Editing Jamaica (section)

===Early British period===
{{Main|Colony of Jamaica}}
[[File:Morgan,Henry.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Henry Morgan]] was a [[Piracy in the Caribbean|Caribbean pirate]], privateer, plantation owner and slaveholder; he had first come to the West Indies as an indentured servant, like most of the early English colonists.<ref>[http://www.historynet.com/henry-morgan-the-pirate-who-invaded-panama-in-1671.htm "Henry Morgan: The Pirate Who Invaded Panama in 1671"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612044508/http://www.historynet.com/henry-morgan-the-pirate-who-invaded-panama-in-1671.htm |date=12 June 2008 }}, Historynet.com.</ref>]]
The English began taking an interest in the island and, following a failed attempt to conquer [[Captaincy General of Santo Domingo|Santo Domingo]] on [[Hispaniola]], [[William Penn (Royal Navy officer)|Admiral William Penn]] and General [[Robert Venables]] led an [[invasion of Jamaica]] in 1655.<ref>*{{cite book |last=Parker |first=Matthew |date=2011 |title=The Sugar Barons}}</ref> Battles at [[Battle of Ocho Rios|Ocho Rios in 1657]] and the [[Battle of Rio Nuevo|Rio Nuevo in 1658]] resulted in Spanish defeats; in 1660 the Maroon community under the leadership of [[Juan de Bolas]] switched sides from the Spanish, and began supporting the English. With their help, the Spanish defeat was secured.<ref name="jamsenghist">{{cite web|title=Jamaica's English History|url=http://www.jnht.com/history_english.php|publisher=Jamaica National Heritage Trust|access-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317015826/http://www.jnht.com/history_english.php|archive-date=17 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1661 English civil government was formed and Roundhead soldiers turned their attention to governance and agricultural responsibilities.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.2307/1923356 | doi=10.2307/1923356 | jstor=1923356 | last1=Bennett | first1=J. Harry | title=Cary Helyar, Merchant and Planter of Seventeenth-Century Jamaica | journal=The William and Mary Quarterly | year=1964 | volume=21 | issue=1 | pages=53–76  | issn = 0043-5597 }}</ref>

When the English captured Jamaica, most Spanish colonists fled, with the exception of Spanish Jews, who chose to remain. Spanish slave holders freed their slaves before leaving.<ref name="jamsenghist"/> Many slaves dispersed into the mountains, joining the already established [[maroon (people)|maroon]] communities.<ref name="maroons">{{cite web|last=Benitez|first=Suzette|title=The Maroons|url=http://scholar.library.miami.edu/slaves/Maroons/individual_essays/suzette1.html|access-date=30 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823070511/http://scholar.library.miami.edu/slaves/Maroons/individual_essays/suzette1.html|archive-date=23 August 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the centuries of slavery, [[Jamaican Maroons]] established free communities in the mountainous interior of Jamaica, where they maintained their freedom and independence for generations, under the leadership of Maroon leaders such as [[Juan de Serras]].<ref>Mavis Campbell, ''The Maroons of Jamaica 1655–1796: a History of Resistance, Collaboration & Betrayal'' (Massachusetts: Bergin & Garvey, 1988), pp. 14–25.</ref>

Meanwhile, the Spanish made several attempts to re-capture the island, prompting the British to support pirates attacking Spanish ships in the Caribbean; as a result piracy became rampant on Jamaica, with the city of [[Port Royal]] becoming notorious for its lawlessness. Spain later recognised English possession of the island with the [[Treaty of Madrid (1670)]].<ref>C. V. Black, ''History of Jamaica'' (London: Collins, 1975), p. 54.</ref> After that, the English authorities sought to rein in the worst excesses of the pirates.<ref name="EBJH"/>

In 1660, the population of Jamaica was about 4,500 white and 1,500 black.<ref name="population">[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08270a.htm Donovan, J. (1910). Jamaica.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029204716/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08270a.htm |date=29 October 2009 }} ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''. New York: Robert Appleton Company</ref> By the early 1670s, as the English developed sugar cane plantations worked by large numbers of slaves, black Africans formed a majority of the population.<ref>[http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090628132038/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2005/is_n1_v28/ai_16106981/pg_2 Trevor Burnard, "A failed settler society: marriage and demographic failure in early Jamaica"], ''Journal of Social History'', Fall, 1994.</ref> The [[Irish people in Jamaica|Irish in Jamaica]] also formed a large part of the island's early population, making up two-thirds of the white population on the island in the late 17th century, twice that of the English population. They were brought in as indentured labourers and soldiers after the conquest of 1655. The majority of Irish were transported by force as political prisoners of war from Ireland as a result of the ongoing [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://tudorstuartireland.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/tsi-2015-abstracts.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=19 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014000146/https://tudorstuartireland.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/tsi-2015-abstracts.pdf |archive-date=14 October 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Migration of large numbers of Irish to the island continued into the 18th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irlandeses.org/0711rodgers2.htm |title=Rodgers, Nini, 'The Irish in the Caribbean 1641–1837: An Overview' |publisher=Irlandeses.org |access-date=2017-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119044057/http://www.irlandeses.org/0711rodgers2.htm |archive-date=19 November 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A limited form of local government was introduced with the creation of the [[House of Assembly of Jamaica]] in 1664; however, it represented only a tiny number of rich plantation owners.<ref name="HJ">[[Frank Cundall|Cundall, Frank]]. (1915) [https://archive.org/details/cu31924020417527/page/n45 ''Historic Jamaica''.] London: Institute of Jamaica. p. 15.</ref> In 1692, the colony was rocked by an [[1692 Jamaica earthquake|earthquake]] that resulted in several thousand deaths and the almost complete destruction of Port Royal.<ref name="USGS">{{cite web |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1692_06_07.php |title=Historic Earthquakes: Jamaica 1692 June 07 UTC |last=USGS |date=21 October 2009 |access-date=6 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408181146/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1692_06_07.php |archive-date=8 April 2012}}</ref>