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IN AUGUST 1962, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago became the first two British colonies in the English-speaking Caribbean to gain Independence. Since then, another 13 former British colonies in the anglophone Caribbean, culminating with St Kitts and Nevis in 1983, have joined the ranks of independent states.
Under British rule, Jamaica became the center of the  Town of Jamaica. Jamaica was the county seat of Queens County from the formation of the county in 1683 until March 7, 1788, when the town was reorganized by the state government and the county seat was moved to Mineola (now part of Nassau County).oday, some locals group Jamaica's surrounding neighborhoods into an unofficial Greater Jamaica, roughly corresponding to the former Town of Jamaica, including Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, St. Albans, Rosedale, Springfield Gardens, Hollis, Laurelton, Cambria Heights, Queens Village, Howard Beach and Ozone Park.