Scottish Jamaicans are Jamaicans of Scottish descent. Scottish Jamaicans include those of European and mixed African and Asian ancestry with Scottish ancestors and date back to the earliest period of post-Spanish, European colonisation.

An early influx of Scots came in 1656, when 1200 prisoners of war were deported by Oliver Cromwell.to the recently acquired English colony there. They were sold as bond (indentured) servants to the English, and in 1745-46 after the failure of the Jacobite Rebellion. (Jacobites were supporters of James II’s claim to the English throne). 3,500 prisoners were taken after the Battle of Culloden of whom 936 were sentenced to exile for life in the Americas. Subsequently the island attracted a growing number of Scottish immigrants who generally arrived as indentured servants. At the same time the government in Scotland was exiling criminals and Covenanters to Jamaica. There are records of three ships sailing to Jamaica and Barbados with 254 prisoners. It is significant that one of the places in Jamaica with a Scottish name is Culloden. Others came in between those seeking religious freedom, those from lower-socio-economic levels such as gypsies, criminals and idlers, who were rounded up and shipped off, as well as doctors and lawyers and others from the middle class who were simply in search of a quick fortune.
The last group of Scots to arrive in Jamaica during the seventeenth century, comprised a number of refugees from the failed colony at Darien.
Jamaica seems to have had a special attraction for Scots, as an observer in 1763 reckoned that one-third of the white population there were Scots or of Scottish origin.

Scottish involvement in the slave trade
Scotland played a huge part in Jamaica’s slavery-driven economy. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the Scottish economy grew from one of the weakest in Europe to becoming one of the most powerful. A large number of plantation owners and overseers in Jamaica were from Scotland as well as being involved in a variety of other occupations. Of the overseers of the slave plantations in the West Indies three out of four are Scotsmen and the fourth is generally observed to have very suspicious cheekbones.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in 1812
Jamaica in Glasgow
Glasgow was a major importer of slave produced sugar and the sugar sheds in Greenock still exist today. Linen manufacture was a key element in Scotland’s economic growth and by the early nineteenth century, more than half of Scotland’s linen was exported to clothe both the slaves and their owners in the Caribbean. Glasgow in particular has monuments, edifices and street names that honour those who participated in the slave trade.

• "Scottish Genealogy Society - Scottish Jamaica Testaments". 7 March 2003. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2022..
• http://www.flagupscotjam.uk/connection/

Campbells in Jamaica
Campbell is the most common surname in Jamaica and it is said that there are more Campbells per square acre in Jamaica than in Scotland! It is thought that the first Campbell in Jamaica may have been Colonel John Campbell. He was born in Inverary in Argyllshire in 1673. He took part in the failed experiment to start a Scottish colony at Darien, Panama in 1698, but rather than return to Scotland he decided to settle in 1700 in Jamaica at Black River, St. Elizabeth. Eventually he set up a sugar plantation at Black River. He later encouraged his nephews to come out as planters to benefit from his initiatives.
When he died in 1740, he was buried in St Elizabeth and the inscription on his tomb reads as follows: “Here lies the Hon. John Campbell, born at Inverary, Argyllshire, North Britain, and descended of the Ancient family of Auchenbrock, when a youth he served several campaigns in Flanders. He went as Captain of the Troops sent to Darien and on his return to this Island, in 1700, he married the daughter of Col. Claiborne by whom he had several children. In 1718 he married Elizabeth, relict of Col. Gomes. He was for many years Member of the Assembly, Colonel and Custos of St Elizabeth. In 1722 he was made one of the Privy Council. He was the first Campbell who settled in this Island, and thro’ his extream generosity and assistance, many are now possessed of opulent fortunes. His temperance and great humanity have always been very remarkable. He died January 29, 1740. Aged 66 years. Universally lamented.” Notable Campbells who may be descended from him include the fashion model Naomi Campbell and sprinter Veronica Campbell-Brown. http://www.flagupscotjam.uk/connection/

Naomi Campbell au festival de Cannes by Georges Biard & Veronica Campbell during 2011 World championships Athletics in Daegu by Erik van Leeuwen

Resources

• http://www.flagupscotjam.uk/connection/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_Jamaicans
• https://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080316/news/news3.html
• https://www.spanglefish.com/slavesandhighlanders/index.asp?pageid=2...
• https://web.archive.org/web/20100129103152/http://www.scotsgenealog...
• https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/13839601.jamaica-country-cam...
• https://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/13839601.jamaica-country-cam...
• https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1MtQwX9jTOJX1r7ApHvSK3d02NZU...
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Macdonald,_17th_of_Keppoch & https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clan_Donald#Jacobite_rising_of_1715 {Jacobite uprising)