History.— Jamaica was discovered by Co lumbus 3 May 1494; and he named it Saint lago; but this designation was only used by the Spaniards; and was soon abandoned even by them in favor of the native name. As a Span ish colony (1509-1655) Jamaica was backward and of little consequence. The total popula tion in the year last mentioned, when an Eng lish fleet sent out by Cromwell captured it, was only 3,000. One-half of that number took ref uge in Cuba. Until the restoration of the Eng lish kings Jamaica was under military jurisdic tion; but it was given a civil government under an executive council in 1661. Nine years later England obtained a clear title to Jamaica by the Treaty of Madrid: The settlers who arrived subsequently were peasants from Scotland, Ire land and England, English subjects from the other West Indian islands and Jewish traders from Minorca. Negroes were brought from Africa in great numbers; the old town of Port Royal being chosen as a convenient point from which to reship slaves to the other islands and the mainland. That town, once a place of great wealth and importance, was ruined by re peated calamities. "On 7 June 1692 happened that earthquake which swallowed up a great part of Port Royal," says Edwards, who ex plains that the town "was chiefly built on a of sand, adhering to a rock in the sea, and a very slight concussion, aided by the weight of the buildings, would probably have accom plished its destruction." Hurricanes in 1712
and 1722, and a conflagration 13 July 1815, com pleted the work of obliteration. During the 18th century the island suffered from many slave insurrections and uprisings on the part of the "maroons," descendants of Spanish African slaves inhabiting the mountainous districts and inaccessible places. Toward the close of the 18th century the island was occupied by large plantations and was exceedingly productive. Before that time 610.000 slaves had been landed at Port Royal. The freeing of the negroes resulted in the abandonment of the island by many landlords. In August 1903 a hurricane inflicted great injury at several points in Ja maica and on the Cayman Islands. On 14 Jan. 1907 Jamaica was visited by a disastrous earth quake which ("in ten seconds," Treves says) almost entirely destroyed Kingston.