Jamica

Being 1/2 Jamaican, yet being raised in America and never haveing had the chance to travel to my father's home country has always sparked an interest in my mind. So I decided to research it.

• Jamaica is the largest English-speaking island in the Caribbean and the third largest in the region.
• Classified as a developing country. We have a mixed, free-market economy consisting of a combination of state-owned entities and private-sector organisations. Our two most important economic sectors are tourism and mining, with agriculture and manufacturing also contributing to the economy. Tourism and mining are responsible for earning most of the valuable foreign exchange needed for trade.
  
• A parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy with the monarch being represented by a Governor-General. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who officially uses the title "Queen of Jamaica" .
  
• Gained its independence from Britain on August 6, 1962.
  
• Jamaica has seven National Heroes. They are: Nanny of the Maroons, Samuel Sharpe, Paul Bogle, George William Gordon, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Norman Washington Manley and Sir William Alexander Bustamante. These individuals fought for the social and political freedoms we enjoy today.
  
• The Jamaican coat of arms depicts one male and one female Taino Indian standing on either side of a shield, bearing a red cross with five pineapples. Above the shield, a Jamaican crocodile rests atop the English royal helmet and mantling. Our national motto – "Out of Many, One People", is inscribed in a banner, beneath the shield. William Sanderoft, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, designed the crest in 1661. The original coat of arms bore the Latin phrase, "Indus Uterque Serviet Uni", which may be translated "Both Indians Served One Master". This was later replaced by "Out of Many, One People".
  
• The indigenous streamer-tailed hummingbird or "doctor bird" is Jamaica's national bird. It is called the "doctor bird" because of its long black tail resembling an old-time doctor's coat. The doctor bird's feathers are the most iridescent and beautiful of all the hummingbirds on the island.
• The flower of the lignum vitae tree or "tree of life" is Jamaica's national flower. It is a lavender-blue flower, which blossoms during spring and early summer. The tree is indigenous to Jamaica and grows best in the dry woodlands on the northern and southern coasts. Its wood is thought to have medicinal value. It is also widely used for the manufacture of furniture and to create beautiful art objects, sought after by locals as well as visitors.
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• Although ackee is not indigenous to Jamaica, we have embraced it as our own, making it our national fruit, and a key ingredient of our national dish - ackee and saltfish, which is usually served for breakfast or brunch. A delicious fruit and a local favourite, it is also a part of our everyday diet. Ackee was brought from Africa, probably on a slave ship, and now grows extensively throughout the island. The unopened ackee is poisonous, but once the sun has dried out the noxious juices, the ripe, yellow fruit is safe to eat, with a flavour and texture much like scrambled eggs.
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• A diagonal gold cross divides the flag into two black triangles and two green ones. Opposite triangles have the same colours. "Hardships there are, but the land is green and the sun shineth" is the flag's theme. Black represents the strength and creativity of our people; green, our wealth of agricultural resources; and gold, the sunlight over our island and our future hopes.
  
• National motto, "Out of Many, One People" reflects Jamaica's rich racial heritage.