A Comparison of Jamaican and American Political Economies essays

A Comparison of Jamaican and American Political Economies essays As an introduction to this paper I have compiled a series of facts on the island and the culture of the people of Jamaica. The questions asked on the economy of the island will then be answered. Discovered by Christopher Columbus, Jamaica is one of the three islands in the Northern Caribbean forming the Greater Antilles. It is the largest English-speaking country in the Caribbean Sea, stretching one hundred and forty six (146) miles from East to West. It lies five hundred and fifty (550) miles North of the Panama Canal and seven hundred (700) miles South of Miami. The capital and the largest city of the island is Kingston. The countrys name is derived from an Aarawak (aboriginal Indian) word xaymaca, meaning land of wood and water. And so it is with waterfalls and springs, rivers and streams flowing from the forest-clad mountains to the fertile plains, Jamaica has one of the richest and most varied landscapes in the region. Jamaicas most important export crop is sugarcane, from which rum and molasses are also made. The nations other agricultural exports include the famed Blue Mountain coffee, bananas, citrus fruits, ginger, cocoa, pimento, and tobacco. Mining is a major source of wealth; since large, easily accessible deposits of bauxite were discovered in 1942, Jamaica has become one of the worlds leading suppliers of this ore. Bauxite accounts for almost half of Jamaicas foreign exchange. Tourism is the biggest earner of foreign exchange. Among Jamaicas international known resort areas are Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Negril. Jamaicas other industries include (mainly concentrated in the Kingston area) include oil refining, sugar and tobacco processing, flour milling, and the production of chemicals, cement, textiles and processed foods. Since the late 1960s this industry has generated a greater share of the national income than agriculture. The Un...