This lush and culturally diverse Caribbean island carries within its history various influences, including that of Scotland. Our Scottish connection dates back to 1656 when Oliver Cromwell banished 1200 Scottish prisoners-of-war to Jamaica, England’s recently acquired colony. Subsequently, the practice of banishing Scottish exiles to Jamaica continued, and several thousand more Scotsmen came to Jamaica as indentured and skilled labourers with the promise of land and other riches. Eventually, Scottish settlers became involved in the slave trade and used enslaved Africans as their labour force on the sugar plantations. As such, Scottish and Jamaican history are intricately intertwined, albeit ghastly in many ways. Today, I’ll share five tangible ways in which Scotland has shaped Jamaican society.
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