","Good evening" in the late

Eat

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Jamaican food is a mixture of caribbean dishes with local dishes. Although Jamaican food gets a reputation for being spicy, local trends lean towards more versatile food variety. Some of the caribbean dishes that you'll see in other countries around the region are rice and peas (which is cooked with coconut milk) and patties (which are called empanadas in spanish speaking countries). The national dish is Ackee and saltfish, and MUST be tried by anyone visiting the island. It is made with the local fruit called Ackee, which looks like scrambled eggs, but has a unique taste of its own and dried codfish mixed with onions and tomatoes. You probably won't get a chance to try this food anywhere else, and if you really want to say that you did something uniquely Jamaican, then this is your chance. This is 100 times better than the tinned ackee. Another local food is called bammy, which was actually invented by the Arawak (Taino)Indians. It is a flat floury cassava pancake normally eaten during breakfast hours that kind of tastes like corn bread. There is also hard-dough bread (locally called hard do bread), which you must slice. Try toasting it, for when it is toasted, it tastes better than most bread you'll ever eat. If you are looking for dishes with more meat in them, you can try the jerk flavoured foods. The most popular is jerk chicken, although jerk pork and jerk conch are also common. The jerk seasoning is a spice that is spread on the meat on the grill like barbeque sauce. Keep in mind that most Jamaicans eat their food well done, so expect the food to be a bit drier than you are accustomed to. There are also curries such as curried chicken and curried goat which are very popular in Jamaica.

You may even want to pick up a piece of sugar cane, slice off some pieces and suck on them.

Fruit and vegetables in Jamaica are plentiful. Many of the local varieties are unknown to visitors. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are inexpensive. Visitors may well find...