Workers Party of Jamaica Workers Party of Jamaica The Workers Party of Jamaica (WPJ) was a Marxist-Leninist political party in Jamaica. WPJ was founded on 17 December 1978, by Trevor Munroe, along with Elean Thomas and others. Munroe, a Rhodes scholar from Oxford University, served as its general secretary. The forerunner of WPJ was the Workers Liberation League. WPJ was a "critical ally" of the People's National Party (PNP) of Michael Manley. With WPJ backing, the PNP government developed closer relations to Cuba, which irritated the United States. However, in the late 1970s, the WPJ participated in Jamaican popular resistance to fiscal controls imposed
History of the Jews in Jamaica History of the Jews in Jamaica The history of the Jews in Jamaica predominantly dates back to migrants from Spain and Portugal and Spain to the island since 1494. Starting in 1480, many Jews began fleeing from Spain because of the persecution of the Holy Inquisition. When the English captured Jamaica from Spain in 1655, the Jews who were living as conversos began to practice Judaism openly. By 1611, the Island of Jamaica had reached an estimated population of 1,500 people. An estimated 75 of those people were described as "foreigners," which may have included some Portuguese Jews. Still, many