travel_explore explore, browse, discover

national symbol
Bahamas
Belize
Jamaica
St. Lucia
ackee
Blighia sapida; A fruit of the soapberry family native to West Africa that was introduced to the Caribbean. It is the national fruit of Jamaica, and features prominently in Jamaican cuisine where it is an ingredient in the the national dish 'ackee and saltfish'. The fruit changes in colour from yellowish-green to a reddish orange as it matures. When ripe, the pods open to reveal two to three fleshy white or cream coloured arils. The arils are the only edible part of the fruit. The fruit must be allowed to open fully before harvesting as unripe and unopened fruit is poisonous and may cause ackee poisoning or Jamaican Vomiting Sickness (toxic hypoglycemic syndrome).
food
plant
fruit
national symbol
122 comments
Jamaica
ackee and saltfish
A traditional food that is the national dish of Jamaica. It is typically prepared as a sautee of boiled ackee, saltfish, peppers, onions and other spices. It is usually accompanied by bread, breadfruit, boiled green bananas, or dumplings.
food
national symbol
3 comments
Jamaica
alexander bustamante
Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante GBE, National Hero of Jamaica (24 February 1884 - 6 August 1977). A Jamaican politician, labour leader, and founder of the Jamaica Labour Party.
person
national symbol
1 comments
Jamaica
blue mahoe
A straight trunked, broad leafed tree with flowers resembling that of the hibiscus. The polished wood of the tree is marked by blue-green streaks. It is the national tree of Jamaica.
national symbol
plant
1 comments
Jamaica
busta
Sir William Alexander Clarke Bustamante GBE, National Hero of Jamaica (24 February 1884 - 6 August 1977). A Jamaican politician, labour leader, and founder of the Jamaica Labour Party.
person
national symbol
3 comments
Trinidad & Tobago
chaconia
Warszewiczia coccinea (or Chaconia, Wild Poinsettia and Pride of Trinidad and Tobago) is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is the national flower of Trinidad and Tobago because it blooms on 31 August, which coincides with the day that Trinidad and Tobago became independent from Great Britain. It was named Chaconia after Trinidad's last colonial Spanish Governor Don Jose Maria Chacon, who is credited with a vast upgrading of the island and its capital Port of Spain.
national symbol
plant
2 comments
Trinidad & Tobago
cocrico
The Rufous-vented Chachalaca, is a member of an ancient group of birds of the Cracidae family, which are related to the Australasian mound builders. It inhabits northeast Colombia and northern Venezuela where it is called Guacharaca, and in Tobago where it is known as the Cocrico and is the island's national bird. It is also found on Bequia and Union Island in the Grenadines where it may have been introduced.
bird
animal
national symbol
3 comments
Jamaica
doctor bird
The Red-billed Streamertail; A species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family. It is endemic to Jamaica and is that country's national bird.
animal
bird
national symbol
5 comments
Jamaica
eastern streamertail
The Red-billed Streamertail; A species of hummingbird in the Trochilidae family. It is endemic to Jamaica and is that country's national bird.
animal
bird
national symbol
1 comments
Jamaica
george william gordon
George William Gordon, (1820-1865) was a Jamaican businessman and politician who was a leading critic of the policies of then Governor of Jamaica, Edward Eyre. On Eyre's orders, he was executed after the Morant Bay rebellion. Gordon's execution created huge controversy in Britain, and several attempts were made to charge Eyre with murder. On the centenary of his death, Gordon was proclaimed a National Hero of Jamaica.
national symbol
person
Jamaica
granny nanny
Nanny (c. 1686 - 1733), Jamaican National Hero, was a runaway slave, founder of Nanny Town, and well-known leader of the Jamaican Maroons during the eighteenth century. Born a member of the Ashanti tribe in Ghana, she was brought to Jamaica as a slave along with other family members. She and her brothers Accompong, Cudjoe, Johnny, and Quaco subsequently escaped, are known for their fierce organised resistance to the British.
person
national symbol
Jamaica
marcus garvey
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Jr., ONH (17 August 1887 – 10 June 1940) was a Jamaican political leader, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator who was a staunch proponent of the Black nationalism and Pan-Africanism movements, to which end he founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League (UNIA-ACL). He founded the Black Star Line, part of the Back-to-Africa movement, which promoted the return of the African diaspora to their ancestral lands.
person
national symbol
3 comments
Montserrat
montserrat oriole
The Montserrat Oriole is a medium sized black and yellow "New World Oriole" that is native to the island of Montserrat and is that territory's national bird.
animal
bird
national symbol
1 comments
Jamaica
nanny
Nanny (c. 1686 - 1733), Jamaican National Hero, was a runaway slave, founder of Nanny Town, and well-known leader of the Jamaican Maroons during the eighteenth century. Born a member of the Ashanti tribe in Ghana, she was brought to Jamaica as a slave along with other family members. She and her brothers Accompong, Cudjoe, Johnny, and Quaco subsequently escaped, are known for their fierce organised resistance to the British.
person
national symbol
Jamaica
norman manley
Norman Washington Manley MM QC National Hero of Jamaica (4 July 1893 – 2 September 1969), was a Jamaican statesman. A Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the 1920s. With his cousin, Alexander Bustamante, Manley was an advocate of the universal suffrage that was granted the colony in 1944.
person
national symbol
3 comments
Trinidad & Tobago
pan
The steel drum is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago where it is also the national instrument.
national symbol
5 comments
Jamaica
paul bogle
Paul Bogle (ca. 1820 – 1865) was a Jamaican Baptist deacon and is a National Hero of Jamaica. He was a leader of the 1865 Morant Bay Protests, which agitated for justice and fair treatment for all in Jamaica. Leading the Morant Bay rebellion, he was captured and hanged on 24 October 1865 in the Morant Bay Court House by the United Kingdom authorities.
national symbol
person
2 comments
Trinidad & Tobago
pride of trinidad and tobago
Warszewiczia coccinea (or Chaconia, Wild Poinsettia and Pride of Trinidad and Tobago) is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is the national flower of Trinidad and Tobago because it blooms on 31 August, which coincides with the day that Trinidad and Tobago became independent from Great Britain. It was named Chaconia after Trinidad's last colonial Spanish Governor Don Jose Maria Chacon, who is credited with a vast upgrading of the island and its capital Port of Spain.
national symbol
plant
2 comments
Jamaica
sam sharpe
Samuel 'Sam' Sharpe, or Sharp, National Hero of Jamaica (1801, Jamaica - 23 May 1832, Jamaica) was the slave leader behind the Jamaican Baptist War slave rebellion. Samuel Sharpe was born in the parish of St. James. Although Samuel Sharpe was a slave most of his life, he was allowed to become well-educated. Because of his education he was respected by other slaves, and he was a well known preacher and leader. Sharpe was a Deacon at the Burchell Baptist Church in Montego Bay, whose pastor was Rev Thomas Burchell. Sam Sharpe spent most of his time travelling to different parishes in Jamaica educating the slaves about Christianity and freedom.
person
national symbol
1 comments
Trinidad & Tobago
scarlet ibis
The Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and islands of the Caribbean. In form it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but its remarkably brilliant scarlet coloration makes it unmistakable.
animal
bird
national symbol
1 comments
Trinidad & Tobago
steelpan
Steelpans (also known as steel drums or pans, and sometimes, collectively with other musicians, as a steel band or orchestra) is a musical instrument originating from The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Steel pan musicians are called pannists. The modern pan is a chromatically pitched percussion instrument (although some toy or novelty steelpans are tuned diatonically, and some older style round the neck instruments have even fewer notes), made from 55 gallon drums that formerly contained oil and like substances. Drum refers to the steel drum containers from which the pans are made; the steeldrum is more correctly called a steel pan or pan as it falls into the idiophone family of instruments, and so is not a drum which is a membranophone.
national symbol
5 comments
turpial
A "New World Oriole" that is the National Bird of Venezuela. It is a large bird with bright yellow, black and white markings.
animal
bird
national symbol
2 comments
Guyana
water lily
The Victoria Regia water lily. The national flower of Guyana.
national symbol
plant
3 comments
Trinidad & Tobago
wild poinsettia
Warszewiczia coccinea (or Chaconia, Wild Poinsettia and Pride of Trinidad and Tobago) is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is the national flower of Trinidad and Tobago because it blooms on 31 August, which coincides with the day that Trinidad and Tobago became independent from Great Britain. It was named Chaconia after Trinidad's last colonial Spanish Governor Don Jose Maria Chacon, who is credited with a vast upgrading of the island and its capital Port of Spain.
national symbol
plant