Political Patronage Replaces Colonial Rule
Beneath this facade of democracy, however, the life of the 'sufferah', downcast in his west Kingston ghetto tenement, remained essentially unchanged. In some ways things became more difficult, with the jockeying for position created by self-government bringing out the worst in people. Soon the MPs from themselves with gun-toting sycophants, anxious to preserve their positions: back the wrong candidate in a Jamaican election and you can lose not only your means of livelihood, but also your home - political patronage is the ruling principle in Jamaica.
Jamaican youth, who felt particularly disenfranchised, sought refuge in the 'rude boy' movement, an extreme precursor of the teenage tribes surfacing throughout the world. Dressed in narrow brimmed hats and the kind of mohair fabrics worn by American soul singers, rude boys were fond of lethal 'ratchet' knives, and bloody gang fights were common. Independence for Jamaica also coincided with the birth of its music business; in quick succession, ska, rock steady, and then reggae music were born, the records often being used as a means of broadcasting news that the Daily Gleaner would not print.
In 1972 the JLP was voted out of office after ten years in power. Michael Manley's PNP was to run Jamaica for the next eight years. Unfortunately Manley's efforts to ally with other socialist Third World countries brought down the wrath of the United States on Jamaica. This was especially the case after the Prime Minister nationalised the country's bauxite industry (aluminum is extracted from bauxite), which had previously been licensed to the American conglomerate Alcan.
Destabilisation
A period of destabilisation began that turned Jamaica into a battleground, particularly after Manley was returned to power. Soon the country was virtually bankrupt. Bob Marley played a part in attempting to restore peace, making Manley and his opposition rival Edward Seaga publicly shake hands at the 1978 Peace Concert, and bringing opposing gunmen together. But the 1980 election, won by Edward Seaga, who stayed in power until 1988, was the bloodiest of them all.
In recent years a measure of peace seems to have been restored to the island. In the 1990s a mood of unprecedented optimism hovers about Jamaica. A positive relationship with the nearby United States has been forged and a new national pride has emerged. The story of Jamaica is that of an island that can be simultaneously paradise and hell; that suffered the devastating economic bullying of the United States' Caribbean Basin Initiative during the 1970s, but now, against expectations, is experiencing economic growth and concomitant rise in self-esteem that serves as a model for developing nations as they enter the twenty-first century.
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