Hello Steemit Community! My name is Lasay from the beautiful country of Jamaica. I am writing this with a hand from Justin, a writing buddy in the United States, for the beautiful people of the Steem Family. Life has not been easy always for my family, however, thank you to the Internet and cryptocurrency we have been able to earn a living wage online writing. Now, please allow me to tell you a little bit about my country. Please excuse any mistypes, as my native English is slightly different than yours.

On the globe, just below the huge land mass of the United States of America, you would find a cluster of islands amidst the Atlantic Ocean. They are the Caribbean Islands, out of which Jamaica is the third largest one. Jamaica has a very old history dating back to over 5000 years. When Christopher Columbus reached this place in 1494, there were already more than 200 villages in the area.

The British influence

The island of Jamaica was under the Spanish rule from 1509 until 1655 when the British took over. This British rule lasted for more than 300 years until Jamaica gained its independence in 1962. Hence, you can see a tremendous British influence in this island even now.

Jamaica was one of the world’s largest producers of sugar during the British rule. Slavery was in full flow at that time. The year 1807 saw the abolition of the international slave trade. This made the British bring in laborers from India and China to Jamaica to work in the sugar fields. You can still see the Indians and the Chinese in Jamaica today.

The pristine beaches

Jamaica has some of the best beaches in the Caribbean. They have some great mountains as well such as the Blue Mountains. The beaches are the main reason for the tourist’s visits to Jamaica. Another popular attraction is the Dunn’s River Falls. Jamaica experiences hurricanes frequently as it lies in the hurricane belt of the Atlantic.

However, Jamaica is also renowned for its different kinds of hurricanes as well.

Michael Holding

Jamaica is an independent country having its own Prime Minister and Government. However, one thing unites the entire Caribbean islands. This is the game of cricket. When it comes to playing cricket, all the islands come together and play as the West Indies. The players from the West Indies are extremely athletic in nature. As you have seen, Jamaica is famous for its hurricanes. Michael Holding, arguably one of the fastest bowlers ever seen, is from Jamaica. The cricket world knows him as ‘Whispering Death’. He had a beautiful run up to the bowling crease. He used to make the least amount of noise while bowling thereby earning that nickname. However, as a fast bowler, he was destructive.

The Pride of Jamaica, Usain Bolt

The Jamaicans have extremely long legs. This makes them very agile on the sporting field. You may not find a more agile person in the world that the ‘Lightning Bolt’, Usain Bolt. People all over the world love him as well as his inimitable style of celebrating after every win. In fact, the style is more attractive than the event itself. This is because the result is a foregone conclusion when Bolt takes the starting line. By the time you read this article, Usain Bolt would have won his ninth as well as the tenth gold medal at the Rio Olympics. That would make him the most decorated track and field athlete, ahead of the great Carl Lewis.