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This chapter reports that Jamaica is divided into 14 political zones referred to as parishes. These are Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, and Westmoreland. After parishes, the nation is divided into cities. Spanish Town, once the capital of Jamaica, is now Jamaica's second-largest city. Maypen, a city of about 50,000, is home to the famous Royal Jamaica cigar factory.

This chapter stresses that many people in Jamaica come from many diverse ethnic backgrounds. For much of Jamaica's history, blacks were slaves or manual laborers. Today, thanks to the black nationalism movement led by Marcus Garvey in the early 20th century, black Jamaicans have a newfound sense of pride and identity. The country is home to approximately 5,000 Chinese. The Maroons are one of Jamaica's oldest ethnic groups. The official language of Jamaica is English. Education in Jamaica is mandatory until the age of 15. Rastafarians are a group of Jamaicans who practice the religion of Rastafarianism.

This chapter discusses the economic conditions in Jamaica. Jamaica has a wide trade imbalance--it imports some $3.1 billion worth of goods a year, or nearly twice as much as it exports. The mining industry is driven by the world's need for bauxite, or red gold. Other industries include textile manufacturing, food processing, distillation of rum, and manufacturing of cement, metal, paper, and chemical products. Although it is illegal, marijuana is a popular crop in Jamaica. Many of Jamaica's unskilled laborers work in the sugar industry. In 2002 the World Bank listed Jamaica as 93rd in the world in a ranking of countries by per capita income.

This chapter discusses the history of Jamaica. On May 5, 1494, Christopher Columbus first arrived in Jamaica. His ship landed in what is now known as Saint Ann's Bay. The country became a Spanish colony in 1509. Toward the end of the 17th century, more and more English immigrants came to Jamaica. The end of slavery was a disaster for Jamaica's plantation owners. At the end of the 1920s, a different kind of disaster struck. On October 29, 1929, the American stock market crashed. Throughout the 1930s, conditions for the working class continued to worsen. On August 6, 1962, Jamaica became an independent state.

This article describes Jamaica as a wild combination of beaches, grassy plains, mountains, valleys, jungles, cays, and raised areas of limestone and rock. It occupies the third-largest island in the Greater Antilles. Most of Jamaica's interior is mountainous terrain. The longest of Jamaica's 120 rivers is the Black River, which flows for 44 miles from northern Manchester Parish through the Cockpit Country and the parish of Saint Elizabeth. The official hurricane season in Jamaica is from June 1 to November 30. An astounding variety of orchids--237 different types--grow in this island paradise.

This chapter describes the people and culture of Suriname. The ethnic ingredients of Suriname's cultural soup include the Maroons and Amerindians in the interior, and the Creoles, Hindustanis, Javanese, Chinese, and Europeans in the coastal zone. The Arawaks, Caribs, Tirios, and Wajanas are four of the country's remaining Amerindian tribes. Higher education is provided by the University of Suriname, the Institute for Advanced Training of Teachers, or the Academy for Higher Art and Culture. Cooking, clothing, and carvings are all a part of Suriname's diverse multicultural heritage.

This chapter presents an information on the economy of Suriname. According to the World Bank, in the year 2000 Suriname was the 17th richest nation in the world in terms of natural resources. Within its borders Suriname has untapped fortunes in gold, manganese, uranium, iron ore, nickel, and platinum. The industrial sector is made up of construction, manufacturing, energy, mining, and fish-processing businesses, which employ approximately 10 percent of the labor force in the country. After rice, shrimp is Suriname's largest food export. The country offers eco-tourists opportunities for white-water rafting, photography, fishing, bird-watching, nature hikes, adventure trips, and interaction with Maroon and Amerindian cultures.

This chapter discusses the history of Suriname. The first people to live in the land that today is Suriname were Amerindians. Because they no longer needed to move so often, these natives of Suriname had time to learn new skills. After the Second World War ended in 1945, many people in Dutch Guiana began demanding that the Netherlands give them independence. By 1954 the Netherlands had relinquished control of most of Dutch Guiana's internal affairs, although the Netherlands maintained control over foreign affairs and defense policies. The country remained turbulent throughout the 1980s.

This article describes the land of South American country Suriname. The population of Suriname is slightly smaller than that of Denver, Colorado. And despite its small size, the country has one of the world's largest nature preserves--the Central Suriname Nature Reserve, established in 1998. Suriname is made up primarily of tropical rain forests, coastal swampland, a few mountain ranges, and some gradually sloping hills. It can be divided into three major regions: the coastal plain, the central region, and the southern region.

In the high plateau area of Mexico, men of the Aztec tribe wore loincloths. Aztec women wore loose tunics and skirts. All of these clothing items were made from cotton. Long cloaks or capes were worn by high-ranking Aztec officials and nobles as symbols of their elevated status in society. Aztec clothing was decorated with exotic feathers, furs, shells, metals, and pieces of gold. Cotton clothing was dyed and painted with vegetable and mineral dyes. Any member of Aztec society who could afford it wore gold jewelry. INSETS: Untitled;Untitled.

To stay warm, both men and women in native American tribes in the northwestern region wore woven rabbit, squirrel, fox, or groundhog fur robes. The Interior Salish made blankets woven from the wool of mountain goats. Men wore buckskin shirts, breechcloths, leggings, and moccasins. Women wore buckskin leggings beneath two-piece buckskin dresses. Again, there was a great variety of decorative styles and raw materials used for clothing in this area.