The three colonies essays

The Taino were the first group from the islands to meet Columbus and his crew. The Taino settled in groups of large communities in the Hispaniola, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Jamaica. They had been living in the islands since 1200 AD and continued to stay there until 1500 AD. In this essay, a comparison of the cultures and history of Puerto Rico, Haiti and Jamaica will be done based on slavery, women and race. Slavery Haiti was initially colonized by Spain who later gave up a part of the island and it became a French colony that was earlier known as Saint-Domingue. The workers had engaged in other rebellions before but this one happened to be the most successful. The rebellion began in 1971 and in no time grew to include more partakers who destroyed the plantations.

As the rebellion grew, the British and Spanish forces tried to gain control of the land but the slaves overpowered them. Napoleon took control of the land but the slaves revolted once more and this led them to establish their independence in the year 1804 under Jean-Jacques Dessalines. Jamaica, just as Haiti, was initially under Spanish rule but the English soon took over in the year 1655. A slave abolishment bill was passed in 1833 and became effective in the following year. Slaves gained liberation in 1838. In Jamaica, the liberation of slave trade was not congruent with the independence of the nation as in Haiti. In Puerto Rico, slaves gained freedom much later in 1873 as compared to the other two nations. The abolishment of slavery in Puerto Rico, however, came with a condition.

The jobs that are available to women in Haiti were those involved in sectors such as healthcare including nursing and also in teaching. The market sector is also dominated by women who are involving in the selling of goods such as fish and tobacco among others. The women who are more economically empowered are those that are skilled entrepreneurs. The market women depend on these skilled entrepreneurs. They are known as marchann and they usually obtain commodities from the urban areas in bulk and sell them to the women in the rural areas at lower prices(Griffin et al, p. In the early times, political opportunities were not available for women but they are now open to women. Women can now actively participate in political and social activities and some of them have become influential women in those fields.

The Taino women were involved in domestic activities but were not limited to them. They were also involved in activities that engaged their talents such as pottery and carving. They were also warriors and at times joined the men in battle. He made popular a view that was anti-haitian. In Jamaica, a majority of the citizens are black. Race is not a major issue in Jamaica and a majority of the citizens are identifies by a class system and not race. Other than the blacks, other ethnic groups that exist in Jamaica include the East Indians, Chinese, white and mixed race. In Jamaica, there are equal opportunities for all of these races and there is no racism. Although racism is prevalent globally, it is not pervasive in Jamaica as compared to Haiti and Puerto Rico.