Jamaica became an independent member of the Commonwealth of Nations in 1962. Executive power within Jamaica's government lies with a cabinet headed by a prime minister responsible to the parliament.
Jamaica was discovered by Christopher Columbus on May 4, 1494, and was subsequently settled by the Spanish, who ruled the island until 1655, when it was captured by a British expedition. Formal British control was confirmed in 1670. Arawak Indians, who inhabited the island at the time of Columbus's arrival, had died out, so African slaves were imported to work the sugarcane fields. With the abolition of slavery in Jamaica in 1833, the plantations declined and the former slaves took to peasant farming.
In 1958, Jamaica formed the West Indies Federation with nine other British possessions, but it withdrew in 1961, a move that led to the eventual collapse of the federation. Jamaica's withdrawal was urged by Sir Alexander Bustamante, a labor leader who became prime minister when Jamaica achieved full independence in 1962. Michael Manley, leader of the People's National party (PNP), became prime minister in 1972 and instituted wide-ranging socialist changes. The resulting trade deficit brought Jamaica near bankruptcy by 1980, forcing new elections that brought the conservative Labor party, led by Edward P. G. SEAGA, to power. Reelected in 1983, Seaga was defeated by Manley in 1989 elections. Manley, who during his second term adopted free-market economic policies, resigned in 1992 due to ill health. He was succeeded as party head and prime minister by Percival J. Patterson, who led the PNP to a landslide victory in 1993 elections.
