152-662: The railways of Jamaica were constructed from 1845, making it the second British colony to receive a railway system, following Canada in 1836 with the Champlain and St Lawrence Railroad . Construction started only twenty years after the Stockton & Darlington Railway commenced operations in the United Kingdom. The public passenger railway service in Jamaica , which ended in October 1992, had
304-533: A brief revival in 2011 only to be closed once again in August 2012. The Parliament of Jamaica had supported a revival under a public joint venture corporation with an offshore partner. Private freight transport continues on limited tracks leading to the various docks around the island, transporting bauxite and sugar cane for export. The first railway, the Western Jamaica Connecting Railway ,
456-551: A northwest passage to Asia via the North Atlantic. Cabot sailed in 1497, five years after the first voyage of Christopher Columbus , and made landfall on the coast of Newfoundland . He believed he had reached Asia, and there was no attempt to found a colony. Cabot led another voyage to the Americas the following year but did not return; it is unknown what happened to his ships. No further attempts to establish English colonies in
608-465: A contest of ideologies between the two nations. It was not only Britain's position on the world stage that was at risk: Napoleon threatened to invade Britain itself, just as his armies had overrun many countries of continental Europe . The Napoleonic Wars were therefore ones in which Britain invested large amounts of capital and resources to win. French ports were blockaded by the Royal Navy , which won
760-400: A cotton material which has a relatively short life in the country's tropical climate and other circulation conditions, but the new notes will come on enhanced substrates. The $ 100 note is printed on a material called " hybrid ", a combination of a protected polyester film layered on a cotton fiber core. The $ 50 , $ 500 , and $ 1000 notes are printed on a varnished cotton substrate, that is,
912-612: A decisive victory over a French Imperial Navy - Spanish Navy fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Overseas colonies were attacked and occupied, including those of the Netherlands, which was annexed by Napoleon in 1810. France was finally defeated by a coalition of European armies in 1815. Britain was again the beneficiary of peace treaties: France ceded the Ionian Islands , Malta (which it had occupied in 1798), Mauritius , St Lucia ,
1064-690: A dependency of the New South Wales colony. From 16 June 1840 New South Wales laws applied in New Zealand. This transitional arrangement ended with the Charter for Erecting the Colony of New Zealand on 16 November 1840. The Charter stated that New Zealand would be established as a separate Crown colony on 3 May 1841 with Hobson as its governor. During the 19th century, Britain and the Russian Empire vied to fill
1216-518: A feeling by the black population that copper coins were inappropriate for that purpose. Hence, they came to be called "Christian quatties". In 1839, an act was passed by Parliament declaring that as of 31 December 1840, only British coinage would be legal tender in Jamaica, demonetizing all of the Spanish coins, with the exception of the gold doubloon which was valued at £3 4s. Coins in use were thus
1368-549: A form that attempted to be more inclusive by showcasing the empire as a family of newly birthed nations with common roots. The last decades of the 19th century saw concerted political campaigns for Irish home rule . Ireland had been united with Britain into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with the Act of Union 1800 after the Irish Rebellion of 1798 , and had suffered a severe famine between 1845 and 1852. Home rule
1520-488: A gold standard, this exchange rate did not realistically represent the value of the silver in the Spanish dollars as compared to the value of the gold in the British gold sovereign, and as such, the order-in-council had the reverse effect in many colonies. It had the effect of actually driving sterling coinage out, rather than encouraging its circulation. Remedial legislation had to be introduced in 1838 so as to change over to
1672-522: A larger decolonisation movement, in which Britain granted independence to most territories of the empire. The Suez Crisis of 1956 confirmed Britain's decline as a global power, and the handover of Hong Kong to China on 1 July 1997 symbolised for many the end of the British Empire, though fourteen overseas territories that are remnants of the empire remain under British sovereignty . After independence, many former British colonies, along with most of
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#17331045243461824-805: A major power in the Indian subcontinent after the East India Company 's conquest of Mughal Bengal at the Battle of Plassey in 1757. The American War of Independence resulted in Britain losing some of its oldest and most populous colonies in North America by 1783. While retaining control of British North America (now Canada ) and territories in and near the Caribbean in the British West Indies , British colonial expansion turned towards Asia, Africa , and
1976-568: A minor settlement, and other treaty ports including Shanghai . During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the British Crown began to assume an increasingly large role in the affairs of the company. A series of Acts of Parliament were passed, including the Regulating Act of 1773 , Pitt's India Act of 1784 and the Charter Act of 1813 which regulated the company's affairs and established
2128-509: A patent to Humphrey Gilbert for discovery and overseas exploration. That year, Gilbert sailed for the Caribbean with the intention of engaging in piracy and establishing a colony in North America, but the expedition was aborted before it had crossed the Atlantic. In 1583, he embarked on a second attempt. On this occasion, he formally claimed the harbour of the island of Newfoundland, although no settlers were left behind. Gilbert did not survive
2280-541: A perceived violation of the guaranteed Rights of Englishmen . The American Revolution began with a rejection of Parliamentary authority and moves towards self-government. In response, Britain sent troops to reimpose direct rule, leading to the outbreak of war in 1775. The following year, in 1776, the Second Continental Congress issued the Declaration of Independence proclaiming the colonies' sovereignty from
2432-479: A post office with a postman in charge. There is a letter-box at each station which the train postman clears en route." The railway architecture, developed and seen through the stations which were built between 1845 and 1896, is a reflection of classical Jamaican Georgian architecture . Although under the care and maintenance of the JRC, those that are not used for commercial purposes and rented out to traders are presently in
2584-561: A post-war report by C. E. Rooke recommended closure of the Port Antonio to Spanish Town line, the government only closed the Linstead to Ewarton branch in 1947. The 1951 hurricane brought about a recommendation by the United Nations envoy to invest in the railway to keep the bauxite traffic, and hence the passenger rates, economically viable. The government agreed change of the railway after
2736-472: A rapid escalation in the number of slaves transported. British ships carried a third of all slaves shipped across the Atlantic—approximately 3.5 million Africans —until the abolition of the trade by Parliament in 1807 (see § Abolition of slavery ). To facilitate the shipment of slaves, forts were established on the coast of West Africa, such as James Island , Accra and Bunce Island . In
2888-581: A result of elevated levels of inflation during the 1980s and especially the early 1990s, the Jamaican dollar has fallen from a peak of J$ 0.77 to US$ 1 in its first few years of circulation to around J$ 131 to US$ 1 as of July 2018. The new Jamaican dollar (and the Cayman Islands dollar ), differed from all the other dollars in the British West Indies in that it was essentially a half-pound sterling. All
3040-474: A security threat to Great Britain or mark the beginning of the break-up of the empire. A second Home Rule bill was defeated for similar reasons. A third bill was passed by Parliament in 1914, but not implemented because of the outbreak of the First World War leading to the 1916 Easter Rising . By the turn of the 20th century, fears had begun to grow in Britain that it would no longer be able to defend
3192-812: A series of Anglo-Mysore wars in Southern India with the Sultanate of Mysore under Hyder Ali and then Tipu Sultan . Defeats in the First Anglo-Mysore war and stalemate in the Second were followed by victories in the Third and the Fourth . Following Tipu Sultan's death in the fourth war in the Siege of Seringapatam (1799) , the kingdom became a protectorate of the company. The East India Company fought three Anglo-Maratha Wars with
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#17331045243463344-528: A state of disrepair. The Jamaica Railways have two serious accidents: The Corporation has a General Manager, also known (in the 21st century) as the Chief Executive Officer. British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions , colonies , protectorates , mandates , and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with
3496-655: A way station for its ships travelling to and from its colonies in the East Indies . Britain formally acquired the colony, and its large Afrikaner (or Boer ) population in 1806, having occupied it in 1795 to prevent its falling into French hands during the Flanders Campaign . British immigration to the Cape Colony began to rise after 1820, and pushed thousands of Boers , resentful of British rule, northwards to found their own—mostly short-lived— independent republics , during
3648-409: Is often abbreviated to J$ , the J serving to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents , although cent denominations are no longer in use as of 2018. Goods and services may still be priced in cents, but cash transactions are now rounded to the nearest dollar. The history of currency in Jamaica should not be considered in isolation of the wider picture in
3800-454: Is responsible for management of the JRC interests and property, and maintaining its locomotives but not the rolling stock. In November 1990 JRC signed a 30-year Track User Agreement with Alcan Jamaica, which was renegotiated with the successor Windalco in December 2001. The company makes J$ 40 million per year through track user fees for the hauling of alumina and bauxite, and the residual from
3952-500: Is seen by some historians as the event defining the transition between the first and second empires, in which Britain shifted its attention away from the Americas to Asia, the Pacific and later Africa. Adam Smith 's Wealth of Nations , published in 1776, had argued that colonies were redundant, and that free trade should replace the old mercantilist policies that had characterised the first period of colonial expansion, dating back to
4104-698: The Acts of Union 1707 . The 18th century saw the newly united Great Britain rise to be the world's dominant colonial power, with France becoming its main rival on the imperial stage. Great Britain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and the Holy Roman Empire continued the War of the Spanish Succession, which lasted until 1714 and was concluded by the Treaty of Utrecht . Philip V of Spain renounced his and his descendants' claim to
4256-656: The American War of Independence towards the end of the 18th century, has been referred to by some historians as the "First British Empire". England's early efforts at colonisation in the Americas met with mixed success. An attempt to establish a colony in Guiana in 1604 lasted only two years and failed in its main objective to find gold deposits. Colonies on the Caribbean islands of St Lucia (1605) and Grenada (1609) rapidly folded. The first permanent English settlement in
4408-536: The Battle of Vimy Ridge in a similar light. The important contribution of the Dominions to the war effort was recognised in 1917 by British prime minister David Lloyd George when he invited each of the Dominion prime ministers to join an Imperial War Cabinet to co-ordinate imperial policy. Jamaican dollar The Jamaican dollar ( sign : $ ; code : JMD ) has been the currency of Jamaica since 1969. It
4560-455: The British West Indies as a whole. See British West Indies dollar . The peculiar feature about Jamaica was the fact that it was the only British West Indies territory to use special issues of the sterling coinage, apart from the four-pence groat coin which was specially issued for all the British West Indies, and later only for British Guiana . The earliest money in Jamaica was Spanish copper coins called maravedíes . This relates to
4712-631: The British economy . Added to this was the cost of suppressing regular slave rebellions . With support from the British abolitionist movement, Parliament enacted the Slave Trade Act in 1807, which abolished the slave trade in the empire. In 1808, Sierra Leone Colony was designated an official British colony for freed slaves. Parliamentary reform in 1832 saw the influence of the West India Committee decline. The Slavery Abolition Act , passed
Rail transport in Jamaica - Misplaced Pages Continue
4864-642: The Caymanas sugar estate. On 21 November 1845 the Governor of Jamaica James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and ten carriages of passengers, pulled by the companies two locomotives Projector and Patriot built by Sharp Brothers of Manchester , travelled 19 kilometres (12 mi) from Kingston to Spanish Town . The first train came after the British Government had enacted the Sugar Duties Act 1846 and just after
5016-764: The First Anglo-Afghan War was a disaster for Britain. When Russia invaded the Ottoman Balkans in 1853, fears of Russian dominance in the Mediterranean and the Middle East led Britain and France to enter the war in support of the Ottoman Empire and invade the Crimean Peninsula to destroy Russian naval capabilities. The ensuing Crimean War (1854–1856), which involved new techniques of modern warfare ,
5168-658: The Government of India Act 1858 , establishing the British Raj , where an appointed governor-general administered India and Queen Victoria was crowned the Empress of India . India became the empire's most valuable possession, "the Jewel in the Crown", and was the most important source of Britain's strength. A series of serious crop failures in the late 19th century led to widespread famines on
5320-832: The Great Trek of the late 1830s and early 1840s. In the process the Voortrekkers clashed repeatedly with the British, who had their own agenda with regard to colonial expansion in South Africa and to the various native African polities, including those of the Sotho people and the Zulu Kingdom . Eventually, the Boers established two republics that had a longer lifespan: the South African Republic or Transvaal Republic (1852–1877; 1881–1902) and
5472-533: The Jamaican pound . Coins and banknotes went into circulation on 8 September 1969. The introduction of a decimal currency provided the opportunity for the introduction of a complete Jamaican coinage as formerly, the coins (with the exception of the penny and halfpenny), were the same as those used in the United Kingdom. The reverse of the decimal coinage was designed by Christopher Ironside . These coins were in circulation from 1969 to about 1990. From its introduction, as
5624-578: The Khedivate of Egypt into the 20th century, it was officially a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire and not part of the British Empire. The French were still majority shareholders and attempted to weaken the British position, but a compromise was reached with the 1888 Convention of Constantinople , which made the Canal officially neutral territory. With competitive French, Belgian and Portuguese activity in
5776-576: The Mahdist Army in 1896 and rebuffed an attempted French invasion at Fashoda in 1898. Sudan was nominally made an Anglo-Egyptian condominium , but a British colony in reality. British gains in Southern and East Africa prompted Cecil Rhodes , pioneer of British expansion in Southern Africa , to urge a " Cape to Cairo " railway linking the strategically important Suez Canal to the mineral-rich south of
5928-447: The Maratha Confederacy . The First Anglo-Maratha War ended in 1782 with a restoration of the pre-war status quo . The Second and Third Anglo-Maratha wars resulted in British victories. After the surrender of Peshwa Bajirao II on 1818, the East India Company acquired control of a large majority of the Indian subcontinent. Britain was challenged again by France under Napoleon, in a struggle that, unlike previous wars, represented
6080-426: The Munster Plantations , in 16th century Ireland by settling it with English and Welsh Protestant settlers. England had already colonised part of the country following the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169. Several people who helped establish the Munster plantations later played a part in the early colonisation of North America, particularly a group known as the West Country Men . In 1578, Elizabeth I granted
6232-409: The Orange Free State (1854–1902). In 1902 Britain occupied both republics, concluding a treaty with the two Boer Republics following the Second Boer War (1899–1902). In 1869 the Suez Canal opened under Napoleon III , linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean . Initially the Canal was opposed by the British; but once opened, its strategic value was quickly recognised and became
Rail transport in Jamaica - Misplaced Pages Continue
6384-419: The Pacific . After the defeat of France in the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), Britain emerged as the principal naval and imperial power of the 19th century and expanded its imperial holdings. It pursued trade concessions in China and Japan, and territory in Southeast Asia . The " Great Game " and " Scramble for Africa " also ensued. The period of relative peace (1815–1914) during which the British Empire became
6536-411: The Royal African Company was granted a monopoly on the supply of slaves to the British colonies in the Caribbean. The company would transport more slaves across the Atlantic than any other, and significantly grew England's share of the trade, from 33 per cent in 1673 to 74 per cent in 1683. The removal of this monopoly between 1688 and 1712 allowed independent British slave traders to thrive, leading to
6688-500: The Saint John and Saint Croix river valleys, then part of Nova Scotia , felt too far removed from the provincial government in Halifax , so London split off New Brunswick as a separate colony in 1784. The Constitutional Act of 1791 created the provinces of Upper Canada (mainly English speaking ) and Lower Canada (mainly French-speaking ) to defuse tensions between the French and British communities, and implemented governmental systems similar to those employed in Britain, with
6840-443: The Seychelles , and Tobago ; Spain ceded Trinidad ; the Netherlands ceded Guiana , Ceylon and the Cape Colony , while the Danish ceded Heligoland . Britain returned Guadeloupe , Martinique , French Guiana , and Réunion to France; Menorca to Spain; Danish West Indies to Denmark and Java and Suriname to the Netherlands. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution , goods produced by slavery became less important to
6992-441: The Treaty of Paris of 1763 had important consequences for the future of the British Empire. In North America, France's future as a colonial power effectively ended with the recognition of British claims to Rupert's Land, and the ceding of New France to Britain (leaving a sizeable French-speaking population under British control) and Louisiana to Spain. Spain ceded Florida to Britain. Along with its victory over France in India,
7144-417: The Victorian gold rush , making its capital Melbourne for a time the richest city in the world. The British also expanded their mercantile interests in the North Pacific. Spain and Britain had become rivals in the area, culminating in the Nootka Crisis in 1789. Both sides mobilised for war, but when France refused to support Spain it was forced to back down, leading to the Nootka Convention . The outcome
7296-454: The War of 1812 , and invaded Canadian territory. In response, Britain invaded the US, but the pre-war boundaries were reaffirmed by the 1814 Treaty of Ghent , ensuring Canada's future would be separate from that of the United States. Since 1718, transportation to the American colonies had been a penalty for various offences in Britain, with approximately one thousand convicts transported per year. Forced to find an alternative location after
7448-488: The farthing ( 1 ⁄ 4 d), halfpenny , penny , three halfpence ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 d), threepence, sixpence , shilling , florin (2s), half crown (2s 6d), and crown (5s). The emancipation of the slaves in 1838 increased the need for coinage in Jamaica, particularly low-denomination coins, but the blacks were still reluctant to use copper. The solution was to use cupronickel , adopted in 1869. Pennies and halfpennies were minted for use in Jamaica, becoming
7600-545: The metropole and the entirety of the empire while at the same time maintaining the policy of "splendid isolation". Germany was rapidly rising as a military and industrial power and was now seen as the most likely opponent in any future war. Recognising that it was overstretched in the Pacific and threatened at home by the Imperial German Navy , Britain formed an alliance with Japan in 1902 and with its old enemies France and Russia in 1904 and 1907, respectively. Britain's fears of war with Germany were realised in 1914 with
7752-490: The overseas possessions and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was the largest empire in history and, for a century, was the foremost global power. By 1913, the British Empire held sway over 412 million people, 23 percent of the world population at the time, and by 1920, it covered 35.5 million km (13.7 million sq mi), 24 per cent of
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#17331045243467904-440: The protectionism of Spain and Portugal. The growth of trade between the newly independent United States and Britain after 1783 seemed to confirm Smith's view that political control was not necessary for economic success. The war to the south influenced British policy in Canada, where between 40,000 and 100,000 defeated Loyalists had migrated from the new United States following independence. The 14,000 Loyalists who went to
8056-399: The spice trade of the East Indies archipelago to the Netherlands and the textiles industry of India to England, but textiles soon overtook spices in terms of profitability. Peace between England and the Netherlands in 1688 meant the two countries entered the Nine Years' War as allies, but the conflict—waged in Europe and overseas between France, Spain and the Anglo-Dutch alliance—left
8208-475: The "Sugar Revolution" transformed the Caribbean economy in the mid-17th century. Large sugarcane plantations were first established in the 1640s on Barbados, with assistance from Dutch merchants and Sephardic Jews fleeing Portuguese Brazil . At first, sugar was grown primarily using white indentured labour , but rising costs soon led English traders to embrace the use of imported African slaves. The enormous wealth generated by slave-produced sugar made Barbados
8360-480: The "jugular vein of the Empire". In 1875, the Conservative government of Benjamin Disraeli bought the indebted Egyptian ruler Isma'il Pasha 's 44 per cent shareholding in the Suez Canal for £4 million (equivalent to £480 million in 2023). Although this did not grant outright control of the strategic waterway, it did give Britain leverage. Joint Anglo-French financial control over Egypt ended in outright British occupation in 1882. Although Britain controlled
8512-431: The 'Maccaroni' tradition, resulting in the successful introduction of both sterling coinage and sterling accounts. In 1834, silver coins of threepence and three halfpence ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 pence) were introduced, valued at 1 ⁄ 2 real and 1 ⁄ 4 real. The three-halfpence coins came to be called "quartiles" or "quatties". These in particular were used in church collections due to
8664-623: The 1 September 1957 crash, the worst transport accident in Jamaica's history, in which a 12-car wooden body train carrying 1,600 passengers derailed at Kendal, killing 175 passengers and injuring over 800. The first diesel power had entered Jamaica in 1939 with two D Wickham & Co diesel coaches. After the creation of the Jamaica Railway Corporation in 1960, management increased this transformation significantly from 1963 onwards: In 1967, two ALCO DL532 1,200 h.p. diesel-electric locomotives were purchased. By 1970 Jamaica's railways had fourteen diesel-electric locomotives and only one steam locomotive
8816-510: The 10 dollar note in 1999 and a bimetallic 20 dollar coin with a nickel-brass ring and copper-nickel center was introduced in place of a 20 dollar banknote in 2000. All nickel-plated or copper-plated steel coins are magnetic. All coins have the Jamaican coat of arms on their reverse. Coins currently in circulation are as follows: Coins no longer in circulation: On 8 September 1969, banknotes of 50 cents (5 shillings), $ 1 (10 shillings), $ 2 (£1), and $ 10 (£5) were introduced. The $ 5 note
8968-428: The 1730s. This trade, illegal since it was outlawed by China in 1729, helped reverse the trade imbalances resulting from the British imports of tea, which saw large outflows of silver from Britain to China. In 1839, the confiscation by the Chinese authorities at Canton of 20,000 chests of opium led Britain to attack China in the First Opium War , and resulted in the seizure by Britain of Hong Kong Island , at that time
9120-456: The 1920s. By the start of the 20th century, Germany and the United States had begun to challenge Britain's economic lead. Military, economic and colonial tensions between Britain and Germany were major causes of the First World War , during which Britain relied heavily on its empire. The conflict placed enormous strain on its military, financial, and manpower resources. Although the empire achieved its largest territorial extent immediately after
9272-505: The 2022/23 Jamaican Budget Debate, the Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Honorable Nigel Clarke, revealed the new banknote series commemorating the 60th anniversary of Jamaica. Included in the new banknote series is the new $ 2000 denomination. The new banknotes were revealed on 8 March 2022. The Jamaican dollar was used not only by Jamaica, but also by the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands , former dependencies of Jamaica, until 1972 and 1973 respectively. In 1972,
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#17331045243469424-414: The Americas was founded in 1607 in Jamestown by Captain John Smith , and managed by the Virginia Company ; the Crown took direct control of the venture in 1624, thereby founding the Colony of Virginia . Bermuda was settled and claimed by England as a result of the 1609 shipwreck of the Virginia Company's flagship , while attempts to settle Newfoundland were largely unsuccessful. In 1620, Plymouth
9576-511: The Americas were made until well into the reign of Queen Elizabeth I , during the last decades of the 16th century. In the meantime, Henry VIII 's 1533 Statute in Restraint of Appeals had declared "that this realm of England is an Empire". The Protestant Reformation turned England and Catholic Spain into implacable enemies. In 1562, Elizabeth I encouraged the privateers John Hawkins and Francis Drake to engage in slave-raiding attacks against Spanish and Portuguese ships off
9728-479: The British Caribbean, the percentage of the population of African descent rose from 25 per cent in 1650 to around 80 per cent in 1780, and in the Thirteen Colonies from 10 per cent to 40 per cent over the same period (the majority in the southern colonies). The transatlantic slave trade played a pervasive role in British economic life, and became a major economic mainstay for western port cities. Ships registered in Bristol , Liverpool and London were responsible for
9880-443: The British Empire as the new United States of America . The entry of French and Spanish forces into the war tipped the military balance in the Americans' favour and after a decisive defeat at Yorktown in 1781, Britain began negotiating peace terms. American independence was acknowledged at the Peace of Paris in 1783. The loss of such a large portion of British America , at the time Britain's most populous overseas possession,
10032-425: The British defeated the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies, left the British East India Company in control of Bengal and as a major military and political power in India. France was left control of its enclaves but with military restrictions and an obligation to support British client states , ending French hopes of controlling India. In the following decades the British East India Company gradually increased
10184-419: The Cayman Islands stopped using the Jamaican dollar and adopted its own currency, the Cayman Islands dollar , while in 1973 the Turks and Caicos Islands replaced the Jamaican dollar as legal tender with the United States dollar legal tender. In adopting the Jamaican dollar, Jamaica followed the pattern of South Africa , Australia , and New Zealand in that when it adopted the decimal system, it decided to use
10336-401: The Earth's total land area. As a result, its constitutional , legal , linguistic , and cultural legacy is widespread. At the peak of its power, it was described as " the empire on which the sun never sets ", as the sun was always shining on at least one of its territories. During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal and Spain pioneered European exploration of
10488-452: The English a stronger colonial power than the Dutch, who were forced to devote a larger proportion of their military budget to the costly land war in Europe. The death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and his bequeathal of Spain and its colonial empire to Philip V of Spain , a grandson of the King of France , raised the prospect of the unification of France, Spain and their respective colonies, an unacceptable state of affairs for England and
10640-477: The First World War, Britain was no longer the world's preeminent industrial or military power. In the Second World War , Britain's colonies in East Asia and Southeast Asia were occupied by the Empire of Japan . Despite the final victory of Britain and its allies , the damage to British prestige and the British economy helped accelerate the decline of the empire. India , Britain's most valuable and populous possession, achieved independence in 1947 as part of
10792-462: The French throne, and Spain lost its empire in Europe. The British Empire was territorially enlarged: from France, Britain gained Newfoundland and Acadia , and from Spain, Gibraltar and Menorca . Gibraltar became a critical naval base and allowed Britain to control the Atlantic entry and exit point to the Mediterranean . Spain ceded the rights to the lucrative asiento (permission to sell African slaves in Spanish America ) to Britain. With
10944-642: The JRC railway system, and totally destroyed a section of the Port Antonio line running along the coast between Buff Bay and Orange Bay. In October 1992 public railway transport services ceased operating on Jamaica, although four of the private industrial lines continue to operate today, in part using JRC lines. Of the total of 272 kilometres (169 mi) standard gauge at the time on the island, 207 kilometres (129 mi) of common carrier service belonging to JRC are no longer operational, leaving 65 kilometres (40 mi) in private hands. The Jamaican Railway Corporation still exists today -see below under "Revival". It
11096-549: The Māori population. The UK government finally decided to act, dispatching Captain William Hobson with instructions to take formal possession after obtaining native consent. There was no central Māori authority able to represent all New Zealand so, on 6 February 1840, Hobson and many Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi in the Bay of Islands; most other chiefs signing in stages over
11248-684: The Netherlands as a colonial power, in the short term the Netherlands' more advanced financial system and the three Anglo-Dutch Wars of the 17th century left it with a stronger position in Asia. Hostilities ceased after the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when the Dutch William of Orange ascended the English throne, bringing peace between the Dutch Republic and England. A deal between the two nations left
11400-468: The Pacific between 1769 and 1777, James Cook visited New Zealand . He was followed by an assortment of Europeans and Americans which including whalers, sealers, escaped convicts from New South Wales, missionaries and adventurers. Initially, contact with the indigenous Māori people was limited to the trading of goods, although interaction increased during the early decades of the 19th century with many trading and missionary stations being set up, especially in
11552-650: The Pacific for the extension of the North American fur trade . Alexander Mackenzie of the North West Company led the first, starting out in 1792, and a year later he became the first European to reach the Pacific overland north of the Rio Grande , reaching the ocean near present-day Bella Coola . This preceded the Lewis and Clark Expedition by twelve years. Shortly thereafter, Mackenzie's companion, John Finlay , founded
11704-651: The Royal Navy during the Seven Years' War, and the two continued to co-operate in arenas outside India: the eviction of the French from Egypt (1799), the capture of Java from the Netherlands (1811), the acquisition of Penang Island (1786), Singapore (1819) and Malacca (1824), and the defeat of Burma (1826). From its base in India, the company had been engaged in an increasingly profitable opium export trade to Qing China since
11856-557: The Seven Years' War therefore left Britain as the world's most powerful maritime power . During the 1760s and early 1770s, relations between the Thirteen Colonies and Britain became increasingly strained, primarily because of resentment of the British Parliament's attempts to govern and tax American colonists without their consent. This was summarised at the time by the colonists' slogan " No taxation without representation ",
12008-690: The Spanish, and in 1666 succeeded in colonising the Bahamas . In 1670, Charles II incorporated by royal charter the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), granting it a monopoly on the fur trade in the area known as Rupert's Land , which would later form a large proportion of the Dominion of Canada . Forts and trading posts established by the HBC were frequently the subject of attacks by the French, who had established their own fur trading colony in adjacent New France . Two years later,
12160-690: The annexation of the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1664, following the capture of New Amsterdam , which was renamed New York . Although less financially successful than colonies in the Caribbean, these territories had large areas of good agricultural land and attracted far greater numbers of English emigrants, who preferred their temperate climates. The British West Indies initially provided England's most important and lucrative colonies. Settlements were successfully established in St. Kitts (1624), Barbados (1627) and Nevis (1628), but struggled until
12312-555: The apprenticeship system was abolished in 1838. The British government compensated slave-owners. Between 1815 and 1914, a period referred to as Britain's "imperial century" by some historians, around 10 million sq mi (26 million km ) of territory and roughly 400 million people were added to the British Empire. Victory over Napoleon left Britain without any serious international rival, other than Russia in Central Asia . Unchallenged at sea, Britain adopted
12464-523: The armies of the Dominions , as well as many thousands of volunteers from the Crown colonies. The contributions of Australian and New Zealand troops during the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign against the Ottoman Empire had a great impact on the national consciousness at home and marked a watershed in the transition of Australia and New Zealand from colonies to nations in their own right. The countries continue to commemorate this occasion on Anzac Day . Canadians viewed
12616-410: The banana, cacao , citrus and coconut districts of St Catherine, St Mary and Portland was developed over 87 kilometres (54 mi) from Bog Walk to Port Antonio in 1896. The Jamaican system now had a total of 298 kilometres (185 mi) of railway lines stretching from the south-eastern to the north-western and north-eastern ends of the island. The loans taken out to secure railway ownership by
12768-613: The banknote of the same denomination. Nickel-plated steel replaced copper-nickel in the 5, 10, and 25 cent coins in 1991 with a smaller size and seven-sided shape for the 25 cent coin. In 1994, a round nickel-plated steel 5 dollar coin replaced its corresponding banknote, a smaller, seven-sided nickel-plated steel 1 dollar coin was introduced, and the 5 cent coin was abandoned. 1995 saw smaller, round copper-plated steel 10 and 25 cent coins. All non-current coins were demonetized in January 1997. A scalloped nickel-plated steel 10 dollar coin replaced
12920-568: The bulk of British slave trading. For the transported, harsh and unhygienic conditions on the slaving ships and poor diets meant that the average mortality rate during the Middle Passage was one in seven. At the end of the 16th century, England and the Dutch Empire began to challenge the Portuguese Empire 's monopoly of trade with Asia, forming private joint-stock companies to finance
13072-516: The business of establishing its own overseas colonies. The British Empire began to take shape during the early 17th century, with the English settlement of North America and the smaller islands of the Caribbean, and the establishment of joint-stock companies , most notably the East India Company , to administer colonies and overseas trade. This period, until the loss of the Thirteen Colonies after
13224-558: The coast of West Africa with the aim of establishing an Atlantic slave trade . This effort was rebuffed and later, as the Anglo-Spanish Wars intensified, Elizabeth I gave her blessing to further privateering raids against Spanish ports in the Americas and shipping that was returning across the Atlantic, laden with treasure from the New World . At the same time, influential writers such as Richard Hakluyt and John Dee (who
13376-465: The colony was abandoned two years later. The Darien scheme was a financial disaster for Scotland: a quarter of Scottish capital was lost in the enterprise. The episode had major political consequences, helping to persuade the government of the Kingdom of Scotland of the merits of turning the personal union with England into a political and economic one under the Kingdom of Great Britain established by
13528-531: The company, together with its purchase of 308 square kilometres (76,000 acres) of prime Crown land in various parts of Jamaica, proved too strenuous. After defaulting in 1897 and 1898, by order of the Jamaican Supreme Court the company fell into receivership. In 1900 the government assumed responsibility for the railway again, and made it a department of government. It appointed a Railway Advisory Board in 1902 to advise, which remained in place until 1960 when
13680-457: The continent. During the 1880s and 1890s, Rhodes, with his privately owned British South Africa Company , occupied and annexed territories named after him, Rhodesia . The path to independence for the white colonies of the British Empire began with the 1839 Durham Report , which proposed unification and self-government for Upper and Lower Canada, as a solution to political unrest which had erupted in armed rebellions in 1837. This began with
13832-475: The decision to introduce the banknote, saying that the introduction of such a banknote is a sign that the Jamaican dollar is losing value. On 15 November 2010, the Bank of Jamaica issued a $ 50 commemorative note to celebrate its founding. The note is similar to its regular issue in design and security features, but the bank's logo printed in blue, with the words "50th anniversary" and "1960–2010" printed above and below
13984-540: The dominions, joined the Commonwealth of Nations , a free association of independent states. Fifteen of these, including the United Kingdom, retain the same person as monarch , currently King Charles III . The foundations of the British Empire were laid when England and Scotland were separate kingdoms. In 1496, King Henry VII of England , following the successes of Spain and Portugal in overseas exploration, commissioned John Cabot to lead an expedition to discover
14136-409: The emancipation of slaves, meaning the sugar industry needed the efficiency that the railway would bring to the island. The construction of the first single-track section was budgeted to cost £ 150,000, but cost £222,250, or £15,377 per kilometre (£24,747 per mile). As a result of the cost of building and a downturn in the sugar industry, only another 18 kilometres (11 mi) were added until 1869 in
14288-570: The exception of international relations . Australia and New Zealand achieved similar levels of self-government after 1900, with the Australian colonies federating in 1901 . The term "dominion status" was officially introduced at the 1907 Imperial Conference . As the dominions gained greater autonomy, they would come to be recognized as distinct realms of the empire with unique customs and symbols of their own. Imperial identity, through imagery such as patriotic artworks and banners, began developing into
14440-455: The exception of a smaller bronze 1 cent, the compositions, sizes, and shapes of the coins were identical to those they replaced. The 1-cent coin was changed in 1975 to a twelve-sided shape and aluminium composition. Decagonal 50-cent coins were introduced in 1976 to replace the 50 cent banknote, but production for circulation ceased in 1989, along with that of the 20 cents. In 1990, nickel - brass 1 dollar coins were introduced to replace
14592-596: The fact that for nearly four hundred years Spanish dollars , known as pieces of eight were in widespread use on the world's trading routes, including the Caribbean Sea region. However, following the revolutionary wars in Latin America, the source of these silver trade coins dried up. The last Spanish dollar was minted at the Potosí mint in 1825. The United Kingdom had adopted a very successful gold standard in 1821, so 1825
14744-482: The figure had fallen to 40 million, and after the loss of the monopoly of the British market and the 1951 hurricane it was 5 million in 1975 in 1975. Passenger use fell, partly because of the bridge-building programme begun by the government before the war. By 1971 Jamaica had 11,590 kilometres (7,200 mi) of roads, 1,350 of which were paved; alongside motorbuses which were accessing further inland, private cars had increased from 15,000 in 1950 to 142,300 in 1975. After
14896-658: The first permanent European settlement in British Columbia , Fort St. John . The North West Company sought further exploration and backed expeditions by David Thompson , starting in 1797, and later by Simon Fraser . These pushed into the wilderness territories of the Rocky Mountains and Interior Plateau to the Strait of Georgia on the Pacific Coast, expanding British North America westward. The East India Company fought
15048-436: The first time since February 1992 on 16 April 2011, when an inaugural train operated from May Pen to Linstead . There was also talk of establishing a tourist route on Jamalco's line between Rocky Point and Breadnut, but all passenger services were stopped again in August 2012. In 2022, the rail status shifted again, as a passenger service began transporting students from Old Harbour and Linstead to Spanish Town. Records of
15200-406: The first truly Jamaican coins. Beginning in 1880, the farthing was also minted in cupronickel. In 1904, the first government-authorized banknotes were produced in the denomination of 10s. Banknotes of £1 and £5 were also being circulated by chartered banks. In 1918, denominations of 2s 6d and 5s were authorized. The 2s 6d note proved to have a short life, being withdrawn in 1922. In 1940,
15352-562: The following months. William Hobson declared British sovereignty over all New Zealand on 21 May 1840, over the North Island by cession and over the South Islnd by discovery (the island was sparsely populated and deemed terra nullius ). Hobson became Lieutenant-Governor, subject to Governor Sir George Gipps in Sydney, with British possession of New Zealand initially administered from Australia as
15504-571: The following year, abolished slavery in the British Empire on 1 August 1834, finally bringing the empire into line with the law in the UK (with the exception of the territories administered by the East India Company and Ceylon, where slavery was ended in 1844). Under the Act, slaves were granted full emancipation after a period of four to six years of "apprenticeship". Facing further opposition from abolitionists,
15656-521: The form of an extension from Spanish Town to Old Harbour at a cost of £60,000. After a period of decline, the new Governor Sir Anthony Musgrave agreed a deal in 1879 to buy the existing 42 kilometres (26 mi) of the system for £93,932. After an investment and improvement programme, the expansion of the citrus and banana industries led to two extensions, extending the total system to 105 kilometres (65 mi): westward from Old Harbour to Porus (39.4 kilometres (24.5 mi)); northwards from Angel to
15808-648: The global hegemon was later described as Pax Britannica (Latin for "British Peace"). Alongside the formal control that Britain exerted over its colonies, its dominance of much of world trade, and of its oceans, meant that it effectively controlled the economies of, and readily enforced its interests in, many regions , such as Asia and Latin America . It also came to dominate the Middle East . Increasing degrees of autonomy were granted to its white settler colonies , some of which were formally reclassified as Dominions by
15960-568: The globe, and in the process established large overseas empires. Envious of the great wealth these empires generated, England, France , and the Netherlands began to establish colonies and trade networks of their own in the Americas and Asia . A series of wars in the 17th and 18th centuries with the Netherlands and France left Britain the dominant colonial power in North America . Britain became
16112-459: The government bank began producing £1 and £5 notes. In October 1960, the Bank of Jamaica was given the sole right to mint coins and produce banknotes in Jamaica. Their notes were released on 1 May 1961, in the denominations of 5s, 10s, £1, and £5. On 30 January 1968, the Jamaican House of Representatives voted to decimalize the currency by introducing the dollar, worth 10 shillings, to replace
16264-679: The government on the suitability of Botany Bay for the establishment of a penal settlement , and in 1787 the first shipment of convicts set sail, arriving in 1788. Unusually, Australia was claimed through proclamation. Indigenous Australians were considered too uncivilised to require treaties, and colonisation brought disease and violence that together with the deliberate dispossession of land and culture were devastating to these peoples. Britain continued to transport convicts to New South Wales until 1840, to Tasmania until 1853 and to Western Australia until 1868. The Australian colonies became profitable exporters of wool and gold, mainly because of
16416-490: The increasingly healthy profits of colonial trade remained in English hands, Parliament decreed in 1651 that only English ships would be able to ply their trade in English colonies. This led to hostilities with the United Dutch Provinces —a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars —which would eventually strengthen England's position in the Americas at the expense of the Dutch. In 1655, England annexed the island of Jamaica from
16568-599: The intention of asserting imperial authority and not allowing the sort of popular control of government that was perceived to have led to the American Revolution. Tensions between Britain and the United States escalated again during the Napoleonic Wars , as Britain tried to cut off American trade with France and boarded American ships to impress men into the Royal Navy . The United States Congress declared war,
16720-401: The interior district of Ewarton (22.93 kilometres (14.25 mi)). Both were completed in 1885 at a total cost of approximately £280,000 After debates about extensions, on 1 January 1890 the railway was transferred to an American consortium headed by New York merchant Frederick Wesson , and extensions from Porus 100 kilometres (62 mi) to Montego Bay in 1895, and an extension through
16872-578: The island's trains running. The financial crisis had led to a backlog of deferred maintenance, with stock and buildings also neglected. In 1974 the May Pen-Frankfield line closed, with the Bog Walk-Port Antonio line closing in 1975. Public pressure forced the government to reopen the Port Antonio line at a cost of J$ 1.4 million in 1977. The condition of the track resulted in reclosure of the line in 1978. Hurricane Allen in 1980 damaged much of
17024-560: The larger trade, by 1720, in terms of sales, the British company had overtaken the Dutch. During the middle decades of the 18th century, there were several outbreaks of military conflict on the Indian subcontinent , as the English East India Company and its French counterpart , struggled alongside local rulers to fill the vacuum that had been left by the decline of the Mughal Empire . The Battle of Plassey in 1757, in which
17176-491: The logo. The back of the commemorative note features the Bank of Jamaica headquarters building in Nethersole Place set against a background of morning glory blossoms. Both the commemorative and the regular issue note circulate in parallel. In 2012, the Bank of Jamaica introduced a new family of banknotes commemorating the country's Golden Jubilee. The commemorative banknotes are similar to its regular issue banknotes, but on
17328-455: The loss of the Thirteen Colonies in 1783, the British government looked for an alternative, eventually turning to Australia . On his first of three voyages commissioned by the government, James Cook reached New Zealand in October 1769. He was the first European to circumnavigate and map the country. From the late 18th century, the country was regularly visited by explorers and other sailors, missionaries , traders and adventurers but no attempt
17480-619: The lower Congo River region undermining orderly colonisation of tropical Africa, the Berlin Conference of 1884–85 was held to regulate the competition between the European powers in what was called the " Scramble for Africa " by defining "effective occupation" as the criterion for international recognition of territorial claims. The scramble continued into the 1890s, and caused Britain to reconsider its decision in 1885 to withdraw from Sudan . A joint force of British and Egyptian troops defeated
17632-402: The minerals: The agricultural driven growth of the railways was created by the harsh interior geography, and developing consumer needs meant that bananas had to be on a ship within two days of cutting. Shipping rose from 330,000 stems in 1880 to 24 million stems in 1930; then a decline in the industry ended rail transport of bananas by 1969. In 1895 Jamaica had exported 97 million fruits; by 1940
17784-462: The more realistic rating of $ 1 = 4s 2d. However, in Jamaica, British Honduras , Bermuda , and later in the Bahamas also, the official rating was set aside in favour of what was known as the 'Maccaroni' tradition in which a British shilling, referred to as a 'Maccaroni', was treated as one quarter of a dollar. The common link between these four territories was the Bank of Nova Scotia which brought in
17936-537: The most successful colony in the Americas, and one of the most densely populated places in the world. This boom led to the spread of sugar cultivation across the Caribbean, financed the development of non-plantation colonies in North America, and accelerated the growth of the Atlantic slave trade , particularly the triangular trade of slaves, sugar and provisions between Africa, the West Indies and Europe. To ensure that
18088-480: The new notes will circulate alongside the regular issue banknotes. On 24 March 2014, the Bank of Jamaica issued a $ 50 note printed on the "Hybrid" substrate. In 2015, the Bank of Jamaica issued a $ 100 note dated 1 January 2014 on the "Hybrid" substrate. The $ 1000 note features an image of the Jamaican Swallowtail , the largest butterfly in the western hemisphere which is also endemic to Jamaica. At
18240-481: The north. The first of several Church of England missionaries arrived in 1814 and as well as their missionary role, they soon become the only form of European authority in a land that was not subject to British jurisdiction: the closest authority being the New South Wales governor in Sydney. The sale of weapons to Māori resulted from 1818 on in the intertribal warfare of the Musket Wars , with devastating consequences for
18392-442: The notes and $ 1000 notes were introduced. Banknotes currently in circulation are: The Bank of Jamaica introduced a $ 5000 bill into Jamaica's monetary system on 24 September 2009. It bears the portrait of former Prime Minister of Jamaica, The Honourable Hugh Lawson Shearer . On May 18, 2009, a specimen note was presented to the former Prime Minister's widow, Dr. Denise Eldemire-Shearer. Finance Minister Audley Shaw criticized
18544-410: The obverse it features the "Jamaica 50" logo superimposed on the watermark on the front of each note. The unique image, which is normally on the reverse side of each note, has been replaced by a photograph of a group of children from Central Branch Primary School, from 1962. It formerly appeared on the $ 2 note, which was in circulation from 1969 to 1994. Currently, the Jamaican banknotes are printed on
18696-658: The other dollars in the vicinity either began on the US dollar unit, in the case of Belize, Bermuda, and the Bahamas, or the Spanish dollar unit in the case of the Eastern Caribbean territories, Barbados and Guyana. The Spanish dollar unit at any rate was approximately the same value as the US unit. At the time of the currency's introduction, 1969, coins of 1 cent (1.2 pence), 5 cents (6 pence), 10 cents (1 shilling), 20 cents (2 shillings), and 25 cents (2 shillings 6 pence) were produced. With
18848-708: The other powers of Europe. In 1701, England, Portugal and the Netherlands sided with the Holy Roman Empire against Spain and France in the War of the Spanish Succession , which lasted for thirteen years. In 1695, the Parliament of Scotland granted a charter to the Company of Scotland , which established a settlement in 1698 on the Isthmus of Panama . Besieged by neighbouring Spanish colonists of New Granada , and affected by malaria ,
19000-767: The outbreak of the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear in 1739, Spanish privateers attacked British merchant shipping along the Triangle Trade routes. In 1746, the Spanish and British began peace talks, with the King of Spain agreeing to stop all attacks on British shipping; however, in the 1750 Treaty of Madrid Britain lost its slave-trading rights in Latin America . In the East Indies, British and Dutch merchants continued to compete in spices and textiles. With textiles becoming
19152-528: The outbreak of the First World War. Britain quickly invaded and occupied most of Germany's overseas colonies in Africa. In the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand occupied German New Guinea and German Samoa respectively. Plans for a post-war division of the Ottoman Empire, which had joined the war on Germany's side, were secretly drawn up by Britain and France under the 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement . This agreement
19304-662: The passing of the Act of Union in 1840, which created the Province of Canada . Responsible government was first granted to Nova Scotia in 1848, and was soon extended to the other British North American colonies. With the passage of the British North America Act, 1867 by the British Parliament , the Province of Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were formed into Canada, a confederation enjoying full self-government with
19456-448: The power vacuums that had been left by the declining Ottoman Empire , Qajar dynasty and Qing dynasty . This rivalry in Central Asia came to be known as the "Great Game". As far as Britain was concerned, defeats inflicted by Russia on Persia and Turkey demonstrated its imperial ambitions and capabilities and stoked fears in Britain of an overland invasion of India. In 1839, Britain moved to pre-empt this by invading Afghanistan , but
19608-564: The railway being used for mail service exist as far back as 1873 (when the postmaster terminated the railway's mail contract). From 1 September 1913 sorting carriages were added to trains on the main routes: Kingston to Port Antonio and Kingston to Montego Bay. These carriages were fitted with posting boxes. The travelling post office service resumed on 28 March 1927. Its last run was on 14 May 1966. An official note c.1954 stated that "passenger trains between Kingston and Montego Bay (TPO 1) and Kingston and Port Antonio (TPO 2) are each equipped with
19760-714: The region in 1878 and on all outstanding matters in 1907 with the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente . The destruction of the Imperial Russian Navy by the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 limited its threat to the British. The Dutch East India Company had founded the Dutch Cape Colony on the southern tip of Africa in 1652 as
19912-455: The rental of real estate and its three operable locomotives. The company has a staff of 76, who fulfill contractual obligations to users of the company's facilities. In 2002 Jamaican Government discussed resumption of national railway services, initially with Canadian National Railway and then Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) ; and now with the China Railway after a deal
20064-619: The return journey to England and was succeeded by his half-brother, Walter Raleigh , who was granted his own patent by Elizabeth in 1584. Later that year, Raleigh founded the Roanoke Colony on the coast of present-day North Carolina , but lack of supplies caused the colony to fail. In 1603, James VI of Scotland ascended (as James I) to the English throne and in 1604 negotiated the Treaty of London , ending hostilities with Spain. Now at peace with its main rival, English attention shifted from preying on other nations' colonial infrastructures to
20216-450: The role of global policeman, a state of affairs later known as the Pax Britannica , and a foreign policy of " splendid isolation ". Alongside the formal control it exerted over its own colonies, Britain's dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled the economies of many countries, such as China, Argentina and Siam , which has been described by some historians as an " Informal Empire ". British imperial strength
20368-423: The size of the territories under its control, either ruling directly or via local rulers under the threat of force from the Presidency Armies , the vast majority of which was composed of Indian sepoys , led by British officers. The British and French struggles in India became but one theatre of the global Seven Years' War (1756–1763) involving France, Britain, and the other major European powers. The signing of
20520-450: The sovereignty of the Crown over the territories that it had acquired. The company's eventual end was precipitated by the Indian Rebellion in 1857, a conflict that had begun with the mutiny of sepoys, Indian troops under British officers and discipline. The rebellion took six months to suppress, with heavy loss of life on both sides. The following year the British government dissolved the company and assumed direct control over India through
20672-420: The statutory 100% government owned J$ 6million company the Jamaica Railway Corporation was created. Between 1900 and 1950, less than 80 kilometres (50 mi) of track was added, mainly to support opening of the interior to banana cultivation: In the 1940s deposits of bauxite were discovered in the interior, and companies developed both interconnected as well as independent lines to extract, process and ship
20824-419: The subcontinent in which it is estimated that over 15 million people died. The East India Company had failed to implement any coordinated policy to deal with the famines during its period of rule. Later, under direct British rule, commissions were set up after each famine to investigate the causes and implement new policies, which took until the early 1900s to have an effect. On each of his three voyages to
20976-495: The traditional cotton treated with a varnish after the notes have been printed. Varnishing creates a moisture-proof layer to protect the banknotes against surface soiling and reduces the extent to which they will absorb moisture, contaminant particles and microorganisms. The $ 5000 note remains on a regular cotton substrate as the main security thread, "Optiks", is compatible only with the cotton based material. The commemorative notes are released into circulation on 23 July 2012 and
21128-440: The voyages—the English, later British, East India Company and the Dutch East India Company , chartered in 1600 and 1602 respectively. The primary aim of these companies was to tap into the lucrative spice trade , an effort focused mainly on two regions: the East Indies archipelago , and an important hub in the trade network, India. There, they competed for trade supremacy with Portugal and with each other. Although England eclipsed
21280-405: Was a humiliation for Spain, which practically renounced all sovereignty on the North Pacific coast. This opened the way to British expansion in the area, and a number of expeditions took place; firstly a naval expedition led by George Vancouver which explored the inlets around the Pacific North West, particularly around Vancouver Island . On land, expeditions sought to discover a river route to
21432-406: Was an opportune time to introduce the British sterling coinage into all the British colonies. An imperial order-in-council was passed in that year for the purposes of facilitating this aim by making sterling coinage legal tender in the colonies at the specified rating of $ 1 = 4s 4d (one Spanish dollar to four shillings and four pence sterling). As the sterling silver coins were attached to
21584-406: Was built in 1845 from Kingston 23.3 kilometres (14.5 mi) to Angels near Spanish Town . The railway was proposed and started by William Smith, originally from Manchester who owned land in Jamaica, and his sugar planter brother David. The system approved by the Assembly of Jamaica in 1843 was for a double track between Kingston and Spanish Town, with branch lines to Angels, Port Henderson and
21736-481: Was founded as a haven by Puritan religious separatists, later known as the Pilgrims . Fleeing from religious persecution would become the motive for many English would-be colonists to risk the arduous trans-Atlantic voyage : Maryland was established by English Roman Catholics (1634), Rhode Island (1636) as a colony tolerant of all religions and Connecticut (1639) for Congregationalists . England's North American holdings were further expanded by
21888-437: Was introduced on 20 October 1970, followed by the $ 20 in June 1976, when the 50 cent note was replaced by a coin. $ 100 notes were added on 2 December 1986, followed by $ 50 notes on 27 July 1988. The $ 2 note was dropped in 1994, whilst the $ 1 note was replaced by a coin in 1990. In 1994, coins replaced the $ 5 notes and $ 500 notes were introduced. In 1999, $ 10 coins replaced notes, whilst, in 2000, $ 20 coins replaced
22040-404: Was made to settle the country or establish possession. The coast of Australia had been discovered for Europeans by the Dutch in 1606 , but there was no attempt to colonise it. In 1770, after leaving New Zealand, James Cook charted the eastern coast, claimed the continent for Britain, and named it New South Wales . In 1778, Joseph Banks , Cook's botanist on the voyage, presented evidence to
22192-429: Was not divulged to the Sharif of Mecca , who the British had been encouraging to launch an Arab revolt against their Ottoman rulers, giving the impression that Britain was supporting the creation of an independent Arab state. The British declaration of war on Germany and its allies committed the colonies and Dominions, which provided invaluable military, financial and material support. Over 2.5 million men served in
22344-438: Was signed by the Prime Minister P J Patterson with Chinese vice-president Zeng Qinghong in Jamaica in February 2005. During the 1990s, a plan was considered which would see commuter services between Kingston and Spanish Town , later extended to Linstead . It was proposed to cost US$ 8 million and be running by January 2001, with the government holding 40% of a public-private venture. Passenger service returned to Jamaica for
22496-407: Was still in operation. Between 1972 and 1976, an additional 18 ALCO RS-8s , manufactured by Montreal Locomotive Works in Canada, were purchased in three batches of six locomotives. By 1975 there were: By 1973 JRC's operational deficit had risen to J$ 3.4 million, and in 1975 it was nearing J$ 4 million and carrying a J$ 11 million loan. The government was paying over J$ 1.4 million in subsidy to keep
22648-427: Was supported by the British prime minister , William Gladstone , who hoped that Ireland might follow in Canada's footsteps as a Dominion within the empire, but his 1886 Home Rule bill was defeated in Parliament. Although the bill, if passed, would have granted Ireland less autonomy within the UK than the Canadian provinces had within their own federation, many MPs feared that a partially independent Ireland might pose
22800-585: Was the first to use the term "British Empire") were beginning to press for the establishment of England's own empire. By this time, Spain had become the dominant power in the Americas and was exploring the Pacific Ocean, Portugal had established trading posts and forts from the coasts of Africa and Brazil to China , and France had begun to settle the Saint Lawrence River area, later to become New France . Although England tended to trail behind Portugal, Spain, and France in establishing overseas colonies, it carried out its first modern colonisation, referred to as
22952-481: Was the only global war fought between Britain and another imperial power during the Pax Britannica and was a resounding defeat for Russia. The situation remained unresolved in Central Asia for two more decades, with Britain annexing Baluchistan in 1876 and Russia annexing Kirghizia , Kazakhstan , and Turkmenistan . For a while, it appeared that another war would be inevitable, but the two countries reached an agreement on their respective spheres of influence in
23104-401: Was underpinned by the steamship and the telegraph , new technologies invented in the second half of the 19th century, allowing it to control and defend the empire. By 1902, the British Empire was linked together by a network of telegraph cables, called the All Red Line . The East India Company drove the expansion of the British Empire in Asia. The company's army had first joined forces with
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