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Jamaica
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Jamaica History
Jamaica was originally inhabited by a people called the Arawaks, who gave the island its name. The Arawak name is "Xaymaca", meaning "Land of Wood and Water". When Columbus landed there, he called the island Saint Jago. The island remained under Spanish rule until 1655. Then, English soldiers led by Cromwell arrived (he was supposed to have gone to Haiti!). Cromwell renamed the island Jamaica after dispatching the Spanish. Slaves escaping from the departing Spanish hid in the hills. Their descendants live on in the settlements of the Maroons.
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