Jamaica (/dʒəˈmeɪkə/ ⓘ; Jamaican Patois: Jumieka, [dʒʌˈmi̯eka]) is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi), it is the third largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean.[11] Jamaica lies about 145 km (90 mi) south of Cuba, 191 km (119 mi) west of Hispaniola (the island containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and 215 km (134 mi) south-east of the Cayman Islands (a British protectorate).[11]
First inhabited by the indigenous Taíno peoples, the island came under Spanish rule after the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494. Many of the indigenous people either were killed or died of diseases, after which the Spanish brought large numbers of Africans to Jamaica as slaves.[11] The island remained a possession of Spain, under the name Santiago, until 1655, when England (part of what would become the Kingdom of Great Britain) conquered it and named it Jamaica. It became an important part of the colonial British West Indies. Under Britain's colonial rule, Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with a plantation economy dependent on continued importation of African slaves and their descendants. The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many freedmen chose to have subsistence farms rather than to work on plantations.
Sir Patrick Linton Allen ON GCMG CD KStJ (born 7 February 1951) is a Jamaican statesman and former Seventh-day Adventist pastor, who has served as the sixth and current governor-general of Jamaica since 26 February 2009.
Born to be in service of Jamaica..born on the 38th day of the year
became Gov General 19 days after his 58th birthday
20th day of his age
The fourth of five children in a family of subsistence farmers, Allen spent over a decade as a teacher and principal, before leaving education to be trained as an Adventist minister at Andrews University in the United States. After becoming a pastor, Allen went on to serve in a number of leadership roles within the Seventh-day Adventist Church, eventually becoming the leader of the West Indies Union of Seventh-day Adventists, which had jurisdiction over Jamaica, The Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Allen became Jamaica's sixth appointed governor-general (eighth overall, including two acting governors-general). He replaced Kenneth O. Hall, who resigned for health reasons. Allen's appointment was controversial due to his strong ties to the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and because of concerns that he would be unable to attend functions on Saturdays due to his faith's strict observation of the Sabbath. Allen resigned from his leadership of the West Indies Union prior to becoming Governor-General, however.
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