colony · Mesoamerica and the Caribbean
Spanish Jamaica
Origins
Columbus reached Jamaica in 1494 and was stranded there in 1503-04. In 1509 Juan de Esquivel, sent by Diego Colón, founded Sevilla la Nueva on the north coast. Around 1534 the capital moved to Villa de la Vega, later Spanish Town, on the southern plain.
Rule and society
The island was the hereditary domain of the Columbus family. With no gold, it became a supply base raising cattle, pigs and horses and producing hides, lard and cassava for passing fleets and the conquest of the mainland. The Taíno population was nearly wiped out within decades, and enslaved Africans were brought in. The Spanish population remained small.
Decline and legacy
In 1655 an English expedition under Penn and Venables took the island. Spanish guerrillas under Cristóbal Arnaldo Ysasi resisted until 1660, and freed Africans formed the Jamaican Maroons. The island became the Colony of Jamaica.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (2)
- Spanish Jamaica was a colony of Spanish Empire1509 CE – 1655 CE
- Spanish Jamaica was conquered by British Empire1655 CE
More states of Mesoamerica and the Caribbean →
Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Spanish Jamaica. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/spanish-jamaica
- MLA
- “Spanish Jamaica.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/spanish-jamaica. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Spanish Jamaica.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/spanish-jamaica.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Spanish Jamaica’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/spanish-jamaica (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻