The Enduring Relationship Between Africa and Jamaica

Nov 06, 2025 0

The relationship between Africa and Jamaica is deeply rooted in history, culture, and the shared experiences of its people. This connection is a testament to the resilience and enduring spirit of Africans and their descendants in the diaspora.

The Triangular Trade: A historical depiction of the trade routes that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

The African Heritage of Jamaica

Afro-Jamaicans are Jamaicans of predominantly African descent. Based on slave ship records, enslaved Africans mostly came from the Akan people (notably those of the Asante Kotoko alliance of the 1720s: Asante, Bono, Wassa, Nzema and Ahanta) followed by the Igbo people. Other enslaved people came from Kongo people, Fon people, Ewe people, Yoruba, and Ibibio people, to a lesser extent.

Originally in earlier British colonization, the island before the 1750s was in fact mainly Akan imported. However, between 1663 and 1700, only six per cent of slave ships to Jamaica listed their origin as the Gold Coast, while between 1700 and 1720 that figure went up to 27 per cent. The number of Akan slaves arriving in Jamaica from Kormantin ports only increased in the early 18th century.

But due to frequent rebellions from the then known "Coromantee" that often joined the slave rebellion group known as the Jamaican Maroons, other groups were sent to Jamaica. The Akan population was still maintained, since they were the preference of British planters in Jamaica because they were "better workers", according to these planters. According to the Slave Voyages Archives, though the Igbo had the highest importation numbers, they were only imported to Montego Bay and St. Ann. The majority of the house slaves were mulattoes.

More detailed results stated: "Using haplogroup distributions to calculate parental population contribution, the largest admixture coefficient was associated with the Gold Coast with most of the samples taken from the Asante-Akyem area of the Ashanti region of Ghana (0.477 ± 0.12 or 59.7% of the Jamaican population with a 2.7 chance of Pygmy and Sahelian mixture), suggesting that the people from this region may have been consistently prolific throughout the slave era on Jamaica.

Modern day Jamaicans and the Asante people, both share the MTDNA haplogroup of L2a1. The diminutive admixture coefficients associated with the Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa (0.064 ± 0.05 and 0.089 ± 0.05, respectively) is striking considering the massive influx of individuals from these areas in the waning years of the British Slave trade.

Unraveling The Roots: Jamaica's African Roots in Reggae, Dance, and Cultural Identity

When excluding the pygmy groups, the contribution from the Bight of Biafra and West-central rise to their highest levels (0.095 ± 0.08 and 0.109 ± 0.06, respectively), though still far from a major contribution. When admixture coefficients were calculated by assessing shared haplotypes, the Gold Coast also had the largest contribution, though much less striking at 0.196, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.189 to 0.203.

When haplotypes are allowed to differ by one base pair, the Jamaican matriline shows the greatest affinity with the Bight of Benin, though both Bight of Biafra and West-central Africa remain underrepresented. The aforementioned results apply to subjects whom have been tested. Results also stated that black Jamaicans (that make up more than 90% of the population) on an average have 97.5% of African MtDNA and very little European or Asian ancestry could be found.

Pub Med results were also issued in the same year (2012): "Our results reveal that the studied population of Jamaica exhibit a predominantly South-Saharan paternal component, with haplogroups A1b-V152, A3-M32, B2-M182, E1a-M33, E1b1a-M2, E2b-M98, and R1b2-V88 comprising 66.7% of the Jamaican paternal gene pool.

Read also: Amazing Facts About Africa

Cultural Survival and Syncretism

In 18th-century Jamaica, only Akan gods were worshipped by Akan as well as by other enslaved Africans. The Akan god of creation, Nyankopong was given praise but not worshipped directly. They poured libation to Asase Ya, the goddess of the earth.

"Myal" or Kumfu evolved into Revival, a syncretic Christian sect. Kumfu followers gravitated to the American Revival of 1800 Seventh Day Adventist movement because it observed Saturday as god's day of rest. This was a shared aboriginal belief of the Akan people as this too was the day that the Akan god, Nyame, rested after creating the earth.

Jamaicans that were aware of their Ashanti past while wanting to keep hidden, mixed their Kumfu spirituality with the American Adventists to create Jamaican Revival in 1860. Revival has two sects: 60 order (or Zion Revival, the order of the heavens) and 61 order (or Pocomania, the order of the earth). 60 order worships God and spirits of air or the heavens on a Saturday and considers itself to be the more "clean" sect. 61 order more deals with spirits of the earth.

This division of Kumfu clearly shows the dichotomy of Nyame and Asase Yaa's relationship, Nyame representing air and has his 60 order'; Asase Yaa having her 61 order of the earth. Also the Ashanti funerary/war colours: red and black have the same meaning in Revival of vengeance. Other Ashanti elements include the use of swords and rings as means to guard the spirit from spiritual attack.

A festival was dedicated to the heroism of the Akan king 'John Canoe' an Ahanta from Axim, Ghana, in 1708.

Read also: Discover Thula Thula

Jonkonnu Festival: A vibrant street festival that blends African and European traditions.

Jamaican Patois

Jamaican Patois, known locally as Patwa, is an English creole language spoken primarily in Jamaica and the Jamaican diaspora. It is not to be confused with Jamaican English nor with the Rastafarian use of English.

The language developed in the 17th century, when enslaved peoples from West and Central Africa blended their dialect and terms with the learned vernacular and dialectal forms of English spoken: British Englishes (including significant exposure to Scottish English) and Hiberno English.

Jamaican Patwa is a post-creole speech continuum (a linguistic continuum) meaning that the variety of the language closest to the lexifier language (the acrolect) cannot be distinguished systematically from intermediate varieties (collectively referred to as the mesolect) nor even from the most divergent rural varieties (collectively referred to as the basilect).

Modern Collaborations and Partnerships

Jamaica has officially acceded to the Establishment Agreement of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), becoming the 13th Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member State of the African Multilateral Financial Institution. Jamaica’s accession marks a major achievement in the growth of Global Africa: an intercontinental partnership committed to economic transformation and self-determination for African nations and their diaspora.

This is a significant and strategic step that strengthens Jamaica’s ability to access increased trade financing, investment support, and technical assistance. The agreement creates real opportunities for Jamaica to benefit from Afreximbank’s expanding suite of financial instruments, including trade guarantees, project financing, and capital support tailored to the needs of developing economies. This historic signing builds on the momentum of the inaugural AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF), held in Bridgetown, Barbados in September 2022, where Caribbean nations reaffirmed their commitment to closer Africa-Caribbean cooperation.

Since establishing its regional office, Afreximbank has approved over US$700 million in financing across the Caribbean, with a pipeline exceeding US$2 billion. Investments have supported key sectors such as energy, tourism, education, and small business development across Barbados, St. Lucia, Suriname, Grenada, and The Bahamas.

Across administrations, Jamaica was at the forefront of the international fight against apartheid in South Africa. Jamaica’s effort contributed to the mounting pressure which caused the apartheid government to submit after years of repression against political parties and resistance groups.

Jamaica’s Foreign Minister welcomes South Africa’s Foreign Minister.

Key Figures in the Afro-Jamaican Community

P.J. Trevor
D. Errol Spence Jr.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Patrick Ewing Jr.
The Notorious B.I.G.

Timeline of Key Events

Year	Event
A.D. 600 - 800	Tainos settled in Jamaica.
1670	Officially ceded to the British under the Treaty of Madrid.
1739	Peace Treaty signed between the British and the Maroons.
1832	Western Liberation Uprising, led by Sam Sharpe.
1838	Slavery Abolished.
1845	First Indians arrive in Jamaica as indentured servants.
1854	First Chinese arrive in Jamaica as indentured servants.
1884	New constitution for local authority.
1914	Marcus Garvey launched the United Negro Improvement Association (UNIA).
1938	The People’s National Party (PNP) was formed by The Right Honourable Norman Washington Manley.
1943	The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) was formed by The Right Honourable Alexander Bustamante.
1944	Jamaica Labour Party won elections for the House of Representatives.
1958	The West Indian Federation was formed.
1959	People’s National Party won elections and The Right Honourable Norman Washington Manley appointed first and only Premier.
1961	Jamaica withdrew from the Federation of the West Indies.
1962	The Jamaica Labour Party won the general elections and Sir Alexander Bustamante became the first Prime Minister of Jamaica.