The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many freedmen chose to have subsistence farms rather than to work on plantations. Under British colonial rule Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with a plantation economy dependent on the African slaves and later their descendants. Named Santiago by the Spanish, the island remained a possession of Spain until 1655, when England (later Great Britain) conquered it, renaming it Jamaica. Many of the indigenous people either were killed or died of diseases, after which the Spanish brought large numbers of African slaves to Jamaica as labourers. Originally inhabited by the indigenous Taíno peoples, the island came under Spanish rule following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494. Jamaica lies about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 191 kilometres (119 mi) west of Hispaniola (the island containing the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic) the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands lies some 215 kilometres (134 mi) to the north-west. Spanning 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi) in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica ( / dʒ ə ˈ m eɪ k ə/ ( listen) Jamaican Patois: Jumieka) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. +1-658 ( Overlay of 876 active in November 2018)
