The population in the United States is changing. According to the Pew Research Center the nation’s Hispanic population has grown 57% since 2000. This diversity is reflected in academia. As a result, there is increasing interest in Latin American and Caribbean art, history, and culture. This introductory guide is one of several sources preparing librarians to support scholars in non-Western areas.

A product of Western influence within the larger African diaspora, Jamaican art is grouped within non-Western art tradition and exists under the umbrella of Latin American art. Like many of the Caribbean islands, Jamaica is a popular tourist destination. However Jamaican art provides a window into the often turbulent history of the country that many tourists don’t see.

There are a number of websites that shed light on Jamaican art, history, and culture. While not comprehensive, this guide identifies museums and collections in the United States and the Caribbean, and spotlights a number of resources that provide primary and secondary resources to support research into the country, such as histories, images, and maps.

To understand this rich and vibrant history, researchers may wish to focus on three areas: review the primary documents and map of the three landmark events in Jamaican history: the Sam Shepard Rebellion/Baptist War, the Morant Bay Rebellion, and the Labour Riots; peruse the images of the artifacts from the Taínos, the native people that inhabited the island before Europeans; and learn the definitions and history behind the Jamaican language, Patwah.

Historical

• Jamaican National Heritage Trust. Committed to sharing and protecting the island’s cultural heritage, this government resource provides descriptive historical narratives of Jamaican history from the Pre-Columbian, Columbian/Spanish, English, and Independence periods. An account of how the government is set up helps to provide a framework for understanding the political issues represented in many Jamaican artists’ works. Basic PDFs inform researchers of the Taíno origins, religion, society, and way of life. Fast facts about the geography, people, and political parties are provided that give a broad overview of Jamaica. In addition, several articles discuss the influences on Jamaican folk tradition, the differences between the Arawak and Taíno, and the importance of caves to the culture, including a list of petroglyph and pictographic sites. Access: http://www.jnht.com/.
• Museum of History and Ethnography, Institute of Jamaica. With more than 17,000 historic, ethnographic, and archaeological artifacts, this authoritative website is the repository for Jamaica’s National Collection. Within the collection are artifacts from the Taíno culture. While only a handful of the collection is online, it does pair images of objects with brief narratives explaining their significance. A sampling of other collections are also featured on the website. Access: http://museums-ioj.org.jm/?p=2957.
• The National Library of Jamaica. The library has a number of databases, including the Jamaican Personalities database, Jamaican proverbs, and the free online digital archive. This digital collection combines books, pamphlets, government documents, maps, prints, and photographs related to three landmark events in Jamaica’s history: the Sam Sharpe Rebellion/Baptist War (1831), the Morant Bay Rebellion (1865), and the Labour Riots (1938). The scanned documents and images provided in these collections are not high quality, but are sufficient to read. In addition, monthly usage statistics are offered, dating back to 2009. Access: http://www.nlj.gov.jm/.

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