Jamaicans

The initial inhabitants were Indigenous peoples, including the Taíno. The Taíno migrated from Venezuela and referred to Jamaica as Xaymaca, which translates to "land of wood and water" in the Taíno language. Upon the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the Spaniards killed all the Taíno in order to get their land. The native Tainos were greatly reduced in number due to European diseases and the compulsory labor enforced by the Spanish, although some Tainos managed to survived during English colonization. According to the official Jamaica Population Census of 1970, ethnic origins categories in Jamaica include: Black (Mixed); Chinese; East Indian; White; and 'Other' (e.g.: Syrian or Lebanese). But according to a more precise study conducted by the local University of the West Indies - Jamaica's population is more accurately 76.3% African descent or Black, 15.1% Afro-European (or locally called the Brown Man or Browning Class), 3.4% East Indian and Afro-East Indian, 3.2% Caucasian, 1.2% Chinese and 0.8% Other. Wealth or economic power in Jamaica is disproportionately held by the White Jamaicans, Chinese Jamaicans and the Afro-European (or locally called the Brown Man or Browning Class) - i.e. despite being a minority group(s) (less than 25% of the country's population) controls most of the country's wealth. According to Minority Rights Group International, approximately 3,000 Yamaye Taíno people live in Jamaica and that some Jamaican Maroon communities assert Indigenous ancestry. ==Self-identified ethnic origin==