Conventional long name	Commonwealth of Jamaica
Common name	Jamaica
Image coat	Coat of Arms of Jamaica.svg
National motto	"Out of Many, One People"
National anthem	"Jamaica, Land We Love"
Royal anthem	"God Save the Queen"
Official languages	English
Demonym	Jamaican
Capital	Kingston
Largest city	capital
Government type	Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy
Leader title1	Monarch
Leader name1	Elizabeth II
Leader title2	Governor-General
Leader name2	Patrick Allen
Leader title3	Prime Minister
Leader name3	Portia Simpson-Miller
Sovereignty type	Independence
Established event1	from the United Kingdom
Established date1	6 August 1962
Area rank	166th
Area magnitude	1 E10
Area km2	10,991
Area sq mi	4,244
Percent water	1.5
Population estimate	2,847,232
Population estimate rank	133rd
Population estimate year	July 2010
Population density km2	252
Population density sq mi	656|population_density_rank 49th
Gdp ppp year	2011
Gdp ppp	$24.750 billion
Gdp ppp per capita	$9,029
Gdp nominal	$14.807 billion
Gdp nominal year	2011
Gdp nominal per capita	$5,402
Hdi	0.688
Hdi rank	80th
Hdi year	2010
Hdi category	high
Gini	37.9
Gini year	2000
Gini category	medium
Currency	Jamaican dollar
Currency code	JMD
Utc offset	-5
Drives on	left
Cctld	.jm
Calling code	+1-876 }}

Jamaica (officially the ''Commonwealth of Jamaica'') is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres (4,243 sq mi) in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Its indigenous Arawakan-speaking Taíno inhabitants named the island ''Xaymaca'', meaning the "Land of Wood and Water", or the "Land of Springs".

Once a Spanish possession known as '''', in 1655 it became an English, and later a British, colony, known as "Jamaica". It achieved full independence on August 6, 1962. With 2.8 million people, it is the third most populous anglophone country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada. It remains a Commonwealth realm in concert with the Monarchy of Jamaica holding ultimate executive power, where Queen Elizabeth II is the current head of state and Queen of Jamaica. Kingston is the country's largest city and the capital.

History[link]

Prehistory[link]

The Arawak and Taino indigenous people, originating in South America, settled on the island between 4000 and 1000 BC. When Christopher Columbus arrived in 1494, there were over 200 villages ruled by ''caciques'' (chiefs of villages). The south coast of Jamaica was the most populated, especially around the area now known as Old Harbour. The Tainos were still inhabiting Jamaica when the English took control of the island. The Jamaican National Heritage Trust is attempting to locate and document any evidence of the Taino/Arawaks.

Spanish rule[link]

Christopher Columbus claimed Jamaica for Spain after landing there in 1494 and his probable landing point was Dry Harbour, now called Discovery Bay. There is some debate as to whether he landed in St. Ann's Bay or in Discovery Bay. St. Ann's Bay was the "Saint Gloria" of Columbus who first sighted Jamaica at this point. One mile west of St. Ann's Bay is the site of the first Spanish settlement on the island, Sevilla, which was established in 1509 and abandoned around 1524 because it was deemed unhealthy. The capital was moved to Spanish Town, then called "St. Jago de la Vega", around 1534 and is located in present day St. Catherine.

British rule[link]

Out of all the British colonies in the Caribbean, Spanish Town has the oldest cathedral. The Spanish were forcibly evicted by the English at Ocho Rios in St. Ann. In 1655 the English, led by William Penn and General Robert Venables, took over the last Spanish fort in Jamaica. The name of Montego Bay, the capital of the parish of St. James, was derived from the Spanish name '''' (or Bay of Lard) for the large quantity of boar used for the lard-making industry. In 1660, the population of Jamaica was about 4,500 whites and 1,500 blacks, but as early as the 1670s, blacks would form a majority of the population.

When the English captured Jamaica in 1655 the Spanish colonists fled after freeing their slaves. The slaves fled into the mountains, joining those who had previously escaped from the Spanish to live with the Taínos. These runaway slaves, who became known as the Jamaican Maroons, fought the British during the 18th century. The name is still used today for their modern descendants. During the long years of slavery Maroons established free communities in the mountainous interior of Jamaica, maintaining their freedom and independence for generations.

During its first 200 years of British rule, Jamaica became one of the world's leading sugar-exporting, slave-dependent nations, producing more than 77,000 tons of sugar annually between 1820 and 1824. After the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, the British imported Indian and Chinese workers as indentured servants to supplement the labour pool. Descendants of indentured servants of Indian and Chinese origin continue to reside in Jamaica today.

By the beginning of the 19th century, Jamaica's heavy reliance on slavery resulted in blacks outnumbering whites by a ratio of almost 20 to 1. Even though England had outlawed the importation of slaves, some were still smuggled into the colonies. The British government drew up laws regimenting the abolition of slavery, but they also included instructions for the improvement of the slaves' way of life. These instructions included a ban of the use of whips in the field, a ban on the flogging of women, notification that slaves were to be allowed religious instruction, a requirement that slaves be given an extra free day during the week when they could sell their produce as well as a ban on Sunday markets. In Jamaica these measures were resisted by the House of Assembly. The Assembly claimed that the slaves were content and objected to Parliament's interference in island affairs, although many slave owners feared possible revolts. Following a series of rebellions and changing attitudes in Great Britain, the nation formally abolished slavery in 1834, with full emancipation from chattel slavery declared in 1838. The population in 1834 was 371,070 of whom 15,000 were white, 5,000 free black, 40,000 ‘coloured’ or mixed race, and 311,070 slaves.

In the 19th century, the British established a number of botanical gardens. These included the Castleton Garden, set up in 1862 to replace the Bath Garden (created in 1779) which was subject to flooding. Bath Garden was the site for planting breadfruit brought to Jamaica from the Pacific by Captain William Bligh. Other gardens were the Cinchona Plantation founded in 1868 and the Hope Garden founded in 1874. In 1872, Kingston became the island's capital.

In 1945, Sir Horace Hector Hearne became Chief Justice and Keeper of the Records in Jamaica. He headed the Supreme Court, Kingston between 1945 and 1950/1951. He then moved to Kenya where he was appointed Chief Justice.

Independence[link]

Jamaica slowly gained increasing independence from the United Kingdom and in 1958, it became a province in the Federation of the West Indies, a federation among the British West Indies. Jamaica attained full independence by leaving the federation in 1962.

Strong economic growth, averaging approximately 6% per annum, marked the first ten years of independence under conservative governments which were led successively by Prime Ministers Alexander Bustamante, Donald Sangster and Hugh Shearer. The growth was fuelled by strong investments in bauxite/alumina, tourism, manufacturing industry and, to a lesser extent, the agricultural sector.

The optimism of the first decade was accompanied by a growing sense of inequality, and a sense that the benefits of growth were not being experienced by the urban poor. This, combined with the effects of a slowdown in the global economy in 1970, prompted the electorate to change government, electing the PNP (People's National Party) in 1972. Despite efforts to create more socially equitable policies in education and health, Jamaica continued to lag economically, with its gross national product having fallen in 1980 to some 25% below the 1972 level. Rising foreign and local debt, accompanied by large fiscal deficits, resulted in the invitation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) financing from the United States and others, and the imposition of IMF austerity measures (with a greater than 25% interest rate per year).

Economic deterioration continued into the mid-1980s, exacerbated by a number of factors; the first and third largest alumina producers, Alpart and Alcoa closed, and there was a significant reduction in production by the second largest producer, Alcan. In addition, tourism decreased and Reynolds Jamaica Mines, Ltd. left the Jamaican industry.

Government and politics[link]

Jamaica is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with Queen Elizabeth II serving as the Jamaican monarch. However, as Elizabeth II is shared as head of state of fifteen other countries and resides mostly in the United Kingdom, she is thus often represented as Queen of Jamaica in Jamaica and abroad by the Governor-General of Jamaica. The governor-general is nominated by the Prime Minister of Jamaica and the entire Cabinet and appointed by the monarch. All the members of the Cabinet are appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister. The monarch and the governor-general serve largely ceremonial roles, apart from their potent reserve power to dismiss the prime minister or parliament.

Jamaica's current constitution was drafted in 1962 by a bipartisan joint committee of the Jamaican legislature. It came into force with the Jamaica Independence Act, 1962 of the United Kingdom parliament, which gave Jamaica independence.

The Parliament of Jamaica is bicameral, consisting of the House of Representatives (Lower House) and the Senate (Upper House). Members of the House (known as Members of Parliament or ''MPs'') are directly elected, and the member of the House of Representatives who, in the governor-general's best judgement, is best able to command the confidence of a majority of the members of that House, is appointed by the governor-general to be the prime minister. Senators are nominated jointly by the prime minister and the parliamentary Leader of the Opposition and are then appointed by the governor-general. In February 2006, Portia Simpson-Miller was elected by delegates of the ruling People's National Party (PNP) to replace P. J. Patterson as president of the party. At the end of March 2006, when Patterson demitted office, Simpson-Miller became the first female Prime Minister of Jamaica. Former Prime Minister Patterson had held office since the 1992 resignation of Michael Manley. Patterson was re-elected three times, the last being in 2002.

On 3 September 2007, Bruce Golding of the Jamaica Labour Party was voted in as Prime Minister-Designate after achieving a 33 – 27 seat victory over Portia Simpson-Miller and the PNP in the 2007 Jamaican general election. Portia Simpson-Miller conceded defeat on 5 September 2007. On 11 September 2007, after being sworn in by Governor-General Kenneth Hall, The Hon. Bruce Golding assumed office as Prime Minister of Jamaica.

Jamaica has traditionally had a two-party system, with power often alternating between the People's National Party and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). Over the past decade a new political party called the National Democratic Movement (NDM) emerged in an attempt to challenge the two-party system, though it has become largely irrelevant in this system, as it garnered only 540 votes of the over 800,000 votes cast in the 3 September elections. Jamaica is a full and participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

Parishes[link]

Jamaica is divided into 14 parishes, which are grouped into three historic counties that have no administrative relevance.

colspan="2" style="background:#bfb; text-align:center;"	Cornwall County			colspan="2" style="background:#fbb; text-align:center;"			colspan="2" style="background:#ffa; text-align:center;"
1		Lucea	6		May Pen	11		Kingston
2		Black River	7		Mandeville	12		Port Antonio
3		Montego Bay	8		St. Ann's Bay	13		Half Way Tree
4		Falmouth	9		Spanish Town	14		Morant Bay
5		Savanna-la-Mar	10		Port Maria

Military[link]

The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is the small but professional military force of Jamaica. The JDF is based on the British military model with organisation, training, weapons and traditions closely aligned with Commonwealth realms. Once chosen, officer candidates are sent to one of several British or Canadian basic officer courses depending on which arm of service they are selected for. Enlisted soldiers are given basic training at JDF Training Depot, Newcastle or Up Park Camp, both in St. Andrew. As with the British model, NCOs are given several levels of professional training as they rise up the ranks. Additional military schools are available for speciality training in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The JDF is directly descended from the British West India Regiment formed during the colonial era. The West India Regiment was used extensively by the British Empire in policing the empire from 1795 to 1926. Other units in the JDF heritage include the early colonial Jamaica Militia, the Kingston Infantry Volunteers of WWI and reorganised into the Jamaican Infantry Volunteers in World War II. The West Indies Regiment was reformed in 1958 as part of the West Indies Federation, after dissolution of the Federation the JDF was established.

The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) comprises an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The infantry regiment contains the 1st, 2nd and 3rd (National Reserve) battalions. The JDF Air Wing is divided into three flight units, a training unit, a support unit and the JDF Air Wing (National Reserve). The Coast Guard is divided between seagoing crews and support crews who conduct maritime safety and maritime law enforcement as well as defence-related operations. The role of the support battalion is to provide support to boost numbers in combat and issue competency training in order to allow for the readiness of the force. The 1st Engineer Regiment was formed due to an increased demand for military engineers and their role is to provide engineering services whenever and wherever they are needed. The Headquarters JDF contains the JDF Commander, Command Staff as well as Intelligence, Judge Advocate office, Administrative and Procurement sections.

In recent years the JDF has been called on to assist the nation's police, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), in fighting drug smuggling and a rising crime rate which includes one of the highest murder rates in the world. JDF units actively conduct armed patrols with the JCF in high-crime areas and known gang neighbourhoods. There has been vocal controversy as well as support of this JDF role. In early 2005, an Opposition leader, Edward Seaga, called for the merger of the JDF and JCF. This has not garnered support in either organisation nor among the majority of citizens.

Geography and environment[link]

Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean. It lies between latitudes 17° and 19°N, and longitudes 76° and 79°W. Mountains, including the Blue Mountains, dominate the inland. They are surrounded by a narrow coastal plain. Chief towns and cities include the capital Kingston, Portmore, Spanish Town, Mandeville, Ocho Ríos, Port Antonio, Negril, and Montego Bay. Jamaica has the seventh largest natural harbour in the world, Kingston Harbour. Tourist attractions include Dunn's River Falls in St. Ann, YS Falls in St. Elizabeth, the Blue Lagoon in Portland, and Port Royal, which was the site of an earthquake that helped form the island's Palisadoes.

The climate in Jamaica is tropical, with hot and humid weather, although higher inland regions are more temperate. Some regions on the south coast, such as the Liguanea Plain and the Pedro Plains, are relatively dry rain-shadow areas. Jamaica lies in the hurricane belt of the Atlantic Ocean and because of this, the island sometimes experiences significant storm damage. Hurricanes Charlie and Gilbert hit Jamaica directly in 1951 and 1988, respectively, causing major damage and many deaths. In the 2000s (decade), hurricanes Ivan, Dean, and Gustav also brought severe weather to the island.

Flora and fauna[link]

Jamaica's climate is tropical, supporting diverse ecosystems with a wealth of plants and animals.

Jamaica's plant life has changed considerably over the centuries. When the Spanish arrived in 1494, except for small agricultural clearings, the country was deeply forested. The European settlers cut down the great timber trees for building purposes and cleared the plains, savannas, and mountain slopes for cultivation. Many new plants were introduced including sugarcane, bananas, and citrus trees.

Areas of heavy rainfall contain stands of bamboo, ferns, ebony, mahogany, and rosewood. Cactus and similar dry-area plants are found along the south and southwest coastal area. Parts of the west and southwest consist of large grasslands, with scattered stands of trees.

The Jamaican animal life, typical of the Caribbean, includes highly diversified wildlife with many endemic species found nowhere else on earth. As with other oceanic islands, land mammals are made up almost entirely of Bats. The only non-bat native mammal extant in Jamaica is the Jamaican Hutia, locally known as the coney. Introduced mammals such as Wild Boar and the Small Asian Mongoose are also common. Jamaica is also home to many reptiles, the largest of which is the American Crocodile, however it is only present within the Black River and a few other areas. Lizards such as Anoles, Iguanas and snakes such as racers and the Jamaican Boa (the largest snake on the island) are common. None of Jamaica's native snakes are dangerously venomous to humans. One species of freshwater turtle is native to Jamaica, the Jamaican Slider. It is found only on Jamaica, Cat Island, and a few other islands in The Bahamas. In addition, many types of frogs are common on the island, especially Treefrogs. Birds are abundant, and make up the bulk of the endemic and native vertebrate species. Beautiful and exotic birds such as the Jamaican Tody and the Doctor Bird (the national bird) can be found among a large number of others. Insects and other invertebrates are abundant, including the world's largest centipede, the Amazonian Giant Centipede, and the Homerus Swallowtail, the Western Hemisphere's largest butterfly.

Jamaican waters contain considerable resources of fresh-and saltwater fish. The chief varieties of saltwater fish are Kingfish, Jack, Mackerel, Whiting, Bonito, and Tuna. Fish that occasionally enter freshwater and estuarine environments include Snook, Jewfish, Mangrove snapper, and Mullets. Fish that spend the majority of their lives in Jamaica's fresh waters include many species of Livebearers, Killifish, freshwater Gobies, the Mountain Mullet, and the American Eel. Tilapia have been introduced from Africa for aquaculture, and are very common.

Among the variety of terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems are dry and wet limestone forests, rainforest, riparian woodland, wetlands, caves, rivers, seagrass beds and coral reefs.

The authorities had recognized the tremendous significance and potential of this aspect of their heritage and designated some of the more 'fertile' areas 'protected'. Among the island's protected areas are the Cockpit Country, Hellshire Hills, and Litchfield forest reserves. In 1992, Jamaica's first marine park, covering nearly 6 square miles (about 15 km²), was established in Montego Bay.

The following year Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park was created on roughly 300 square miles (780 km²) of wilderness that supports thousands of tree and fern species and rare animals.

Demographics[link]

Ethnic origins[link]

According to the 2001 census, the majority of Jamaica's population is of African descent (referring to those who have origins ''mainly'' in Africa). The most common ethnic groups among all Africans taken to Jamaica were the Akan (known as the "Coromantee") and the Igbo. Multiracial Jamaicans form the second largest racial group many of whom also have some Irish ancestry although most mixed-race people on the island self-report simply as "Jamaican". Jamaicans of Indian and Chinese ancestry, form the next largest racial groups after multiracial Jamaicans. Lebanese, Syrian, English, Scottish, Irish, and German Jamaicans make up a smaller racial minority but are still very influential both socially and economically. In recent years, immigration has increased, coming mainly from China, Haiti, Cuba, Colombia, and other Latin American countries; 20,000 Latin Americans currently reside in Jamaica. About 7,000 Americans also reside in Jamaica, as well as many first generation American, British and Canadian of Jamaican descendant.

Language[link]

The official language of Jamaica is English. Jamaicans primarily speak an English-African Creole language known as Jamaican Patois, which has become known widely through the spread of Reggae music. Jamaican Patois was formed from a base of mainly English words with elements of re-formed grammar, together with a little vocabulary from African languages and Native American words. Some archaic features are reminiscent of Irish English.

Emigration[link]

Many Jamaicans have emigrated to other countries, especially to the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. In the case of the United States, about 20,000 Jamaicans per year are granted permanent residence. The great number of Jamaicans living abroad has become known as the Jamaican diaspora. There has also been emigration of Jamaicans to Cuba. The scale of emigration has been widespread and similar to other Caribbean entities such as Puerto Rico, Guyana, and The Bahamas. It is estimated that up to 2.5 million Jamaicans and Jamaican descendants live abroad. An estimated 60% of the highly educated people of Jamaica now live abroad.

Concentrations of expatriate Jamaicans are quite considerable in numerous cities in the United States, including New York City, Buffalo, the Miami metro area, Atlanta, Chicago, Orlando, Tampa, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Hartford, Providence and Los Angeles. Jamaicans in the United Kingdom number an estimated 800,000 making them by far the country's largest African-Caribbean group. Large scale migration from Jamaica to the UK occurred primarily in the 1950s and 1960s (when the country was still under British rule). Jamaican communities exist in most large UK cities. In Canada, the Jamaican population is centred in Toronto, and there are smaller communities in cities such as Hamilton, Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa.

Crime[link]

: ''See also: Prisons in Jamaica and LGBT rights in Jamaica''

Jamaica has had one of the highest murder rates in the world for many years, according to UN estimates. Some areas of Jamaica, particularly cities such as Kingston, experience high levels of crime and violence. Many Jamaicans are hostile toward LGBT and intersex people. Various mob attacks against gay people have been reported, prompting human-rights groups to call Jamaica "the most homophobic place on earth."

Religion[link]

Christianity is the largest religion practised in Jamaica. According to the 2001 census, the country's largest denominations are the Church of God of Prophecy (24% of the population), Seventh-day Adventist Church (11%), Pentecostal (10%), Baptist (7%), Anglican (4%), Roman Catholic (2%), United Church (2%), Methodist (2%), Moravian (1%) and Plymouth Brethren (1%) The Christian faith gained credibility as British Christian abolitionists and Baptist missionaries joined educated former slaves in the struggle against slavery.

The Rastafari movement had 24,020 adherents, according to the 2001 census. Other religions in Jamaica include Jehovah's Witnesses (2% population), the Bahá'í faith, which counts perhaps 8,000 adherents and 21 Local Spiritual Assemblies, Buddhism, and Hinduism. There is a small population of Jews, about 200, who describe themselves as Liberal-Conservative. The first Jews in Jamaica trace their roots back to early 15th century Spain and Portugal. Muslim groups in Jamaica claim 5,000 adherents.

Culture[link]

Though a small nation, Jamaican culture has a strong global presence. The musical genres reggae, ska, mento, rocksteady, dub, and, more recently, dancehall and ragga all originated in the island's vibrant, popular urban recording industry. Jamaica also played an important role in the development of punk rock, through reggae and ska. Reggae has also influenced American rap music, as they both share their roots as rhythmic, African styles of music. Some rappers, such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Heavy D, are of Jamaican descent. Internationally known reggae musician Bob Marley was also Jamaican.

Many other internationally known artists were born in Jamaica including Millie Small, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Big Youth, Jimmy Cliff, Dennis Brown, Desmond Dekker, Beres Hammond, Beenie Man, Shaggy, Grace Jones, Shabba Ranks, Super Cat, Buju Banton, Sean Paul, I Wayne, Bounty Killer and many others. Band artist groups that came from Jamaica include Black Uhuru, Third World Band, Inner Circle, Chalice Reggae Band, Culture, Fab Five and Morgan Heritage. The genre jungle emerged from London's Jamaican diaspora. The birth of hip-hop in New York City, New York also owed much to the city's Jamaican community.

Ian Fleming, who lived in Jamaica, repeatedly used the island as a setting in the James Bond novels, including ''Live and Let Die'', ''Doctor No'', ''For Your Eyes Only'', ''The Man with the Golden Gun'' and ''Octopussy and The Living Daylights''. In addition, James Bond uses a Jamaica-based cover in ''Casino Royale''. So far, the only James Bond film adaptation to have been set in Jamaica is ''Doctor No''. Filming for the fictional island of San Monique in ''Live and Let Die'' took place in Jamaica.

Journalist and author H. G. de Lisser (1878–1944) used his native country as the setting for his many novels. Born at Falmouth, de Lisser worked as a reporter for the Jamaica Times at a young age and in 1920 began publishing the magazine Planters' Punch. ''The White Witch of Rosehall'' is one of his better known novels. He was named Honourary President of the Jamaican Press Association, and worked throughout his professional career to promote the Jamaican sugar industry.

The American film ''Cocktail'', starring Tom Cruise, is one of the more popular films to depict Jamaica. A look at delinquent youth in Jamaica is presented in the 1970s musical crime film ''The Harder They Come'', starring Jimmy Cliff as a frustrated (and psychopathic) reggae musician who descends into a murderous crime spree. Another popular Jamaican-based film is the 1993 comedy ''Cool Runnings'' which is loosely based on the true story of Jamaica's first bobsled team trying to make it in the Winter Olympics.

Errol Flynn lived with his third wife Patrice Wymore in Port Antonio in the 1950s. He was responsible for developing tourism to this area, popularising raft trips down rivers on bamboo rafts.

The island is famous for its Jamaican jerk spice which forms a popular part of Jamaican cuisine. Jamaica is also home to Red Stripe beer and Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee.

National symbols[link]

(''From the Jamaica Information Service'')

National Bird — Red-billed Streamertail (aka Doctor Bird) (a Hummingbird, ''Trochilus polytmus'')

National Flower – Lignum vitae (''Guiacum officinale'')

National Tree — Blue Mahoe (''Hibiscus talipariti elatum'')

National Fruit — Ackee (''Blighia sapida'')

National Motto — "Out of Many, One People."

Sport[link]

Sport is an integral part of national life in Jamaica and the island's athletes tend to perform to a standard well above what might ordinarily be expected of such a small country. While the most popular local sport is cricket, on the international stage Jamaicans have tended to do particularly well at Track and Field.

The country was one the venues of 2007 Cricket World Cup and West Indies cricket team is one of the only 10 ICC full member teams who participate in international Test Cricket. The Jamaica national cricket team competes regionally, and also provides players for the West Indies. Sabina Park is the only test venue in the island, but the Greenfield Stadium (Trelawny) is also used for cricket.

Since independence Jamaica has consistently produced world class athletes in track and field. In Jamaica involvement in athletics begins at a very young age and most high schools maintain rigorous athletics programs with their top athletes competing in national competitions (most notably the VMBS Girls and Boys Athletics Championships) and international meets (most notably the Penn Relays). In Jamaica it is not uncommon for young athletes to attain press coverage and national fame long before they arrive on the international athletics stage.

Over the past six decades Jamaica has produced dozens of world class sprinters including Olympic and World Champion Usain Bolt, world record holder in the 100m for men at 9.58s, and 200m for men at 19.19s. Other noteworthy Jamaican sprinters include Arthur Wint – the first Jamaican Olympic Gold Medalist, Donald Quarrie – Olympic Champion and former 200m world record holder, Merlene Ottey, Delloreen Ennis-London, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce – the current World and Olympic 100m Champion, Kerron Stewart, Aleen Bailey, Juliet Cuthbert, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Sherone Simpson, Brigitte Foster-Hylton, Yohan Blake, Herb McKenley, George Rhoden--Olympic Gold Medalist, Deon Hemmings – Olympic Gold Medalist as well as former 100m world record holder and 2x 100m Olympic finalist and Gold medal winner in the men's 2008 Olympic 4x100m Asafa Powell.

Jamaica has also produced several world class amateur and professional boxers including Trevor Berbick and Mike McCallum. First generation Jamaican athletes have continued to make a significant impact on the sport internationally, especially in the United Kingdom where the list of top British boxers born in Jamaica or of Jamaican parents includes Lloyd Honeyghan, Chris Eubank, Audley Harrison, David Haye, Lennox Lewis and Frank Bruno.

Association football and horse-racing are other popular sports in Jamaica. The national football team qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

The Jamaica national bobsled team was once a serious contender in the Winter Olympics, beating many well-established teams. Chess, and Basketball are widely played in Jamaica which are supported by the Jamaica Chess Federation (JCF), and the Jamaica Basketball Federation (JBF). Netball is also very popular on the island, with the Jamaica national netball team called ''The Sunshine Girls'' consistently ranking in the top five in the world.

The Jamaica national rugby league team is made up of players who play in Jamaica, and UK-players from professional and semi professional teams in the UK. Their first international was a 37–22 loss to the United States national rugby league team in November 2009. Rugby league in Jamaica is growing with universities and high schools taking up the sport. The JRLA Championship is the main rugby league competition in the country. The Hurricanes Rugby League are a professional rugby league team who are hoping to compete in either the USA Rugby League or the AMNRL by 2013 during that time they will be training young players aged 14–19 who will be part of the Hurricanes RL Academy in the hope of developing into full time professional players.

Education[link]

The emancipation of the slaves heralded in the establishment of the Jamaican education system for the masses. Prior to emancipation there were few schools for educating locals. Many sent their children off to England to access quality education.

After emancipation the West Indian Commission granted a sum of money to establish Elementary Schools, now known as ''All Age Schools''. Most of these schools were established by the churches. This was the genesis of the modern Jamaican school system.

Presently the following categories of schools exist:

Early childhood – Basic, Infant and privately operated pre- school. Age cohort – 2 – 5 years.

Primary – Publicly and privately owned (Privately owned being called Preparatory Schools). Ages 3 – 12 years.

Secondary – Publicly and privately owned. Ages 10 – 19 years. The high schools in Jamaica may be either single-sex or co-educational institutions, and many schools follow the traditional English grammar school model used throughout the British West Indies.

Tertiary – Community Colleges, Teachers’ Colleges with The Mico Teachers' College (now The MICO University College) being the oldest founded in 1836,The Shortwood Teachers' College (which was once an all female teacher training institution), Vocational Training Centres, Colleges and Universities – Publicly and privately owned. There are five local universities namely: The University of the West Indies (Mona Campus); the University of Technology, Jamaica formerly The College of Art Science and Technology (CAST); the Northern Caribbean University formerly West Indies College; the University College of The Caribbean and the International University of the Caribbean.

Additionally, there are many community and teacher training colleges.

Education is free from the early childhood to secondary levels. There are also opportunities for those who cannot afford further education in the vocational arena through the Human Employment and Resource Training-National Training Agency (HEART Trust-NTA) programme and through an extensive scholarship network for the various universities.

Students are taught Spanish in school from the primary level upwards; about 40–45% of educated people in Jamaica knows some form of Spanish.

Economy[link]

Jamaica is a mixed economy with both state enterprises and private sector businesses. Major sectors of the Jamaican economy include agriculture, mining, manufacturing, tourism, and financial and insurance services. Tourism and mining are the leading earners of foreign exchange. Half the Jamaican economy relies on services, with half of its income coming from services such as tourism. An estimated 1.3 million foreign tourists visit Jamaica every year.

Supported by multilateral financial institutions, Jamaica has, since the early 1980s, sought to implement structural reforms aimed at fostering private sector activity and increasing the role of market forces in resource allocation. Since 1991, the government has followed a programme of economic liberalization and stabilization by removing exchange controls, floating the exchange rate, cutting tariffs, stabilising the Jamaican currency, reducing inflation and removing restrictions on foreign investment. Emphasis has been placed on maintaining strict fiscal discipline, greater openness to trade and financial flows, market liberalisation and reduction in the size of government. During this period, a large share of the economy was returned to private sector ownership through divestment and privatisation programmes.

The macroeconomic stabilisation programme introduced in 1991, which focused on tight fiscal and monetary policies, has contributed to a controlled reduction in the rate of inflation. The annual inflation rate decreased from a high of 80.2% in 1991 to 7.9% in 1998. Inflation for FY1998/99 was 6.2% compared to 7.2% in the corresponding period in CUU1997/98. The Government of Jamaica remains committed to lowering inflation, with a long-term objective of bringing it in line with that of its major trading partners.

After a period of steady growth from 1985 to 1995, real GDP decreased by 1.8% and 2.4% in 1996 and 1997, respectively. The decrease in GDP in 1996 and 1997 was largely due to significant problems in the financial sector and, in 1997, a severe island-wide drought (the worst in 70 years) that drastically reduced agricultural production. In 1997, nominal GDP was approximately J$220,556.2 million (US$6,198.9 million based on the average annual exchange rate of the period).

The economy in 1997 was marked by low levels of import growth, high levels of private capital inflows and relative stability in the foreign exchange market.

Recent economic performance shows the Jamaican economy is recovering. Agricultural production, an important engine of growth increased 15.3% in third quarter of 1998 compared to the corresponding period in 1997, signaling the first positive growth rate in the sector since January 1997. Bauxite and alumina production increased 5.5% from January to December, 1998 compared to the corresponding period in 1997. January's bauxite production recorded a 7.1% increase relative to January 1998 and continued expansion of alumina production through 2009 is planned by Alcoa. Tourism, which is the largest foreign exchange earner, showed improvement as well. In the third quarter of 1998, growth in tourist arrivals accelerated with an overall increase of 8.5% in tourism earnings in 1998 when compared to the corresponding period in 1997. Jamaica's agricultural exports are sugar, bananas, coffee, rum,and yams.

Jamaica is the fifth largest exporter of bauxite in the world, after Australia, China, Brazil and Guinea.

Jamaica has a wide variety of industrial and commercial activities. The aviation industry is able to perform most routine aircraft maintenance, except for heavy structural repairs. There is a considerable amount of technical support for transport and agricultural aviation. Jamaica has a considerable amount of industrial engineering, light manufacturing, including metal fabrication, metal roofing, and furniture manufacturing. Food and beverage processing, glassware manufacturing, software and data processing, printing and publishing, insurance underwriting, music and recording, and advanced education activities can be found in the larger urban areas. The Jamaican construction industry is entirely self-sufficient, with professional technical standards and guidance.

Since the first quarter of 2006, the economy of Jamaica has undergone a period of staunch growth. With inflation for the 2006 calendar year down to 6.0% and unemployment down to 8.9%, the nominal GDP grew by an unprecedented 2.9%. An investment programme in island transportation and utility infrastructure and gains in the tourism, mining, and service sectors all contributed this figure. All projections for 2007 show an even higher potential for economic growth with all estimates over 3.0% and hampered only by urban crime and public policies.

In 2006, Jamaica became part of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) as one of the pioneering members.

The global economic downturn had a significant impact on the Jamaican economy for the years 2007 to 2009, resulting in negative economic growth. The government implemented a new Debt Management Initiative, the Jamaica Debt Exchange (JDX) on January 14, 2010. The initiative would see holders of Government of Jamaica (GOJ) bonds returning the high interest earning instruments for bonds with lower yields and longer maturities.The offer was taken up by over 95% of local financial institutions and was deemed a success by the government. Owing to the success of the JDX program, the Bruce Golding-led government was successful in entering into a borrowing arrangement with the IMF on Ferbruary 4,2010 for the amount of US$1.27b. The loan agreement is for a period of three years.

Infrastructure[link]

Transport[link]

The transport infrastructure in Jamaica consists of roadways, railways and air transport, with roadways forming the backbone of the island's internal transport system.

Roadways[link]

The Jamaican road network consists of almost 13 049 miles (21,000 kilometres) of roads, of which over 9 321 miles (15,000 kilometres) is paved. The Jamaican Government has, since the late 1990s and in cooperation with private investors, embarked on a campaign of infrastructural improvement projects, one of which includes the creation of a system of freeways, the first such access-controlled roadways of their kind on the island, connecting the main population centres of the island. This project has so far seen the completion of 21 miles (33 kilometres) of freeway.

Railways[link]

Railways in Jamaica no longer enjoy the prominent position they once did, having been largely replaced by roadways as the primary means of transport. Of the 169 miles (272 kilometres) of railway found in Jamaica, only 35 miles (57 kilometres) remain in operation, currently used to transport bauxite.

On April 13, 2011, limited passenger service was resumed between May Pen, Spanish Town and Linstead.

Air transport[link]

There are three international airports in Jamaica with modern terminals, long runways, and the navigational equipment required to accommodate the large jet aircraft used in modern and air travel: Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Ian Fleming International Airport in Boscobel, Saint Mary Parish, and the island's largest and busiest airport, Sir Donald Sangster International Airport in the resort city of Montego Bay. Norman Manley and Sangster International airports are home to the country's national airline, Air Jamaica. In addition there are local commuter airports at Tinson Pen (Kingston), Port Antonio, and Negril which cater to internal flights only. Many other small, rural centres are served by private fields on sugar estates or bauxite mines.

Ports, shipping and lighthouses[link]

Owing to its location in the Caribbean Sea in the shipping lane to the Panama Canal and relative proximity to large markets in North America and emerging markets in Latin America, Jamaica receives high container traffic. The container terminal at the Port of Kingston has undergone large expansion in capacity in recent years to handle growth both already realised as well as that which is projected in coming years. Montego Freeport in Montego Bay also handles a variety of cargo like (though more limited than) the Port of Kingston, mainly agricultural products.

There are several other ports positioned around the island, including Port Esquivel in St. Catherine (WINDALCO), Rocky Point in Clarendon, Port Kaiser in St. Elizabeth, Port Rhoades in Discovery Bay, Reynolds Pier in Ocho Rios, and Boundbrook Port in Port Antonio.

To aid the navigation of shipping, Jamaica operates nine lighthouses.

Energy[link]

Jamaica depends on petroleum imports to satisfy its national energy needs. Many test sites have been explored for oil, but no commercially viable quantities have been found. The most convenient sources of imported oil and motor fuels (diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel) are from Mexico and Venezuela.

Jamaica's electrical power is produced by diesel (bunker oil) generators located in Old Harbour. Other smaller power stations (most owned by the Jamaica Public Service Company – the island's electricity provider) support the island's electrical grid including the Hunts Bay Power Station, the Bogue Power Station, the Rockfort Power Station and small hydroelectric plants on the White River, Rio Bueno, Morant River, Black River (Maggotty) and Roaring River. A wind farm, owned by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, was established at Wigton, Manchester.

Jamaica has successfully operated a SLOWPOKE-2 nuclear reactor of 20 kW capacity since the early 1980s, but there are no plans to expand nuclear power at present.

Jamaica imports approximately of oil energy products per day, including asphalt and lubrication products. Just 20% of imported fuels are used for road transportation, the rest being used by the bauxite industry, electricity generation, and aviation.

Jamaica produces enormous quantities of hydrous ethanol (5% water content), most of which appears to be consumed as beverages, and none of it used as motor fuel. Facilities exist to refine hydrous ethanol feedstock into anhydrous ethanol (0% water content), but the process appears to be uneconomic at this time and the facility remains idle.

Communication[link]

Jamaica has a fully digital telephone communication system with a mobile penetration of over 95%.

The country’s three mobile operators – Cable and Wireless (marketed as LIME – Landline, Internet, Mobile and Entertainment), Digicel, and Oceanic Digital (operating as MiPhone and now known as Claro since late 2008) – have spent millions in network upgrade and expansion. Both Digicel and Oceanic Digital were granted licences in 2001 to operate mobile services in the newly liberalised telecom market that had once been the sole domain of the incumbent Cable and Wireless monopoly. Digicel opted for the more widely used GSM wireless system, while Oceanic opted for the CDMA standard. Cable and Wireless, which had begun with TDMA standard, subsequently upgraded to GSM, and currently utilises both standards on its network.

With wireless usage increasing, landlines supplied by Cable and Wireless have declined from just over half a million to roughly about three hundred thousand as of 2006. In a bid to grab more market share, Cable and Wireless recently launched a new land line service called HomeFone Prepaid that would allow customers to pay for minutes they use rather than pay a set monthly fee for service, much like prepaid wireless service.

A new entrant to the Jamaican communications market, Flow Jamaica, recently laid a new submarine cable connecting Jamaica to the United States. This new cable increases the total number of submarine cables connecting Jamaica to the rest of the world to four.

Two more licences were auctioned by the Jamaican government to provide mobile services on the island, including one that was previously owned by AT&T; Wireless but never utilised, and one new licence.

See also[link]

Outline of Jamaica

Index of Jamaica-related articles

Commonwealth of Nations

International rankings of Jamaica

List of Jamaicans

References[link]

Further reading[link]

(pgs.45-83)

Ammar, N. From Whence they came. The Jamaica Journal.

Hall, D. Bounties European Immigration with Special Reference of the German Settlement at Seaford Town, Parts 1 and 2. Jamaica Journal, 8, (4), 48–54 and 9 (1), 2–9.

Jacobs, H. P. (2003). Germany in Jamaica. Indian heritage in Jamaica. The Jamaica Journal, 10, (2,3,4), 10–19,

Mullally, R. (2003). "One Love' The Black Irish of Jamaica. The Jamaica Journal, 42, pp. 104–116.

Parboosingh, I. S. An Indo-Jamaica beginning in The Jamaica Journal, 18, (3), 2–10, 12.

The Gleaner. Seaford Town Advertising Feature. August 14, 2003, D7-8,

External links[link]

; Governmental Details

Government of Jamaica

Official webpage of Queen Elizabeth as Queen of Jamaica

Official website of the Jamaica Information Service

The Cabinet Office of the Government of Jamaica

Chief of State and Cabinet Members

; General information

Jamaica from ''UCB Libraries GovPubs''

National Library of Jamaica materials in the Digital Library of the Caribbean

JAMAICA VIRTUAL TOUR IN HD – many locations around the island

Key Development Forecasts for Jamaica from International Futures

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Category:Caribbean countries Category:Member states of the Caribbean Community Category:Constitutional monarchies Category:English-speaking countries and territories Category:Former British colonies Category:Former Spanish colonies Category:Former English colonies Category:G15 nations Category:Greater Antilles Category:Island countries Category:Liberal democracies Category:Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:States and territories established in 1962 Category:Member states of the United Nations

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birthname	Joseph Carey Merrick
birth date	August 05, 1863
birth place	Leicester, Leicestershire, England, Hospital
death date	April 11, 1890
death place	London, England, Hospital
occupation	}}

Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), sometimes incorrectly referred to as John Merrick, was an English man with severe deformities who was exhibited as a human curiosity named the Elephant Man. He became well known in London society after he went to live at the London Hospital. Merrick was born in Leicester and began to develop abnormally during the first few years of his life. His skin appeared thick and lumpy, he developed an enlargement of his lips, and a bony lump grew on his forehead. One of his arms and both feet became enlarged and at some point during his childhood he fell and damaged his hip, resulting in permanent lameness. When he was 11, his mother died and his father soon remarried. Merrick left school at 12, and had difficulty finding employment. Rejected by his father and stepmother, he left home. In late 1879, aged 17, Merrick entered the Leicester Union workhouse.

In 1884, after four years in the workhouse, Merrick contacted a showman named Sam Torr and proposed that Torr should exhibit him. Torr agreed, and arranged for a group of men to manage Merrick, whom they named the Elephant Man. After touring the East Midlands, Merrick travelled to London to be exhibited in a penny gaff shop on Whitechapel Road which was rented by showman Tom Norman. Norman's shop, directly across the street from the London Hospital, was visited by a surgeon named Frederick Treves, who invited Merrick to be examined and photographed. Soon after Merrick's visits to the hospital, Tom Norman's shop was closed by the police and Merrick's managers sent him to tour in Europe.

In Belgium, Merrick was robbed by his road manager and abandoned in Brussels. He eventually made his way back to London; unable to communicate, he was found by the police to have Frederick Treves' card on him. Treves came and took Merrick back to the London Hospital. Although his condition was incurable, Merrick was allowed to stay at the hospital for the remainder of his life. Treves visited him daily and the pair developed quite a close friendship. Merrick also received visits from the wealthy ladies and gentlemen of London society, including Alexandra, The Princess of Wales.

Merrick died on 11 April 1890, aged 27. The official cause of death was asphyxia, although Treves, who dissected the body, said that Merrick had died of a dislocated neck. He believed that Merrick—who had to sleep sitting up because of the weight of his head—had been attempting to sleep lying down, to "be like other people". The exact cause of Merrick's deformities is unclear. The dominant theory throughout much of the 20th century was that Merrick suffered from neurofibromatosis type I. In 1986, a new theory emerged that he had Proteus syndrome. In 2001 it was proposed that Merrick had suffered from a combination of neurofibromatosis type I and Proteus syndrome. DNA tests conducted on his hair and bones have proven inconclusive.

In 1979, Bernard Pomerance's play about Merrick called ''The Elephant Man'' débuted, and David Lynch's film, also called ''The Elephant Man'', was released the following year.

Early life and family[link]

Joseph Carey Merrick was born 5 August 1862 at 50 Lee Street in Leicester to Joseph Rockley Merrick and his wife Mary Jane (née Potterton). Joseph Rockley Merrick (c. 1835 – 1897) was the son of London-born weaver Barnabas Merrick who moved to Leicester during the 1820s or 1830s, and his third wife Sarah Rockley. Mary Jane Potterton (c. 1834 – 1873) was the daughter of a Yorkshire agricultural labourer and had some form of physical disability. As a young woman she worked as a domestic servant in Leicester before marrying Joseph Rockley Merrick, then a brougham driver, in 1861. The following year, Joseph Carey Merrick was born, apparently healthy, and had no outward symptoms of any disorder for the first few years of his life. Named after his father, he was given the middle name Carey by his mother, a Baptist, after the preacher William Carey. The Merricks had two more children, William Arthur (born 1866) who died of scarlet fever aged four and Marion Eliza (born 1867), who was born with physical disabilities and died in 1891.

A pamphlet entitled "The Autobiography of Joseph Carey Merrick", produced c. 1884 to accompany his exhibition, states that he started to display symptoms at approximately five years of age, with "thick lumpy skin ... like that of an elephant, and almost the same colour". According to a 1930 article in the ''Illustrated Leicester Chronicle'', he began to develop swellings on his lips at the age of 21 months, followed by a bony lump on his forehead and a loosening and roughening of the skin. As he grew, a noticeable difference between the size of his left and right arms appeared and both his feet became significantly enlarged. The Merrick family explained his symptoms as the result of Mary's being knocked over and frightened by a fairground elephant while she was pregnant with Joseph. The concept of maternal impression—that the emotional experiences of pregnant women could have lasting physical effect on their unborn children—was still common in 19th-century England. Merrick held this belief about the cause of his affliction for his entire life.

In addition to his deformities, at some point during his childhood, Merrick suffered a fall and damaged his left hip. This injury became infected and left him permanently lame. Although affected by his physical deformities, Merrick attended school and enjoyed a close relationship with his mother. She was a Sunday School teacher, and his father worked as an engine driver at a cotton factory, as well as running a haberdashery business. On 19 May 1873, less than three years after the death of her younger son William, Mary Jane Merrick died from bronchopneumonia. Joseph Rockley Merrick moved with his two children to live with Mrs. Emma Wood Antill, a widow with children of her own. They married on 3 December 1874.

Employment and the workhouse[link]

Merrick left school aged 13, which was usual for the time. His home-life was now "a perfect misery", and neither his father nor his stepmother demonstrated affection towards him. He ran away "two or three" times, but was brought back by his father each time. At 13, he found work rolling cigars in a factory, but after three years, his right hand deformity had worsened and he no longer had the dexterity required for the job. Now unemployed, he spent his days wandering the streets, looking for work and avoiding his stepmother's taunts. Merrick was becoming a greater financial burden on his family and eventually, his father secured him a hawker's licence which enabled him to earn money selling items from the haberdashery shop, door to door. This endeavour was unsuccessful, since Merrick's facial deformities rendered his speech increasingly unintelligible and prospective customers reacted with horror to his physical appearance. Housewives refused to open doors for him and now people not only stared at him but began to follow him out of curiosity. Merrick failed to make enough money as a hawker to support himself. On returning home one day in 1877, he was severely beaten by his father and he left home for good. Merrick was now homeless on the streets of Leicester. His uncle, a barber named Charles Merrick, heard of his nephew's situation, sought him out and offered him accommodation in his home. Merrick continued to hawk around Leicester for the next two years but his efforts to earn a living met with little more success than before. Eventually, his disfigurement drew such negative attention from members of the public that the Commissioners for Hackney Carriages withdrew his licence when it came up for renewal. With young children to provide for, Charles could no longer afford to support his nephew. In late December 1879, now 17 years old, Merrick entered the Leicester Union Workhouse.

Merrick became one of 928 residents in the workhouse. The group was segregated by age and sex, and therefore Merrick was housed with the other men between 16 and 60. On 22 March 1880, only 12 weeks after entering, Merrick signed himself out of the workhouse and spent two days looking for work. With no more success than before, he found himself with no option but to return to the workhouse. This time he stayed for four years. Around 1882, Merrick underwent surgery on his face. The protrusion from his mouth had grown to 8–9 inches and severely inhibited his speech and made it difficult to eat. He was operated on at the Leicester Infirmary and had a large part of the mass removed.

Life as a curiosity[link]

Merrick concluded that his only escape from the workhouse might be through the world of human novelty exhibitions. He knew of a Leicester music hall comedian and proprietor named Sam Torr. Merrick wrote to Torr, who came and visited him at the workhouse. Torr decided that he could make money exhibiting Merrick, although to retain Merrick's novelty, he would have to be a travelling exhibit. To this end, he organised a group of managers for Merrick: music hall proprietor J. Ellis, travelling showman George Hitchcock, and fair owner Sam Roper. On 3 August 1884 Merrick departed the workhouse to start his new career. The showmen named Merrick the ''Elephant Man'', and advertised him as "Half-a-Man and Half-an-Elephant". They showed him around the East Midlands, including in Leicester and Nottingham, before moving him on to London for the winter season. George Hitchcock contacted an acquaintance, showman Tom Norman, who ran penny gaff shops in London's East End exhibiting human curiosities. Without a meeting, Norman agreed to take over Merrick's management and in November, Hitchcock travelled with Merrick to London.

When Tom Norman first saw Merrick, he was dismayed by the extent of his deformities, fearing his appearance might be too horrific to be a successful novelty. Nevertheless, he exhibited Merrick in the back of an empty shop on Whitechapel Road. Merrick had an iron bed with a curtain drawn around to afford him some privacy. Norman observed Merrick asleep one morning and learned that he always slept sitting up, with his legs drawn up and his head resting on his knees. His enlarged head was too heavy to allow him to sleep lying down and, as Merrick put it, he would risk "waking with a broken neck". Norman decorated the shop with posters that had been created by Hitchcock, depicting a monstrous half-man, half-elephant. A pamphlet titled "The Autobiography of Joseph Carey Merrick" was created, outlining Merrick's life to date. This biography, whether written by Merrick or not, provided a generally accurate account of his life. It contained an incorrect date of birth but, throughout his life, Merrick was vague about when he was born.

Norman gathered an audience by standing outside the shop and drawing a crowd through his showman patter. He would then lead his onlookers into the shop, explaining that the Elephant Man was "not here to frighten you but to enlighten you." Drawing aside the curtain, he allowed the onlookers—often visibly horrified—to observe Merrick up close, while describing the circumstances leading to his present condition, including his mother's accident with an elephant.

The Elephant Man exhibit was moderately successful, and made money primarily from the sales of the autobiographical pamphlet. Merrick was able to put his share of the profits aside, hoping to earn enough to one day buy a home of his own. The shop on Whitechapel Road was directly across the road from the London Hospital, an excellent location, as medical students and doctors visited the shop, curious to see Merrick. One visitor was a young house surgeon named Reginald Tuckett. Like his colleagues, Tuckett was intrigued by the Elephant Man's deformities and told his senior colleague Frederick Treves. Frederick Treves first met Merrick that November at a private viewing, before Norman opened the shop for the day. Treves later recalled in his 1923 ''Reminiscences'' that Merrick was "the most disgusting specimen of humanity that I had ever seen ... at no time had I met with such a degraded or perverted version of a human being as this lone figure displayed." The viewing lasted no more than 15 minutes after which Treves returned to work. Later that day, he sent Tuckett back to the shop to ask if Merrick might be willing to come to the hospital for an examination. Norman and Merrick agreed. To enable him to travel the short distance without drawing undue attention, Merrick wore a costume consisting of a huge black cloak and a brown cap with a hood that covered his face, and rode in a cab hired by Treves.

At the hospital, Treves examined Merrick, observing that he was "shy, confused, not a little frightened, and evidently much cowed." At this point, Treves assumed that the Elephant Man was an "imbecile". He measured Merrick's head circumference at , his right wrist at and one of his fingers at in circumference. He noted that his skin was covered in papillomata (warty growths), the largest of which exuded an unpleasant smell. The subcutaneous tissue appeared to be weakened and caused a loosening of the skin, which in some areas hung away from the body. There were bone deformities in the right arm, both legs, and, most conspicuously, in the skull. Despite the corrective surgery to his mouth in 1882, Merrick's speech remained barely intelligible. His left arm and hand, although small, were not deformed. His penis and scrotum were normal. Apart from his deformities and the lameness in his hip, Treves concluded that Merrick appeared to be in good general health. Norman later recalled that Merrick went to the hospital for examination "two or three" times and during one of their meetings, Treves gave Merrick his calling card. On one of the visits, Treves had photographs taken and he provided Merrick with a set of copies which were later added to his autobiographical pamphlet. On 2 December, Treves presented Merrick at a meeting of the Pathological Society of London in Bloomsbury. Eventually, Merrick told Norman that he no longer wanted to be examined at the hospital. According to Norman, he said he was "stripped naked, and felt like an animal in a cattle market."

During this time in Victorian England, tastes were changing in regard to freak show exhibitions like the Elephant Man. Shows like Norman's were a cause for public concern, both on the grounds of decency and due to the disruption caused by crowds gathering outside them. Not long after Merrick's last examination with Frederick Treves, the police closed down Norman's shop on Whitechapel Road, and Merrick's Leicester managers withdrew him from Norman's care. In 1885, Merrick went on the road with Sam Roper's travelling fair. He befriended two other performers, "Roper's Midgets"—Bertram Dooley and Harry Bramley—who on occasion defended Merrick from public harassment.

Europe[link]

The dampening of public enthusiasm for freak shows and human oddities continued and the police and magistrates became increasingly vigilant in closing shows down. Merrick remained a horrifying spectacle for his viewers and Roper grew nervous about the negative attention the Elephant Man drew from local authorities. Merrick's group of managers decided that he should go on tour in Continental Europe, with the hope that authorities there would be more lenient. Merrick's management was assumed by an unknown man (possibly named Ferrari) and they left for the Continent. The Elephant Man was no more successful there than in England, and similar action was taken by authorities to move him out of their jurisdictions. In Brussels, Merrick was deserted by this new manager, who stole Merrick's £50 ( equivalent £|r=-2}}}}) savings. Abandoned, Merrick made his way by train to Ostend, where he attempted to board a ferry for Dover but was refused passage. He travelled to Antwerp and was able to board a ship bound for Harwich in Essex. From there, he travelled by train to London and arrived at Liverpool Street station.

Merrick arrived at Liverpool Street Station on 24 June 1886, safely back in his own country, but with nowhere to go. He was not eligible to enter a workhouse in London for more than one night and would be accepted only by Leicester Union, where he was a permanent resident. Leicester was still away. He approached strangers for help, but his speech was unintelligible and appearance repugnant. He drew a crowd of curious onlookers until a policeman helped him into an empty waiting room, where he huddled in a corner, exhausted. Unable to make himself understood, his only identifying possession was Frederick Treves' card. The police contacted Treves, who went to the station. Recognising Merrick, Treves took him in a hansom cab to the London Hospital. Merrick was admitted for bronchitis, washed, fed, and put to bed in a small isolation room in the hospital's attic.

London Hospital[link]

With Merrick admitted into the hospital, Treves now had time to conduct a more thorough examination. He discovered that Merrick's physical condition had deteriorated over the previous two years and that he had become quite crippled by his deformities. Treves also suspected that Merrick now suffered from a heart condition and that he had only a few years left to live. Merrick's general health improved over the next five months under the care of the hospital staff. Although some nurses were initially upset by his appearance, they overcame this and cared for him. The problem of his unpleasant odour was mitigated through frequent bathing and Treves gradually developed an understanding of Merrick's speech. A new set of photographs was taken. The question of Merrick's long-term care had to be addressed. Francis Carr Gomm, the chairman of the hospital committee, had supported Treves in his decision to admit Merrick, but by November, long-term plans needed to be made. The London Hospital was not equipped or staffed to provide care for the incurable, which Merrick clearly was.

Carr Gomm contacted other institutions and hospitals more suited to caring for chronic cases, but none would accept Merrick. Carr Gomm wrote a letter to ''The Times'', printed on 4 December, outlining Merrick's case and asking readers for suggestions. The public response—in letters and donations—was significant, and the situation was even covered by the ''British Medical Journal''. With the financial backing of the many donors, Carr Gomm was able to make a convincing case to the committee for keeping Merrick in the hospital. It was decided that he would be allowed to stay there for the remainder of his life. He was moved from the attic to two rooms in the basement adjacent to a small courtyard. The rooms were adapted and furnished to suit Merrick, with a specially constructed bed and—at Treves' instruction—no mirrors.

Merrick settled into his new life at the London Hospital. Treves visited him daily and spent a couple of hours with him every Sunday. Now that Merrick had found someone who understood his speech, he was delighted to carry on long conversations with the doctor. Treves and Merrick built a friendly relationship, although Merrick never completely confided in him. He told Treves that he was an only child, and Treves had the impression that Merrick's mother, whose picture Merrick always carried with him, had abandoned him as a baby. Merrick was also reluctant to talk about his exhibition days, although he expressed gratitude towards his former managers. It did not take Treves long to realise that, contrary to his initial impressions, Merrick was not intellectually impaired. Treves observed that Merrick was very sensitive and showed his emotions easily. At times Merrick was bored and lonely, and demonstrated signs of depression. He had spent his entire adult life segregated from women, first in the workhouse and then as an exhibit. The women he met were either disgusted or frightened by his appearance. His opinions about women were derived from his memories of his mother and what he read in books. Treves decided that Merrick would like to be introduced to a woman and it would help him feel normal. The doctor arranged for a friend of his named Mrs. Leila Maturin, "a young and pretty widow", to visit Merrick. She agreed and with fair warning about his appearance, she went to his rooms for an introduction. The meeting was short, as Merrick quickly became overcome with emotion. He later told Treves that Maturin had been the first woman ever to smile at him, the first to shake his hand. She kept in contact with him and a letter written by Merrick to her, thanking her for the gift of a book and a brace of grouse, is the only surviving letter written by Merrick. This first experience of meeting a woman, though brief, instilled in Merrick a new sense of self-confidence. He met other women during his life at the hospital, and appeared taken with them all. Treves believed that Merrick's hope was to go to live at an institution for the blind, where he might meet a woman who could not see his deformities.

Merrick wanted to know about the "real world", and questioned Treves on a number of topics. One day he expressed a desire to see inside what he considered a "real" house and Treves obliged, taking him to visit his Wimpole Street townhouse and meet his wife. He filled his days with reading and constructing models of buildings out of card. He entertained visits from Treves and his house surgeons. He rose each day in the afternoon and would leave his rooms to walk in the small adjacent courtyard, after dark. As a result of Carr Gomm's letters to ''The Times'', Merrick's case attracted the notice of London's high society. One person who took a keen interest was actress Madge Kendal. Although she probably never met him in person, she was responsible for raising funds and public sympathy for Merrick. She sent him photographs of herself and employed a basket weaver to go to his rooms and teach him the craft. Although Kendal never visited Merrick, other ladies and gentlemen of high society did, bringing him gifts of photographs and books. He reciprocated with letters and hand made gifts of card models and baskets. Merrick enjoyed these visits and became confident enough to converse with people who passed his windows. A young man, Charles Taylor, the son of the engineer responsible for modifying Merrick's rooms, spent time with him and played the violin. Occasionally, he grew bold enough to leave his small living quarters and would explore the hospital. When he was discovered, he was always hurried back to his quarters by the nurses, who feared that he might frighten the patients.

On 21 May 1887, two new buildings were completed at the hospital and the Prince and Princess of Wales came to open them officially. Princess Alexandra wished to meet the Elephant Man, so after a tour of the hospital, the royal party went to his rooms for an introduction. The princess shook Merrick's hand and sat with him, an experience that left him overjoyed. She gave him a signed photograph of herself, which became a prized possession, and she sent him a Christmas card each year.

On at least one occasion, Merrick was able to fulfil a long-held desire to visit the theatre. Treves, with the help of Madge Kendal, arranged for him to attend the Christmas pantomime at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Treves sat with some nurses, concealed in Baroness Burdett-Coutts's private box. According to Treves, Merrick was "awed" and "enthralled". "The spectacle left him speechless, so that if he were spoken to he took no heed." For weeks following the show Merrick talked about the pantomime, reliving the story as if it had been real.

Last years[link]

On three occasions Merrick left the hospital and London on holiday, spending a few weeks at a time in the countryside. Through elaborate arrangements that allowed Merrick to board a train unseen and have an entire carriage to himself, he travelled to Northamptonshire to stay at Fawsley Hall, the estate of Lady Louisa Knightley. He stayed at the gamekeeper's cottage and spent the days walking in the estate's woods, collecting wild flowers. He befriended a young farm labourer who later recalled Merrick as an interesting and well-educated man. Treves called this "the one supreme holiday of [Merrick's] life", although in fact there were three such trips.

Merrick's condition gradually deteriorated during his four years at the London hospital. He required a great deal of care from the nursing staff and spent much of his time in bed, or sitting in his quarters, with diminishing energy. His facial deformities continued to grow and his head became even more enlarged. He died on 11 April 1890, at the age of 27. At around three o'clock in the afternoon, Treves' house surgeon visited Merrick and found him lying dead across his bed. His body was formally identified by his uncle, Charles Merrick. An inquest was held on 15 April by Wynne Edwin Baxter, who had come to notoriety conducting inquests for the Whitechapel murders of 1888. Merrick's death was ruled accidental and the certified cause of death was asphyxia, caused by the weight of his head as he lay down. Treves, who performed an autopsy on the body, said that Merrick had died of a dislocated neck. Knowing that Merrick had always slept sitting upright, out of necessity, Treves came to the conclusion that he must have "made the experiment", attempting to sleep lying down, trying to sleep like other people.

Treves dissected Merrick's body and took plaster casts of his head and limbs. He took skin samples, which were later lost during the Second World War, and mounted his skeleton, which remains in the pathology collection at the Royal London Hospital. Although the skeleton has never been on public display, there is a small museum dedicated to his life, housing some of his personal effects.

Medical condition[link]

Ever since Joseph Merrick's days as a novelty exhibit on Whitechapel Road, his condition has been a source of curiosity for medical professionals. His appearance at the meeting of the Pathological Society of London in 1884 drew interest from the doctors present, but none of the answers nor the attention that Treves had hoped for. The case received only a brief mention in the ''British Medical Journal'' and the ''Lancet'' declined to mention it at all. Four months later, in 1885, Treves brought the case before the meeting for a second time. By then, Tom Norman's shop on Whitechapel Road had been closed, and the Elephant Man had moved on. Without Merrick, Treves made do with the photographs he had taken during his examinations. One of the doctors present at the meeting was Henry Radcliffe Crocker, a dermatologist who was an authority on skin diseases. After hearing Treves' description of Merrick, and viewing the photographs, Crocker proposed that Merrick's condition might be a combination of dermatolysis, pachydermatocele and an unnamed bone deformity, all caused by changes in the nervous system. Crocker wrote about Merrick's case in his 1888 book ''Diseases of the Skin: their Description, Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment''.

In 1909, dermatologist Frederick Parkes Weber wrote an article about von Recklinghausen disease (now known as neurofibromatosis type I) in the ''British Journal of Dermatology''. He gave Merrick as an example of the disease, which German pathologist Friedrich Daniel von Recklinghausen had described in 1882. Symptoms of this genetic disorder include tumours of the nervous tissue and bones, and small warty growths on the skin. One characteristic of neurofibromatosis is the presence of light brown pigmentation on the skin called café au lait spots. These were never observed on Merrick's body. Neurofibromatosis type I was the accepted diagnosis through most of the 20th century, although other suggestions included Maffucci syndrome and polyostotic fibrous dysplasia (Albright's disease).

In a 1986 article in the ''British Medical Journal'', Michael Cohen and J. A. R. Tibbles put forward the theory that Merrick had suffered from Proteus syndrome, a congenital disorder identified by Cohen in 1979. They cited Merrick's lack of reported café au lait spots and the absence of any histological proof that he had suffered from neurofibromatosis type I. Unlike neurofibromatosis, Proteus syndrome affects tissue other than nerves, and it is a sporadic disorder rather than a genetically transmitted disease. Cohen and Tibbles said that Merrick showed the following signs of Proteus syndrome: "macrocephaly; hyperostosis of the skull; hypertrophy of long bones; and thickened skin and subcutaneous tissues, particularly of the hands and feet, including plantar hyperplasia, lipomas, and other unspecified subcutaneous masses."

In a letter to ''Biologist'' in June 2001, British teacher Paul Spiring speculated that Merrick might have suffered from a combination of neurofibromatosis type I and Proteus syndrome. This hypothesis was reported by Robert Matthews, a correspondent for ''The Sunday Telegraph''. The possibility that Merrick had both conditions formed the basis for a 2003 documentary film entitled ''The Curse of The Elephant Man'' that was produced for the Discovery Health Channel by Natural History New Zealand. During 2002, genealogical research for the film led to a BBC appeal to trace Merrick's maternal family line. In response to the appeal, a Leicester resident named Pat Selby was discovered to be the granddaughter of Merrick's uncle George Potterton. A research team took DNA samples from Selby in an unsuccessful attempt to diagnose Merrick's condition. During 2003, the filmmakers commissioned further diagnostic tests using DNA that was extracted from Merrick's hair and bone. However, the results of these tests proved inconclusive and therefore the precise cause of Merrick's medical condition remains unknown.

Legacy[link]

In 1923, Frederick Treves published a volume entitled ''The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences'', in which he detailed what he knew of Merrick's life and their personal interactions. This account is the source of much of what is known about Merrick, but there were several inaccuracies in the book. Merrick never completely confided in Treves about his early life, so these details were consequently sketchy in Treves' ''Reminiscences''. A more mysterious error is that of Merrick's first name. Treves, in his earlier journal articles as well as his book, insisted on calling him John Merrick. The reason for this is unclear; Merrick clearly signed his name as "Joseph" in the examples of his handwriting that remain. In the handwritten manuscript for ''The Elephant Man and Other Reminiscences'', Treves began his account by writing "Joseph" and then crossed it out and replaced it with "John". Whatever the reason for the error, it is one that persisted throughout much of the 20th century; later biographers who based their work on Treves' book have continued the error.

Treves' depiction of Tom Norman, the showman who exhibited Merrick, was as a cruel drunk who ruthlessly exploited his charge. In a letter to the ''World's Fair'' newspaper, and later in his own memoirs, Norman denied this characterisation and said that he provided his show attractions with a way of earning a living, and that at the London Hospital, Merrick was still on display, but with no control over how or when he was viewed. According to Nadja Durbach, author of ''The Spectacle of Deformity: Freak Shows and Modern British Culture'', Norman's view gives an insight into the Victorian freak show's function as a means of survival for poor people with deformities, as well as the attitude of medical professionals of the time. Durbach cautions that both Treves' and Norman's memoirs must be understood as "narrative reconstructions ... that reflect personal and professional prejudices and cater to the demands and expectations of their very different audiences".

In 1971, anthropologist Ashley Montagu published ''The Elephant Man: A Study in Human Dignity'' which drew on Treves' book and explored Merrick's character. Montagu reprinted Treves' account alongside various others such as Carr Gomm's letter to the ''Times'' and the report on Merrick's inquest. He pointed out inconsistencies between the accounts and sometimes disputed Treves' version of events; he noted, for example, that while Treves claimed Merrick knew nothing of his mother's appearance, Carr Gomm refers to Merrick carrying a painting of his mother with him, and he criticised Treves' assumption that Merrick's mother was "worthless and inhuman". However, Montagu also perpetuated some of the errors in Treves' work, including his use of the name "John" rather than "Joseph".

Between 1979 and 1982, Merrick's life story became the basis of several works of dramatic art; these were based on the accounts of Treves and Montagu. In 1979, a Tony Award-winning play, ''The Elephant Man'', by American playwright Bernard Pomerance was staged. The character based on Merrick was played by Philip Anglim, and later by David Bowie. In 1980 David Lynch released ''The Elephant Man'' film, which received eight Academy award nominations. Merrick was played by John Hurt and Frederick Treves by Anthony Hopkins. In 1982, US television network ABC broadcast an adaptation of Pomerance's play, starring Anglim.

In 1980, Michael Howell and Peter Ford published ''The True History of the Elephant Man'', presenting the fruits of their detailed archival research. Howell and Ford brought to light a large amount of new information about Merrick. In addition to proving that his name was Joseph, not John, they were able to describe in more detail his life story. They refuted some of the inaccuracies in Treves' account, showing that Merrick's mother did not abandon him, and that Merrick deliberately chose to exhibit himself to make a living.

The musician "Brian Carol" more commonly known by his stage name "Buckethead" also dedicated an album to him entitled "Elephant Man's Alarm Clock", Also, the sludge band Mastodon made an instrumental acoustic song titled "Joseph Merrick" in his honor.

References[link]

;Notes ;Footnotes ;Bibliography

"The Autobiography of Joseph Carey Merrick" – freak shop pamphlet printed c. 1884 to accompany the exhibition of the Elephant Man; published in ''The True History of the Elephant Man'', pp. 173–175

Further reading[link]

External links[link]

Category:People from Leicester Category:English people with disabilities Category:Sideshow performers Category:Accidental deaths in England Category:1862 births Category:1890 deaths

ar:جوزيف ميريك bg:Джоузеф Мерик ca:Joseph Merrick cs:Joseph Merrick da:Joseph Merrick de:Joseph Merrick el:Τζόζεφ Μέρικ es:Joseph Merrick eo:Joseph Merrick eu:Joseph Merrick fa:جوزف مریک fr:Joseph Merrick gl:Joseph Merrick ko:조지프 메릭 id:Joseph Merrick it:Joseph Merrick he:ג'וזף מריק ms:Joseph Merrick nl:Joseph Merrick ja:ジョゼフ・メリック no:Joseph Merrick pl:Joseph Merrick pt:Joseph Merrick ro:Josep Merrick ru:Меррик, Джозеф simple:Joseph Merrick fi:Joseph Merrick sv:Joseph Merrick th:โจเซฟ เมอร์ริค vi:Joseph Merrick zh:约瑟夫·梅里克

name	Prince Harry
imgw	195
full name	Henry Charles Albert David
styles	''HRH'' Prince Henry of Wales
house	House of Windsor
father	Charles, Prince of Wales
mother	Diana, Princess of Wales
birth date	September 15, 1984
birth place	St Mary's Hospital, London
place of christening	St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle
religion	Church of England

Prince Henry of Wales (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984), commonly known as Prince Harry, is the younger son of Charles, Prince of Wales and Diana, Princess of Wales, and fourth grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. As such, he is third in the line of succession (behind his father and elder brother) to the thrones of sixteen independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms. Consequently, as heir to the British throne, specifically, he is also third in line, again behind his father and elder brother, to the position Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

After an education at various schools around the United Kingdom and spending parts of his gap year in Australia and Lesotho, Harry, unlike his elder brother, Prince William, eschewed a university education in favour of following in the footsteps of various royal men by enrolling in the military. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry Regiment—serving temporarily with his brother—and completed his training as a tank commander. He served for 77 days on the front line in the Afghan War, although he was pulled out following publication of the story in an Australian magazine.

Early life[link]

Harry was born at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, England, on 15 September 1984. He was baptised at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, by then Archbishop of Canterbury, Robert Runcie. Harry's godparents were Prince Andrew (his paternal uncle); Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones (his paternal cousin once removed); Lady Vestey; Mrs. William Bartholomew; Bryan Organ; and Gerald Ward.

Persistent suggestions, based on a similarity of hair colour, have been made that Harry's father is not Charles but James Hewitt, with whom Diana had an affair. However, red hair is known to be a Spencer family trait, and Hewitt stated to the press in 2002 that Harry had already been born by the time his affair with Diana began, a statement corroborated by Diana's police bodyguard.

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Diana wanted William and Harry to have a broader range of experiences than previous royal children and took both to venues that ranged from Disney World and McDonald's to AIDS clinics and shelters for the homeless. Diana, Princess of Wales, who was by then divorced from the Prince of Wales, died in a car collision in 1997. Harry, his brother and their father were staying at Balmoral Castle at the time, and the Prince of Wales waited until early the following morning to tell his sons about their mother's death. At his mother's funeral, Harry accompanied his father, brother, paternal grandfather, and maternal uncle in walking behind the funeral cortège from Kensington Palace to Westminster Abbey.

Education[link]

Like his father and elder brother, Harry was educated at public schools, starting at Jane Mynors' nursery school and the pre-preparatory Wetherby School, both in London. Following this, he attended Ludgrove School, and, after passing the entrance exams, was admitted to Eton College, where he studied geography, art history, and art at A-Level. The decision to place Harry in Eton went against the family tradition of sending royal children to Gordonstoun (Harry's grandfather, father, two uncles, and two cousins all attended); it did, however, make the Prince follow in the Spencer family footsteps, as both Diana's father and brother had attended Eton. In June 2003, he completed his education at Eton with two A-Levels having decided to drop history of art after AS level. He excelled in sports, particularly polo and rugby union. .

After graduation, Harry took a gap year, during which he spent time in Australia, working (as his father had done in his youth) on a cattle station and participating in the Young England vs Young Australia Polo Test Match. He also travelled to Lesotho, where he worked with orphaned children and produced the documentary film ''The Forgotten Kingdom''.

Royal duties and career[link]

Prince Harry began to accompany his parents on official visits at an early age; his first overseas royal tour was with his parents to Italy in 1985. The earlier decision made by the Princess of Wales to take an infant William to Australia set the precedent for young royal children going on official visits. Harry then accompanied either both parents or his father on subsequent tours, though he did not begin solo official engagements until after his military training and active service. In August 1995, at the age of 10, Prince Harry attended the 50th anniversary of Victory over Japan Day at the Cenotaph in London. There he saluted the officers in the military parade, one of the most important ceremonies in the royal family agenda. In 2008, he began to undertake royal visits to schools and organisations in Wales.

Military career[link]

Prince Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on 8 May 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, and joined the Alamein Company. Within a year, in April 2006, Harry completed his officer's training and was commissioned as a Cornet in the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry in the British Army. By April 2008, whereupon he reached two years' seniority, Harry was promoted to the rank of lieutenant.

The British Ministry of Defence and Clarence House made a joint announcement on 22 February 2007 that Prince Harry would be deployed with his regiment to the front line in Iraq, to serve as part of the 1st Mechanised Brigade of the 3rd Mechanised Divisiona move supported by Harry, who had stated that he would leave the army if he was told to remain in safety while his regiment went to war; he said: "There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country." Then head of the British army, General Sir Richard Dannatt, first said on 30 April 2007 that he had personally decided that the Prince would serve with his unit in Iraq, and Harry was scheduled for deployment in May or June 2007, to patrol the Maysan province. By 16 May, however, Dannatt announced that Prince Harry would not serve in Iraq; concerns included Harry being a high-value target (as several threats by various groups have already been made against him) and the dangers the soldiers around him would face should any attempt be made on the Prince's life or capture. Clarence House made public the Prince's disappointment with the decision, though he said he would abide by it. In May 2007, British soldiers in Iraq were reported to be wearing t-shirts bearing the statement "I'm Harry!"; a reference to the scene in the movie ''Spartacus'' in which the survivors of Spartacus's army, defeated by Roman legions, are offered leniency by Crassus if they will identify their leader. Every survivor declares: "I'm Spartacus!"

It was reported, in early June 2007, that Prince Harry had arrived in Canada to train, alongside soldiers of the Canadian Forces and British Army, at Canadian Forces base Suffield, near Medicine Hat, Alberta. It was said that this was in preparation for a tour of duty in Afghanistan, where Canadian and British forces were participating in the NATO led Afghan War; rumours that were confirmed in February the following year, when the British Ministry of Defence revealed that Harry had secretly been deployed as a Forward Air Controller to Helmand Province in the Asian country. The revelation came after the medianotably, the German newspaper ''Bild'' and Australian magazine ''New Idea''breached the blackout placed over the information by the Canadian and British authorities. It was later reported that, while in Afghanistan, Harry had called in United States Air Force air strikes, helped Gurkha troops repel an attack from Taliban insurgents, and performed patrol duty in hostile areas. His tour came 735 years after his ancestor, Edward I of England (then Prince Edward), had also been on military duty in the Middle East during the Ninth crusade, and also made Harry the first member of the Royal Family to have served in a war zone since his uncle, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, flew helicopters during the Falklands War. For his service, Prince Harry was decorated with the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan by his aunt, the Princess Royal, at the Combermere Barracks in May 2008.

In October 2008, the news was revealed that Prince Harry was to follow his brother, father, and uncle with the wish to fly military helicopters. After passing the initial aptitude test, he was to undertake a month-long course; depending on whether or not he passed that course he would proceed onto full flight training in early 2009. Harry had to pass his flying assessment at the Army Air Corps Base (AAC), Middle Wallop, the result of which determined if he would pass on to train as a pilot of either the Apache, Lynx, or Gazelle helicopter.

Prince Harry was presented with his flying brevet (wings) by his father, on 7 May 2010 at a ceremony at the Army Air Corps Base (AAC), Middle Wallop. Prince Harry had also let it be known that he intended to fly Apache attack helicopters if he was successful in passing the rigorous Apache training course; after which time it could be possible for him to see active military service once again on the frontline in one of the warzones. During the ceremony, he switched his Blues and Royals' Officer's Service Dress cap for that of the Army Air Corps' sky blue beret with a Blues and Royals badge. On 10 March 2011, it was revealed that Prince Harry had passed his Apache flying test and he was awarded his Apache Flying Badge on 14 April 2011. There is speculation that he shall return to Afghanistan once again before the withdrawal in 2015. On 16 April 2011 it was announced that Prince Harry had been promoted to the Army rank of Captain after having held the rank of Lieutenant since 2008.

In June 2011, Clarence House announced that Prince Harry on completion of his training conversion course to use Apache helicopters in the war arena would be available for deployment, including in current operations in Afghanistan in his role as an Apache helicopter pilot. The final decision will ultimately rest with the Ministry of Defence's senior commanders including principally the Chief of the Defence Staff in consultation with the wishes of Harry, his father the Prince of Wales and The Queen. In October, Prince Harry was transferred to a US military base in California to complete his helicopter gunship training. This final phase will include live-fire training as well as "environmental and judgment training" at naval and air force facilities in California and Arizona. The majority of those completing the two-month Apache training are deployed to the front lines in Afghanistan. In the same month it was reported that Prince Harry was said to be a natural pilot who was reportedly top of his class in the extensive training he had undertaken at the Naval Air Facility, El Centro, California. On November 2011, Prince Harry returned to England from military training in the United States. Next, he will head to Wattisham Flying Station in Suffolk, southeast England, to complete his training to fly Apache helicopters.

Royal duties[link]

At the age of 21, Prince Harry was appointed as a Counsellor of State, and began his royal duties by first serving in that capacity when the Queen was abroad to attend the 2005 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Malta. The following year, Harry was in Lesotho to visit again Mants'ase Children's Home near Mohale's Hoek (which he first toured in 2004), and along with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho launched Sentebale: The Princes' Fund for Lesotho, a charity to aid children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. He has also granted his patronage to a number of other organisations, including WellChild, Dolen Cymru, and MapAction. To aid Sentebale, as well as the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund and Centrepoint, Harry and his brother organised the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium, on 1 July 2007.

Sports have also been a way that Harry has helped charities and other organisations, such as when he trained as a Rugby Development Officer for the Rugby Football Union in 2004 and then coached students in schools in order to encourage them to learn the sport. He has also participated in polo matches, like his brother and father, in order to raise money for charitable causes.

On 6 January 2009, Harry and his brother Prince William were granted their own royal household by their grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. It has three main staff members, supported by a "small" team. Sir David Manning, the former British ambassador to Washington, will work as a part-time adviser to the princes. Previously, William and Harry's affairs had been handled by the office of their father at Clarence House in central London. The brothers' new household released a statementcomplete with their own cyphers at the topannouncing that they have established their own office at nearby St. James's Palace to look after their public, military and charitable activities. Harry's cypher is similar to his brother's, but displays an ''H'' in a shade of blue similar to that used by his mother. In September, Prince William and Prince Harry set up The Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry to enable The Princes to take forward their charitable ambitions.The Foundation is the culmination of The Princes’ charitable lives so far.

In March 2012, Prince Harry led an official visit to Belize as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. He continued to the Bahamas and Jamaica, where the current Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller is considering severing ties between Jamaica and the constitutional monarchy, During his visit to Jamaica, he stayed at a private five-bedroom, two-story villa with a private pool and beach access at Half Moon, A RockResort (a place that since the 1980s has been popular with the British Royal Family), located on Jamaica's North Coast near Montego Bay, and reportedly interacted well with the staff there, displaying his late mother's ability to relate to different groups of people.

Personal life and relationships[link]

Prince Harry enjoys playing many sporting activities, playing competitive polo, as well as skiing and motocross. Harry also earned a reputation in his youth for being rebellious, leading the tabloid press to label him as a "wild child". He was found at age 17 smoking cannabis and partaking in under-age drinking with his friends, would clash physically with paparazzi outside nightclubs, and was photographed at Highgrove House at a "Colonial and Native" themed costume party wearing a Nazi German Afrika Korps uniform with a swastika armband. He later issued a public statement apologising for his behaviour.

Prince Harry is a supporter of Arsenal Football Club.

In January 2009, the British tabloid ''News of the World'' revealed a video made by Harry three years previously, in which he referred to a Pakistani fellow officer cadet as "our little Paki friend" and later called a soldier wearing a cloth on his head a "raghead". These terms were described by David Cameron as "unacceptable", and by ''The Daily Telegraph'' as "racist", and a British Muslim youth organisation called the Prince a "thug", a statement that was later retracted. Clarence House immediately issued an apology from Harry, who stated that no malice was intended in his remarks. A former British MP and Royal Marine, Rod Richards, said that such nicknames were common amongst military comrades, stating "in the Armed Forces people often used to call me Taffy. Others were called Yankie, Oz or Kiwi or whatever. I consider Paki as an abbreviation for Pakistani. I don't think on this occasion it was intended to be offensive." It later emerged that Prince Harry had personally apologised to the soldier.

While Harry's personal relationships have not been followed as much as those of his brother, most media attention has been focused on his relationship with Chelsy Davy. In an interview conducted for his 21st birthday, Harry referred to Davy as his girlfriend, and the press reported at that time that the couple had been together for 18 months, contradicting earlier reports that they were no longer together. Harry and Davy were also seen together publicly at the Concert for Diana. Chelsy also accompanied Harry to the wedding of Harry's cousin, Peter Phillips to Autumn Kelly in May 2008, where she was introduced to the Queen for the first time. But, in early 2009 it was reported in the media that the pair had parted ways. Later that year the pair were photographed together at a rugby match, seemingly going public again with their relationship. As of 2010, Harry and Davy are no longer together following Davy's departure from England. In 2011, Harry confirmed the rumors by proclaiming himself "100 per cent single".

Titles, styles, honours and arms[link]

Titles and styles[link]

name	Prince Harry of Wales
dipstyle	His Royal Highness
offstyle	Your Royal Highness
altstyle	Sir }}

15 September 1984present: ''His Royal Highness'' Prince Henry of Wales

The Prince's style and title in full is ''His Royal Highness Prince Henry Charles Albert David of Wales''. As a British prince, Harry holds no surname; however, as with the other male-line grandchildren of Elizabeth II, he uses the name of the area over which his father holds title; i.e., ''Wales''. Past precedent is that such surnames are dropped from usage in adulthood, after which either title alone, or Mountbatten-Windsor is used when necessary. Prince Harry, however, continues to use Wales as his surname for military purposes and is known as Captain Harry Wales in such contexts. If his father succeeds to the throne he will be known as ''His Royal Highness'' The Prince Henry. Traditionally, male-line members of British royalty receive a dukedom a few hours before their marriage, the most recent being Prince William of Wales, who became Duke of Cambridge.

Military ranks[link]

13 April 200613 April 2008: Cornet (Second Lieutenant), The Blues and Royals 13 April 200816 April 2011: Lieutenant, The Blues and Royals Since 16 April 2011: Captain, The Blues and Royals attached to Army Air Corps

Honours[link]

;Appointments 6 March 2012: Honorary Fellow of the University of the West Indies

;Medals 6 February 2002: Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal 5 May 2008: Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan 6 February 2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal

Honorary military appointments[link]

; Canada 10 November 2009: Canadian Ranger

; United Kingdom 3 October 2008: Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington 8 August 2006: Commodore-in-Chief of Small Ships and Diving

Arms[link]

Notes	On his 18th birthday, Prince Harry was granted his own personal coat of arms, consisting of the arms of the sovereign in right of the United Kingdom with a label for difference.
Year adopted	15 September 2002
Escutcheon	Quarterly 1st and 4th gules three lions passant guardant in pale or armed and langed azure 2nd or a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure within a double tressure flory counterflory of the second 3rd azure a harp or stringed argent
Other elements	The whole differenced by a Label of five points Argent the first, third and fifth points charged with an Escallop Gules
Symbolism	As the grandchild of the sovereign, Prince Harry's coat of arms has a label of five points. The ''escallops'' (seashells) allude to his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, whose Spencer coat of arms includes three ''escallops argent''.
Previous versions	}}

Ancestry[link]

{{ahnentafel-compact5 |style=font-size: 90%; line-height: 110%; |border=1 |boxstyle=padding-top: 0; padding-bottom: 0; |boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc; |boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9; |boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc; |boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc; |boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe; |1= 1. Prince Harry of Wales |2= 2. Charles, Prince of Wales |3= 3. Lady Diana Spencer |4= 4. Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark |5= 5. Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom |6= 6. John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer |7= 7. Frances Ruth Burke Roche |8= 8. Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark |9= 9. Princess Alice of Battenberg |10= 10. George VI of the United Kingdom |11= 11. Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon |12= 12. Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer |13= 13. Cynthia Elinor Hamilton |14= 14. Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy |15= 15. Ruth Sylvia Gill |16= 16. George I of Greece |17= 17. Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia |18= 18. Prince Louis of Battenberg |19= 19. Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine |20= 20. George V of the United Kingdom |21= 21. Princess Mary of Teck |22= 22. Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne |23= 23. Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck |24= 24. Charles Spencer, 6th Earl Spencer |25= 25. Margaret Baring |26= 26. James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn |27= 27. Rosalind Cecilia Bingham |28= 28. James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy |29= 29. Frances Work |30= 30. William Smith Gill |31= 31. Ruth Littlejohn }}

Through his maternal grandfather, Prince Harry is descended from King Henry IV of France, King Charles II and King James II and VII. Through his mother, both from The Earl Spencer and The Baron Fermoy Families, Harry is of English, Scottish, American descent and of remote Irish descent.

Prince Harry is descended from the kings and queens of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom with surviving offspring from William I. He is also descended from many of the pre-Union monarchs of Scotland and the pre-Conquest monarchs of England.

See also[link]

British prince

British Royal Family

Canadian Royal Family

Line of succession to the British Throne

Genealogy of the British Royal Family

References[link]

External links[link]

Prince Harry's eulogy to Princess Diana delivered on 31 August 2007

Prince Harry's interview with NBC's Matt Lauer

Royal.gov.uk – Prince Harry

Prince Harry at His Hottest – slideshow by ''Life magazine''

Personal Profile – Prince Harry – From Prince of Wales official Site

Illustrated biography of Prince Harry

Prince Harry Not Going to Iraq on Time.com (a division of Time Magazine)

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:Blues and Royals officers Category:British Army Air Corps officers Category:English Anglicans Category:House of Windsor Category:Mountbatten-Windsor family Category:Old Etonians Category:People educated at Ludgrove School Category:People from Paddington Category:Princes of the United Kingdom Category:Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst Category:British Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) Category:Helicopter pilots Category:People educated at Wetherby School Category:Spencer-Churchill family

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Name	Harry Belafonte
Birth place	Harlem, New York, U.S.
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr.
Years active	1949–2003
Label	RCA Victor CBS EMI Island
Genre	Calypso, vocal, folk
Occupation	Actor, activist, singer
Spouse(s)	Marguerite Byrd (1948-57)Julie Robinson (1957-??)Pamela Belafonte (2008-present?) }}

Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. (born March 1, 1927) is an American born singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s. Belafonte is perhaps best known for singing "The Banana Boat Song", with its signature lyric "Day-O". Throughout his career he has been an advocate for civil rights and humanitarian causes and was a vocal critic of the policies of the George W. Bush Administration.

Early life[link]

Born Harold George Bellanfanti, Jr., at Lying-in Hospital, Harlem, New York, Belafonte was the son of Melvine (née Love) – a housekeeper of Jamaican descent – and Harold George Bellanfanti, Sr., a Martiniquan who worked as a chef in the National Guard. From 1932 to 1940, he lived with his grandmother in her native country of Jamaica. When he returned to New York City, he attended George Washington High School after which he joined the Navy and served during World War II. In the 1940s, he was working as a janitor's assistant in NYC when a tenant gave him, as a gratuity, two tickets to see the American Negro Theater. He fell in love with the art form and also met Sidney Poitier. The financially struggling pair regularly purchased a single seat to local plays, trading places in between acts, after informing the other about the progression of the play. At the end of the 1940s, he took classes in acting at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York with the influential German director Erwin Piscator alongside Marlon Brando, Tony Curtis, Walter Matthau, Bea Arthur and Sidney Poitier, while performing with the American Negro Theatre. He subsequently received a Tony Award for his participation in the Broadway revue ''John Murray Anderson's Almanac.''

Music career[link]

Belafonte started his career in music as a club singer in New York to pay for his acting classes. The first time he appeared in front of an audience, he was backed by the Charlie Parker band, which included Charlie Parker himself, Max Roach and Miles Davis, among others. At first he was a pop singer, launching his recording career on the Roost label in 1949, but later he developed a keen interest in folk music, learning material through the Library of Congress' American folk songs archives. With guitarist and friend Millard Thomas, Belafonte soon made his debut at the legendary jazz club The Village Vanguard. In 1952 he received a contract with RCA Victor.

''Calypso''[link]

His first widely-released single, which went on to become his "signature" song with audience participation in virtually all his live performances, was "Matilda", recorded April 27, 1956. His breakthrough album ''Calypso'' (1956) became the first LP to sell over 1 million copies (Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" and Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons", both singles, had previously surpassed that mark). The album is number four on ''Billboard''s "Top 100 Album" list for having spent 31 weeks at number 1, 58 weeks in the top ten, and 99 weeks on the U.S. charts. The album introduced American audiences to Calypso music (which had originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 20th century), and Belafonte was dubbed the "King of Calypso", a title he wore with reservations, since he had no claims to any Calypso Monarch titles.

One of the songs included in the album is the now famous "Banana Boat Song" (listed as "Day O" on the original release), which reached number five on the pop charts, and featured its signature lyric "Day-O." Belafonte based his version on a 1954 recording by Jamaican folk singer Louise Bennett. His other smash hit was "Jump in the Line."

Many of the compositions recorded for ''Calypso,'' including "Banana Boat Song" and "Jamaica Farewell", gave songwriting credit to Irving Burgie, Belafonte and his team, but were really previously recorded Jamaican mento songs sold as calypso. The original Jamaican versions can now be heard on the "Jamaica—Mento1951–1958" CD released in 2010.

Middle career[link]

While primarily known for Calypso, Belafonte has recorded in many genres, including blues, folk, gospel, show tunes, and American standards. His second-most popular hit, which came immediately after "The Banana Boat Song", was the novelty tune "Mama Look at Bubu", also known as "Mama Look a Boo-Boo" (originally recorded by Lord Melody in 1956), in which he sings humorously about misbehaving and disrespectful children. It reached number eleven on the pop chart.

In 1959 he starred in ''Tonight With Belafonte,'' a nationally televised special that featured Odetta, who sang "Water Boy" and who performed a duet with Belafonte of '"There's a Hole in My Bucket" that hit the national charts in 1961. Belafonte continued to record for RCA through the 1950s to the 1970s. Two live albums, both recorded at Carnegie Hall in 1959 and 1960, enjoyed critical and commercial success. From his 1959 album, Hava Nagila became part of his regular routine and one of his signature songs. He was one of many entertainers recruited by Frank Sinatra to perform at the inaugural gala of President John F. Kennedy in 1961. That same year he released his second calypso album, ''Jump Up Calypso,'' which went on to become another million seller. During the 1960s he introduced several artists to American audiences, most notably South African singer Miriam Makeba and Greek singer Nana Mouskouri. His album ''Midnight Special'' (1962) featured the first-ever record appearance by a then young harmonica player named Bob Dylan.

As The Beatles and other stars from Britain began to dominate the U.S. pop charts, Belafonte's commercial success diminished; 1964's ''Belafonte at The Greek Theatre'' was his last album to appear in ''Billboard''s Top 40. His last hit single, "A Strange Song", was released in 1967 and peaked at number 5 on the Adult contemporary music charts. Belafonte has received Grammy Awards for the albums ''Swing Dat Hammer'' (1960) and ''An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba'' (1965). The latter album dealt with the political plight of black South Africans under Apartheid. He earned six Gold Records.

Later recordings and other activities[link]

Belafonte's recording activity slowed after leaving RCA in the 1970s. From the mid-1970s to early 1980s he spent the greater part of his time touring Japan, Europe, Cuba and elsewhere. His involvement in USA for Africa during the mid-1980s resulted in renewed interest in his music, culminating in a record deal with EMI. He subsequently released his first album of original material in over a decade, ''Paradise in Gazankulu,'' in 1988. The album contains ten protest songs against the South African former Apartheid policy and as of 2011 was his last studio album. In the same year Belafonte, as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, attended a symposium in Harare, Zimbabwe to focus attention on child survival and development in Southern African countries. As part of the symposium, he performed a concert for UNICEF. A Kodak video crew filmed the concert, which was released as a 60-minute concert video entitled "Global Carnival." It features many of the songs from the album ''Paradise in Gazankulu'' and some of his classic hits. Also in 1988, Tim Burton used "The Banana Boat Song" and "Jump in the Line" in his movie ''Beetlejuice''.

Following a lengthy recording hiatus, ''An Evening with Harry Belafonte and Friends,'' a soundtrack and video of a televised concert were released in 1997 by Island Records. ''The Long Road to Freedom, An Anthology of Black Music,'' a huge multi-artist project recorded during the 1960s and 1970s with RCA, was finally released by the label in 2001. The album was nominated for the 2002 Grammy Awards for Best Boxed Recording Package, for Best Album Notes and for Best Historical Album.

Belafonte was the first African American to win an Emmy, with his first solo TV special ''Tonight with Belafonte'' (1959). During the 1960s he appeared on TV specials alongside such artists as Julie Andrews, Petula Clark, Lena Horne and Nana Mouskouri. He was also a guest star on a memorable episode of ''The Muppet Show'' in 1978, in which he performed his signature song "Day-O" on television for the first time. The episode is best known for Belafonte's rendition of the spiritual song, "Turn the World Around", which he performed with Muppets that resembled African tribal masks. It became one of the series' most famous performances. It was reportedly Jim Henson's favorite episode, and Belafonte reprised the song at Henson's memorial in 1990. "Turn the World Around" was also included in the 2005 official hymnal supplement of the Unitarian Universalist Association, "Singing the Journey."

Belafonte received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1989. He was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1994 and he won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000. He performed sold-out concerts globally through the 1950s to the 2000s. Due to illness he was forced to cancel a reunion tour with Nana Mouskouri planned for the spring and summer of 2003 following a tour in Europe. His last concert was a benefit concert for the Atlanta Opera on October 25, 2003. In a 2007 interview he stated that he had since retired from performing.

Film career[link]

Belafonte has starred in several films. His first film role was in ''Bright Road'' (1953), in which he appeared alongside Dorothy Dandridge. The two subsequently starred in Otto Preminger's hit musical ''Carmen Jones'' (1954). Ironically, Belafonte's singing in the film was dubbed by an opera singer, as Belafonte's own singing voice was seen as unsuitable for the role. Using his star clout, Belafonte was subsequently able to realize several then-controversial film roles. In 1957's ''Island in the Sun,'' there are hints of an affair between Belafonte's character and the character played by Joan Fontaine. The film also starred James Mason, Dandridge, Joan Collins, Michael Rennie and John Justin. In 1959, he starred in and produced Robert Wise's ''Odds Against Tomorrow,'' in which he plays a bank robber uncomfortably teamed with a racist partner (Robert Ryan). He also co-starred with Inger Stevens in ''The World, the Flesh and the Devil.'' Belafonte was offered the role of Porgy in Preminger's ''Porgy and Bess,'' where he would have once again starred opposite Dandridge, but he refused the role because he objected to its racial stereotyping.

Dissatisfied with the film roles available to him, he returned to music during the 1960s. In the early 1970s Belafonte appeared in more films among which are two with Poitier: ''Buck and the Preacher'' (1972) and ''Uptown Saturday Night'' (1974). In 1984 Belafonte produced and scored the musical film ''Beat Street,'' dealing with the rise of hip-hop culture. Together with Arthur Baker, he produced the gold-certified soundtrack of the same name. Belafonte next starred in a major film again in the mid-1990s, appearing with John Travolta in the race-reverse drama ''White Man's Burden'' (1995); and in Robert Altman's jazz age drama ''Kansas City'' (1996), the latter of which garnered him the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor. He also starred as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in the TV drama ''Swing Vote'' (1999). In late 2006, Belafonte appeared in the role of Nelson, a friend of an employee of the Ambassador Hotel played by Anthony Hopkins, in ''Bobby,'' Emilio Estevez's ensemble drama about the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.

Personal life[link]

Belafonte and Marguerite Byrd were married from 1948 to 1957. They have two daughters: Adrienne and Shari. Shari Belafonte, married to Sam Behrens, is a photographer, model, singer and actress. In 1997 Adrienne Biesemeyer and her daughter Rachel Blue founded the Anir Foundation/Experience. Anir focuses on humanitarian work in southern Africa.

On March 8, 1957, Belafonte married second wife Julie Robinson (former dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company). They had two children, David and Gina Belafonte. David Belafonte (a former model and actor) is an Emmy-winning producer and the executive director of the family-held company Belafonte Enterprises Inc. A music producer, he has been involved in most of Belafonte's albums and tours. David married Danish model, singer and TV personality Malena Belafonte, born Mathiesen, who won silver in ''Dancing with the Stars'' in Denmark in 2009. Malena Belafonte founded Speyer Legacy School, an award winning private elementary school for gifted and talented children. David and Malena's daughter Sarafina attended this school. Gina Belafonte is a TV and film actress and worked with her father as coach and producer on more than six films. Gina helped found The Gathering For Justice, an intergenerational, intercultural non-profit organization working to reintroduce nonviolence to stop child incarceration. She is married to actor Scott McCray.

In April 2008, Belafonte married photographer Pamela Frank. Belafonte lived in a 21-room apartment at 300 West End Avenue (corner of 74th Street) in New York City for 50 years. In 2007 he sold his fifth-floor apartment to Abigail Disney for 10.8 million dollars. In October 1998 Belafonte contributed a letter to Liv Ullmann's book ''Letter to My Grandchild.''

Political and humanitarian activism[link]

Belafonte's political beliefs were greatly inspired by the singer, actor and activist Paul Robeson, who mentored him. Robeson opposed not only racial prejudice in the United States, but also western colonialism in Africa. Belafonte's success did not protect him from racial discrimination, particularly in the American South. Belafonte refused to perform there from 1954 until 1961. In 1960 he appeared in a campaign commercial for Democratic Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy. Kennedy later named Belafonte cultural advisor to the Peace Corps.

Belafonte gave the keynote address at the ACLU of Northern California's annual Bill of Rights Day Celebration In December 2007 and was awarded the Chief Justice Earl Warren Civil Liberties Award. The 2011 Sundance Film Festival featured the documentary film "Sing Your Song", a biographical film focusing on Belafonte's contribution to and his leadership in the civil rights movement in America and his endeavours to promote social justice globally. In 2011 Belafonte also presented his biography "My Song".

Civil rights activist[link]

Belafonte supported the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and was one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s confidants. He provided for King's family, since King made only $8,000 a year as a preacher. Like many other civil rights activists, Belafonte was blacklisted during the McCarthy era. He bailed King out of Birmingham City Jail and raised thousands of dollars to release other civil rights protesters. He financed the Freedom Rides, supported voter registration drives, and helped to organize the March on Washington in 1963.

During "Freedom Summer" in 1964 Belafonte bankrolled the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, flying to Mississippi that August with Sidney Poitier and $60,000 in cash and entertaining crowds in Greenwood. In 1968 Belafonte appeared on a Petula Clark primetime television special on NBC. In the middle of a song, Clark smiled and briefly touched Belafonte's arm, which made the show's sponsor, Plymouth Motors, nervous. Plymouth wanted to cut the segment, but Clark, who had ownership of the special, told NBC that the performance would be shown intact or she would not allow the special to be aired at all. Newspapers reported the controversy, and when the special aired it attracted high ratings.

Belafonte appeared on ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' and performed a controversial "Mardi Gras" number intercut with footage from the 1968 Democratic National Convention riots. CBS censors deleted the segment.

Humanitarian activist[link]

In 1985, he helped organize the Grammy Award winning song "We Are the World", a multi-artist effort to raise funds for Africa. He performed in the Live Aid concert that same year. In 1987 he received an appointment to UNICEF as a goodwill ambassador. Following his appointment Belafonte traveled to Dakar, Senegal, where he served as chairman of the International Symposium of Artists and Intellectuals for African Children. He also helped to raise funds—alongside more than 20 other artists—in the largest concert ever held in sub-Saharan Africa. In 1994 he went on a mission to Rwanda and launched a media campaign to raise awareness of the needs of Rwandan children.

In 2001 he went to South Africa to support the campaign against HIV/AIDS. In 2002 Africare awarded him the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award for his efforts to assist Africa. In 2004 Belafonte went to Kenya to stress the importance of educating children in the region.

Belafonte has been involved in prostate cancer advocacy since 1996, when he was diagnosed and successfully treated for the disease.

On June 27, 2006, Belafonte was the recipient of the BET Humanitarian Award at the 2006 BET Awards. He was named one of nine 2006 Impact Award recipients by ''AARP The Magazine.''

On October 19, 2007, Belafonte represented UNICEF on Norwegian television to support the annual telethon (TV Aksjonen) in support of that charity and helped raise a world record of $10 per inhabitant of Norway. Belafonte was also an ambassador for the Bahamas. He is on the board of directors of the Advancement Project.

Political activist[link]

Belafonte has been a longtime critic of U.S. foreign policy. He began making controversial political statements on this subject in the early 1980s. He has at various times made statements opposing the U.S. embargo on Cuba; praising Soviet peace initiatives; attacking the U.S. invasion of Grenada; praising the Abraham Lincoln Brigade; honoring Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and praising Fidel Castro. Belafonte is additionally known for his visit to Cuba which helped ensure hip-hop’s place in Cuban society. According to Geoffrey Baker’s article “Hip hop, Revolucion! Nationalizing Rap in Cuba,” in 1999 Belafonte met with representatives of the rap community immediately before meeting with Fidel Castro. This meeting resulted in Castro’s personal approval of, and hence the government’s involvement in, the incorporation of rap into his country’s culture. In a 2003 interview Belafonte reflected upon this meeting’s influence:

“When I went back to Havana a couple years later, the people in the hip-hop community came to see me and we hung out for a bit. They thanked me profusely and I said, 'Why?' and they said, 'Because your little conversation with Fidel and the Minister of Culture on hip-hop led to there being a special division within the ministry and we've got our own studio'."

Belafonte was active in the anti-apartheid movement. He was the Master of Ceremonies at a reception honoring African National Congress President Oliver Tambo at Roosevelt House, Hunter College, in New York City. The reception was held by the American Committee on Africa (ACOA) and The Africa Fund. He is a current board member of the TransAfrica Forum and the Institute for Policy Studies.

In 2004 he was awarded the Domestic Human Rights Award by Global Exchange, in San Francisco.

In December 2007 he endorsed John Edwards for the 2008 Presidential Election.

Opposition to the George W. Bush Administration[link]

Belafonte achieved widespread attention for his political views in 2002 when he began making a series of comments about President George W. Bush, his administration and the Iraq War. During an interview with Ted Leitner for San Diego's 760 KFMB, in October 2002 Belafonte referred to a quote made by Malcolm X. Belafonte said:

Belafonte used the quote to characterize former United States Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, both African-Americans. Powell and Rice both responded, with Powell calling the remarks "unfortunate" and Rice saying "I don't need Harry Belafonte to tell me what it means to be black."

thumb|Harry Belafonte at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival in February 2011The comment was brought up again in an interview with Amy Goodman for ''Democracy Now!'' in 2006. In January 2006, Belafonte led a delegation of activists including actor Danny Glover and activist/professor Cornel West to meet with President of Venezuela Hugo Chávez. In 2005 Chávez, an outspoken Bush critic, initiated a program to provide cheaper heating oil for poor people in several areas of the United States. Belafonte supported this initiative. Belafonte was quoted as saying, during the meeting with Chávez, "No matter what the greatest tyrant in the world, the greatest terrorist in the world, George W. Bush says, we're here to tell you: Not hundreds, not thousands, but millions of the American people support your revolution." Belafonte and Glover met again with Chávez in 2006. The comment ignited a great deal of controversy. Hillary Clinton refused to acknowledge Belafonte's presence at an awards ceremony that featured both of them. AARP, which had just named him one of its 10 Impact Award honorees 2006, released this statement following the remarks: "AARP does not condone the manner and tone which he has chosen and finds his comments completely unacceptable." During a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech at Duke University in 2006 Belafonte compared the American government to the 9/11 hijackers, saying, "What is the difference between that terrorist and other terrorists?" In response to criticism about his remarks Belafonte asked, "What do you call Bush when the war he put us in to date has killed almost as many Americans as died on 9/11 and the number of Americans wounded in war is almost triple? [...] By most definitions Bush can be considered a terrorist." When he was asked about his expectation of criticism for his remarks on the war in Iraq, Belafonte responded: "Bring it on. Dissent is central to any democracy."

In another interview Belafonte remarked that while his comments may have been "hasty", nevertheless he felt the Bush administration suffered from "arrogance wedded to ignorance" and its policies around the world were "morally bankrupt." In January 2006, in a speech to the annual meeting of the Arts Presenters Members Conference, Belafonte referred to "the new Gestapo of Homeland Security" saying, "You can be arrested and have no right to counsel!" During the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day speech at the Duke University in January 2006 Belafonte said that if he could choose his epitaph it would be, "Harry Belafonte, Patriot."

Discography[link]

Filmography [link]

''Bright Road'' (1953)

''Carmen Jones'' (1954)

''Island in the Sun'' (1957)

''The Heart of Show Business'' (1957) (short subject)

''The World, the Flesh and the Devil'' (1959)

''Odds Against Tomorrow'' (1959)

''King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis'' (1970) (documentary) (narrator)

''The Angel Levine'' (1970)

''Buck and the Preacher'' (1972)

''Uptown Saturday Night'' (1974)

''Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker'' (1981) (documentary)

''A veces miro mi vida'' (1982)

''Drei Lieder'' (1983) (short subject)

''Sag nein'' (1983) (documentary)

''Der Schönste Traum'' (1984) (documentary)

''We Shall Overcome'' (1989) (documentary) (narrator)

''The Player'' (1992) (Cameo)

''Ready to Wear'' (1994) (Cameo)

''Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream'' (1995)

''White Man's Burden'' (1995)

''Jazz '34'' (1996)

''Kansas City'' (1996)

''Scandalize My Name: Stories from the Blacklist'' (1998) (documentary)

''Fidel'' (2001) (documentary)

''XXI Century'' (2003) (documentary)

''Conakry Kas'' (2003) (documentary)

''Ladders'' (2004) (documentary) (narrator)

''Mo & Me'' (2006) (documentary)

''Bobby'' (2006)

''Motherland'' (2009) (documentary)

''Sing Your Song'' (2011) (documentary)

Television work [link]

''Sugar Hill Times'' (1949–1950)

''Tonight With Belafonte'' (1959)

''Petula'' (1968)

''A World in Music'' (1969)

''Harry & Lena, For The Love Of Life (1969)

''A World in Love'' (1970)

''Free to Be… You and Me'' (1974)

''The Muppet Show'' (1978)

''Grambling's White Tiger'' (1981)

''Don't Stop The Carnival'' (1985)

''An Evening With Harry Belafonte And Friends'' (1997)

''Swing Vote'' (1999)

''Tanner on Tanner'' (2004)

''That's What I'm Talking About'' (2006) (miniseries)

''When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts'' (2006) (miniseries)

Concert videos[link]

''Don't Stop The Carnival'' (1985)

''Global Carnival'' (1988)

''An Evening With Harry Belafonte And Friends'' (1997)

Stage work[link]

''John Murray Anderson's Almanac'' (December 10, 1953 – June 26, 1954)

''3 for Tonight'' (April 6 – June 18, 1955)

''Moonbirds'' (October 9–10, 1959) (producer)

''Belafonte at the Palace'' (December 15, 1959 – closing date unknown)

''Asinamali!'' (April 23 – May 17, 1987) (producer)

References[link]

External links[link]

Harry Belafonte discography

English version of the text found at the bottom of the page.

2004 Global Exchange Human Rights Award – Belafonte's acceptance speech in San Francisco

Ubben Lecture at DePauw University

Democracy Now! transcript/MP3/video of interview by Amy Goodman, January 30, 2006

''The Bigotry of Belafonte'' – by Andrew Sullivan, Salon.com, Oct. 25, 2002

"The Man Behind Belafonte's Music – Irving Burgie" – by Ronald David Jackson, with video

Discography at SonyBMG Masterworks

The HistoryMakers Biography and video clips

Harry Belafonte: Belafonte At Carnegie Hall

Belafonte and Nat King Cole sing "Mama Look at Bubu"

Belafonte: "Iraq & Afghanistan Wars Are Immoral" – video report by ''Democracy Now!''

Category:American anti-war activists Category:American folk singers Category:People from Manhattan Category:People from Harlem Category:American socialists Category:International opponents of apartheid in South Africa Category:Calypsonians Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:American musicians of Jamaican descent Category:People of Martiniquais descent Category:World music musicians Category:Jubilee Records artists Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Tony Award winners Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients Category:1927 births Category:Living people

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