This article is about British people of Jamaican descent. For Jamaican people of British descent, see Demographics of Jamaica.
British Jamaicans
Total population
Residents born in Jamaica 146,401 (2001 Census) 340,000 (2007 "Jamaica: Mapping exercise") 160,776 (2011 Census) 137,000 (2015 ONS estimate) Population of Jamaican origin 300,000 (2007 Jamaican High Commission estimate)
English (British English, Jamaican English), Jamaican Patois
Religion
Majority of Christianity Rastafari · Islam · Others
Related ethnic groups
British African-Caribbean community, British mixed-race community, Chinese Jamaicans, Jamaicans of African ancestry, Jamaican Americans, Jamaican Canadians, Jamaican Jews, Indo-Jamaicans, Jamaican Australians
Part of a series on the
British African-Caribbean community
Community and subgroups
Antiguans
Bajans
Guyanese
Grenadians
Jamaicans
Kittians and Nevisians
Montserratians
Saint Lucians
Vincentians
Trinidadians
History
British rule of the Caribbean
Decline and legacy of the British Empire
HMT Empire Windrush
Languages
British English
Caribbean English
Multicultural London English
Creole languages
English-based
French-based
Culture
Caribbean music in the UK
People
Antiguans
Bajans
Dominicans
Guyanese
Jamaicans
Montserratians
Trinidadians
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British Jamaicans (or Jamaican British people) are British people who were born in Jamaica or who are of Jamaican descent.[1][2] The community is well into its third generation and consists of around 300,000 individuals, the second-largest Jamaican population, behind the United States, living outside of Jamaica.[3] The Office for National Statistics estimates that in 2015, some 137,000 people born in Jamaica were resident in the UK. The number of Jamaican nationals is estimated to be significantly lower, at 49,000 in 2015.[4]
Jamaicans have been present in the UK since the start of the 20th century; however, by far the largest wave of migration occurred after the Second World War.[3] During the 1950s, Britain's economy was suffering greatly and the nation was plagued with high labour shortages.[3] The British government looked to its overseas colonies for help and encouraged migration in an effort to fill the many job vacancies.[3] Jamaicans, alongside other Caribbean, African and South Asian groups, moved in their hundreds of thousands to the United Kingdom. Almost half of all the men who came from the Caribbean to the UK throughout the 1950s had previously worked in skilled positions or possessed excellent employment credentials.[5] The majority of Jamaicans settled in Greater London and found work in the likes of London Transport, British Rail and the NHS.[3]
^Conway, Dennis (2005). "Transnationalism and return: 'Home' as an enduring fixture and anchor". In Potter, Robert B.; Conway, Dennis; Phillips, Joan (eds.). The Experience of Return Migration: Caribbean Perspectives. Aldershot: Ashgate. p. 268. ISBN 0-7546-4329-8.
^Dimeo, Paul (2001). "Contemporary developments in Indian football". Contemporary South Asia. 10 (2): 251–264. doi:10.1080/09584930120083846. S2CID 144793845.
^ abcdeCite error: The named reference IOMHistory was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference 2015 estimates was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^McDowell, Linda (4 October 2018). "British Library". www.bl.uk. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
White Jamaicans (also known as European-Jamaicans) are Jamaican people whose ancestry lies within the continent of Europe, most notably Great Britain and...
of up to 11,000 Jamaicans a year. The Great Depression caused sugar prices to slump in 1929 and led to the return of many Jamaicans. Economic stagnation...
second-largest group and include Indo-Jamaicans and Chinese Jamaicans. Most are descended from indentured workers brought by the British colonial government to fill...
Americans of Jamaican ancestry. Many Jamaicans are second, third and descend from even older generations, as there have been Jamaicans in the U.S. as...
Chinese Jamaicans are Jamaicans of Chinese ancestry, which include descendants of migrants from China to Jamaica. Early migrants came in the 19th century;...
Scottish Jamaicans are Jamaicans of Scottish descent. Scottish Jamaicans include those of European, mixed African, and Asian ancestry with Scottish ancestors...
Briton Lee Jordan, fictional character List of Jamaicans List of Jamaican Americans "Donald Palmer". The British Library. Retrieved 23 March 2022. "Faces of...
officials. After World War II, Jamaica began a relatively long transition to full political independence. Jamaicans preferred British culture over American, but...
Ottawa and Hamilton. The total number of Jamaicans in Canada has increased since the 1960s. Today, Jamaicans can be found in every major Canadian city...
Irish people in Jamaica or Irish Jamaicans, are Jamaican citizens whose ancestors originated from Ireland. If counted separately, Irish people would be...
British forces (1728–1740) but lost a second war (1795–1796). In the 1800s, slavery was abolished and Jamaicans gained suffrage, although the British...
developments of their culture. Jamaicans can be found in the far corners of the world, but the largest pools of Jamaicans, outside of Jamaica itself, exist in the...
from the West African Akan language. It is spoken by the majority of Jamaicans as a native language. Patois developed in the 17th century when enslaved...
introduced into Jamaica in 1655, because of the colonisation by Britain. British English was spread through post-primary education, and through British teachers...
Song (2010). She was born in London to Jamaican parents, and her work explores topics related to BritishJamaicans and how they negotiate racial, cultural...
OBE (née Graham; born 1952), is a BritishJamaican campaigner and the mother of Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager who was murdered in a racist...
1992. The Company Dance Theatre JamaicaJamaica National Heritage Trust Embracing their African roots – More Jamaicans identifying with African culture...
estimated 310 to 340 enslaved Jamaicans were killed through "various forms of judicial executions". At times, enslaved Jamaicans were executed for quite minor...
an Asofo, from the Akan word asafo (assembly, church, society). Native Jamaicans and island tourists are allowed to attend many of these events. Others...
richest men in Jamaica at the time. In 1928 the property was sold to the government and became the official residence of the British colonial secretary...
often refer to themselves and other Jamaicans as "yardies". "Yardie" may also more specifically apply to those Jamaicans originating in the impoverished "government...
notable people from Jamaica. The list includes some non-resident Jamaicans who were born in Jamaica and also people of predominantly Jamaican heritage. Carl...
equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system. Membership in the Order can be conferred upon any Jamaican citizen of outstanding distinction...
Miss World competition in 1976 held in London. Despite Jamaica's 1970s government banning Jamaicans from participating in competitions that included South...
British-Jamaican band Musical Youth, taken from their debut studio album, The Youth of Today. It was produced by Toney Owens from Kingston, Jamaica....
MBE (born Lester Errol Brown; 12 November 1943 – 6 May 2015) was a British-Jamaican singer and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the soul and funk...
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