A German population in Jamaica was established in the 1830s when the abolition of slavery resulted in a labour shortage on the Caribbean island

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

. Lord Seaford

Charles Ellis, 1st Baron Seaford

Charles Rose Ellis, 1st Baron Seaford , was a British politician.Ellis was elected to the House of Commons for Heytesbury in 1793, a seat he held until 1796, and then represented Seaford from 1796 to 1806 and from 1812 to 1826 and East Grinstead from 1807 to 1812...

, who owned the Montpelier Estate and Shettlewood Pen in St. James

Saint James Parish, Jamaica

St James is a suburban parish, located on the north west end of the island of Jamaica. Its capital, Montego Bay, derived from the Spanish word Manteca because many wild hogs were found there from which they made lard. It was named publicly the second city of Jamaica, behind Kingston, in 1981....

 established a European settlement in Westmoreland

Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica

Westmoreland is the westernmost parish in Jamaica, located on the south side of the island. It is situated to the south of Hanover, the southwest of Saint James, and the northwest of Saint Elizabeth, in the county of Cornwall. The chief town and capital is Savanna-la-Mar...

 in order to combat the shortage, and over one thousand Germans

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 migrated

Human migration

Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...

 to Jamaica.

The German language

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

 is no longer used on the island, but some German words have entered the Jamaican vernacular. Many Jamaicans in Seaford Town

Seaford Town

Seaford Town, also known as "German Town" has the most unusual history of all communities in Jamaica. The history of Seaford Town begins with the abolition of slavery on 1 August 1834. Many landowners were concerned that the abolition would leave them with insufficient labour to tend their fields...

carry heavy European features such as blue eyes, blond hair, freckles, and white skin, as a result of the German genetic influences.