Kingston, the capital and largest city of Jamaica, on the southeast coast of the island in the parish of St. Andrew. In 2011, Kingston had 937,700 residents with suburbs included. Kingston is the country’s most important commercial and industrial center with a large and good natural harbor. Bananas, coffee, sugar, tobacco and aluminum are exported. The tourist traffic is great, i.a. with the arrival of cruise ships, but due to high crime rates it is not the most popular tourist town. Kingston is in possession of an international airport, Norman Manley Airport. Since 1962, Kingston has been the seat of several University of the West Indies, Mona (formerly the University College of the West Indies) and technical college. The town also has a botanical garden.
Kingston was founded in 1683, after the Port Royal was destroyed by the earthquake in 1682. At the entrance to the Bay of Palisadoes, Kingston has been Jamaica’s capital of 1872.
