Jamaican Giant Anole - Jamaica

Cristóbal Colón visited Jamaica on his second and fourth voyage to the Americas and had named the island Santiago. The Arawak people, the first known inhabitants of the island, referred to their homeland as “Xamayca,” meaning “Island of Springs.” Jamaica is the third largest island in the West Indies.

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Anolis garmani - The Jamaican giant anole is an arboreal lizard. It grows to lengths of 30 centimeters with 2/3’s consisting of tail length; females tend to be slightly smaller. The giant anole is bright green in color, but can turn brown during the process of metachrosis, a camouflage process to blend in with its surrounding. Both sexes have large dewlaps, a fold of skin under the chin. When threatened, the lizard can extend this flap; it provides the animal with a larger appearance. Males sport a dorsal crest of high pointed scales.

Allspice - Jamaica

Pimenta dioica - Allspice is derived from the unripened fruit of the Pimenta diocia tree. The berries are picked in late summer and traditionally dried in the sun. The dried fruit resembles a peppercorn as it changes from green to purple and then brown. The name allspice is derived from the taste of the spice; it has the flavor and smell of black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It is native to the West Indies and Central America, but can now be found throughout the tropical zones.

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The Taíno, an Arawak people, had immigrated to the Caribbean islands from South America and became the dominate ethnic group of several Caribbean islands. They were the principle inhabitants of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico, ruling these islands through small chiefdoms. The Taíno were in a state of constant war with their neighbors, the Caribs. The Taíno and Carib people were displaced as the dominate force in the Caribbean after the arrival of the Europeans in 1492.

The Pirates

Spain was the first European power to establish a hold in the Americas, but the other European powers began to compete with Spain for the riches of the newly discovered Americas. The English, Dutch, and French were as determined in staking out their own claims in the New World as the Spanish were reluctant in sharing it. This friction led to a period of piracy in the Americas lasting until the early 18th century.

The Golden Age of piracy in the Americas began in the 1650’s and was centered in the Caribbean Sea. The loaded treasure fleets sailing to Europe were heavily guarded, but not enough to discourage characters such as William Kidd, Frederick Philipse, Edward Teach, Bartholomew Roberts or Oliver de Buze from the risk of swinging from the gallows if captured. Women also managed to command crews of buccaneers plundering the Spanish Main: Anne Bonny and Mary Read. These raiders were usually secretly sanctioned by legitimate heads of state in their attempts to undermine Spanish power.

Britain had been an early and staunch supporter of many buccaneers as a means of fighting a proxy war against Spain, but this changed once they established their own American colonies. It was in Britain’s best interest to play a leading role in the fight to eliminate piracy from the high seas. It was in their best interest to co-exist with their former enemy and promote trade between Africa, Europe, and the Americas.