History of Rastafari

The Rastafari movement developed out of the legacy of the Atlantic slave trade, in which over ten million Africans were enslaved and transported to the Americas between the 16th and 19th centuries. Once there, they were sold to European planters and forced to work on the plantations.^[1] Around a third of these transported Africans were relocated in the Caribbean, with under 700,000 being settled in Jamaica.^[1] In 1834, slavery in Jamaica was abolished after the British government passed the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.^[2] Racial prejudice nevertheless remained prevalent across Jamaican society.^[3] The overwhelming majority of Jamaica's legislative council was white throughout the 19th century,^[4] and those of African descent were treated as second-class citizens.^[5]

Christian revivalism was a key influence on Rastafari.^[6] Many Afro-Jamaicans joined Christian churches during the Great Revival of 1860–61.^[7] They brought with them many inherited African beliefs and rituals, which they syncretised with Christianity in various ways.^[4] Some of the new religions that emerged, such as Kumina, remained heavily based on traditional African religion, while others, such as Revival Zion, were more fully Christian.^[8] The majority of these groups practiced spiritual healing and incorporated drumming and chanting, counselling, and spirit possession into their structures.^[9] Increasing numbers of Pentecostal missionaries from the United States arrived in Jamaica during the early 20th century, this migration reaching a climax in the 1920s.^[10] They provided a way for Afro-Jamaicans—who continued to live with the social memory of enslavement and who were denied any substantial participation in Jamaica's political institutions—to express their hopes, fears, and aspirations.^[9]