A Bit About Jam Rock

Although I haven’t gone out exploring as yet, I did learn some interesting facts about the history of UWI Mona and Jamaica. 

The long and colorful history of the 653 acres of the Mona estate goes back to the days of black enslavement. During this period the site of the Mona campus was a sugar plantation that connected the communities of Hope, Papine and Mona.

The rich Northern landscape then became a refugee camp for Jews during the 1900s, before finally joining a special relationship with the University of London (England) and becoming the home of UWI Mona in 1948.

The colourful history of Jamaica does not just begin and end with UWI Mona, its also encompasses the sensual history of Jamaican music.

The rhythm of the island is greatly influenced by African folk music and other Caribbean music, as well as other genres found in American and European cultures. 

Music in Jamaica began with Mento, before moving into Ska, Rocksteady, Reggae, and eventually reaching its height with Dancehall music.

Just like the cultural history of Mona, the musical history of Jamaica expands over many eras and has seen a great abundance of change.

Fun Fact:

The decorative shrubs that are located around Mona campus are actually wells that slaves who “misbehaved” were thrown into as punishment. However these wells were so deep that the slaves could not climb out, so instead of being a nest for punishment the wells were in fact death traps.