Fighting for freedom...
The former slaves, who lived in the hills inland and were named cimarrón (Spanish for 'wild'), developed their own way of life, far from the English colonists along the coast.
However, when more and more colonists arrived at Jamaica, the plantations spread more inland. It would be easier for the Maroons (yeah, the English word for 'cimarrón') to sneak from the hills at night and steal cattle or set fire to the fields...
Maroon war
From their places of shelter in the Blue Mountains and the woody hills in Cockpit Country the Maroons developed a guerilla war. The British, not used to the land and climate, were not able to do something against the Maroons until the storming of Nanny Town, high in the Blue Mountains.
That successful attack made the Maroons to surrender and Cudjoe, the leader did agree to the new peace treaty on March 1, 1739. The first Maroon War was over.
Tacky
In 1760, the first serious slave rebellion broke out, now know as 'Tacky's Rebellion'. Tacky, leader of the rebellion was a Coromantee slave. He once was a chief in Africa. On Easter Monday he and his men went to Port Maria, killed the storekeeper and made up weapons. It was a start of a bloody fight.
According the treaty of 1739, the Maroons had to help the British to knock down the revolt. The did and finally most of the slaves returned to their plantations. Tacky was killed by a Maroon called Davy.
During the months after Tacky's Rebellion, more revolts broke out. Another serious uprising of Coromantees were in Westmoreland and the British needed the Maroons again to suppress it. A few other rebellions in the same period took place in St. James and around Kingston.
Second Maroon War
The flogging in Montego Bay of two Trelawny's (it was said they were thiefs) was the cause for the Second Maroon War in 1795. During five months about 300 Maroons kept 1,500 British at arm's length.
But when the British took 100 dogs from Cuba, used to hunt on runaway slaves, the Maroons started peace talks again. It was the last rebellion of the Maroons.
Sam Sharp's Christmas Rebellion
In England William Wilberforce struggled for the end of slavery. In 1807 he secured the abolition of the slave trade. And finally, in 1838, slavery was abolished.
In Jamaica, however, most plantation owners still kept their slaves at work. That was not a smart move. At Christmas 1831, the worst rebellion broke out in St. James.
It was "daddy' Sam Sharpe, a baptist leader, who sparked the revolt. The rebellion was bloody as well and Sam Sharpe was hanged on a square in Montego Bay, now known as Sam Sharp Square. He also became a National Hero.
The Christmas Rebellion was the end of Slavery in Jamaica.
It was not an improvement in the first place.
While the slaves got their freedom back, the economy slowly died. Most important in Jamaica's economy was the production of sugar and that was based on slavery...
The civil war in America stopped the supply of basic food to Jamaica. Droughts runed the crops. In high society corruption was rule rather than the exception and not much was done to help the poor in the country.
Morant Bay Rebellion
It came to a head in October 1865. An uprising in St. Thomas-in-the-East was led by Paul Bogle. The Morant Bay Rebellion, as it went down in history, took the lives of a few whities, but was put down cruel by governor Edward John Eyre. About 430 persons were executed, 150 were flogged and more than 1,000 homes were destroyed.
Paul Bogle and George William Gorden (a prominent mulatto) were hanged. According Eyre Gorden was blamed for the revolt, but later he appears to be scapegoat...
A century later, Bogle and Gordon became National Heroes. Sculptress Edna Manley made the statue of Paul Bogle in front of the courthouse in Morant Bay.
In Britain they were not happy with the rough handling of the uprising by governor Eyre. He got recalled, but before he went back to Britain he was able to change the constitution into a Crown Colony status.
Which made the governor of Jamaica a powerful man and able to made reforms and improvements to made the country ready for a new period in history.
rebellions 
