JAMAICA, the largest English-speaking tropical island in the Western Hemisphere, is perhaps one of the best known thanks to the likes of Bob Marley and Usain Bolt.

But there is a lot we don’t know and author Pamela Gayle attempts to fill in the gaps with her latest book, Jamaica: The Sharpest Thorn in Britain’s Caribbean Colonies.

The title derives from the fact that the African slaves transported there from mostly the Gold Coast proved to be a rebellious lot, mounting more than 400 revolts, exemplified early on by the Maroons, runaway slaves whom the British were unable to defeat during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Divided into easy-to-read chapters with Q&A sections, the book goes back to the Tainos, who inhabited the island before the arrival of the Portuguese and Spanish. The Tainos called the island Xaymaica, meaning Land of Woods and Waters.

The British took over in the early 18th century, as evidenced by the names of its towns and parishes. Even its three counties are still called Cornwall, Surrey and Middlesex.

Part of Gayle’s The Black History Truth series, the book is fully illustrated and delves into the country’s geography and also its culture, explaining the global explosion of reggae music with the Jamaican saying “We likkle but we tallawah [strong]”.

• Jamaica: The Sharpest Thorn in Britain’s Caribbean Colonies. By Pamela Gayle, published by GHP, £12