November 27, 2015
Jamaica was the first British colony to establish a post office, on October 31, 1671 in St. Jago de la Vega (Spanish Town). It was called the Postal Corporation of Jamaica. Being the first British colony meant that Jamaica beat out every colony not only in the Caribbean, but America, Canada and Australia too.
Though not a popular sport for the masses, golf earns Jamaica a significant place to history. Our Manchester Golf Club is the oldest golf club in the western hemisphere. Established in 1865, it’s eight years older than the second oldest golf club, the Royal Montreal Club in Quebec, Canada.
Jamaica also had one of the first piped water supply systems in the western hemisphere. In 1799, a water wheel system to supply water to Falmouth, Trelawny was installed with the Martha Brae River as its source!
In 1994, Jamaica became the first country in the Caribbean region to launch a web site, jamaicatravel.com (now visitjamaica.com).
Jamaica was the first country to impose economic sanctions against apartheid South Africa. We did so in 1957 by way of a trade embargo.
