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Rastafari History Timeline

(1920s–Present)

Rastafari History traces the development of a Jamaican religious and cultural movement rooted in African identity, resistance, and repatriation. Less

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Origins and ideology

Ethiopianism develops

1700 - 1800

Ethiopianism, a tradition with roots in the 18th century, became one of the fundamental ingredients of Rastafarian ideology.

Back to Africa ethos emerges

1700 - 1800

The Back to Africa ethos, also rooted in the 18th century, contributed a foundational element to Rastafarian ideology.

Image source: Back-to-Africa movement

Back to Africa ethos emerges

Calls for African resettlement grow

1800 - 1899

During the 19th century, growing calls urged members of the African diaspora in Western Europe and the Americas to resettle in Africa.

Sierra Leone and Liberia attract diaspora settlers

1800 - 1899

Many members of the African diaspora moved during the 19th century to colonies founded in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

Rastafari intellectual streams converge

1900 - 1930

Rastafari emerged from the convergence of several religious, cultural, and intellectual streams, drawing on conceptual frameworks that dated from the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Image source: Rastafari

Rastafari intellectual streams converge

Garvey look-to-Africa rumor spreads

1916

A later rumor claimed that Marcus Garvey had called on his supporters in 1916 to look to Africa for the crowning of a black king. The quotation was never verified.

Image source: Marcus Garvey

Garvey look-to-Africa rumor spreads

Coronation of an African King is performed

Aug 1930

In August 1930, a play written by Marcus Garvey, Coronation of an African King, was performed at Kingston's Edelweiss Park.

Selassie creates an African diaspora model

1948

The creation of the State of Israel in 1948 as a nation-state for the Jewish diaspora to return to later gave impetus to the idea of the African diaspora's return to Africa.

Image source: Israel

Selassie creates an African diaspora model

Walter Rodney lectures to Rastas

1968

Guyanese black nationalist academic Walter Rodney lectured to Jamaica's Rastafari community in 1968. He later published his thoughts as the pamphlet Groundings.

Jamaican development

White dominance persists in Jamaica

1800 - 1899

Throughout the 19th century, the overwhelming majority of Jamaica's legislative council was white, while people of African descent were treated as second-class citizens.

Image source: Colony of Jamaica

White dominance persists in Jamaica

Slavery is abolished in Jamaica

1834

Slavery in Jamaica was abolished in 1834 after the British government passed the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.

Image source: Slavery Abolition Act 1833

Slavery is abolished in Jamaica

Great Revival reaches Jamaica

1860 - 1861

Many Afro-Jamaicans joined Christian churches during the Great Revival of 1860–61, contributing to the religious environment from which Rastafari later emerged.

Pentecostal missionaries increase

1900 - 1929

Increasing numbers of Pentecostal missionaries from the United States arrived in Jamaica during the early 20th century, with the migration reaching a climax in the 1920s.

Image source: Pentecostalism

Pentecostal missionaries increase

Howell is arrested for sedition

1934 - 1936

British authorities in Jamaica arrested Leonard Howell and charged him with sedition in 1934, resulting in his imprisonment for two years.

Image source: Leonard Howell

Howell is arrested for sedition

Howell establishes Ethiopian Salvation Society

1936

After his release from prison, Leonard Howell established the Ethiopian Salvation Society, helping institutionalize an early Jamaican Rastafari network.

Pinnacle community is established

1939

In 1939, Leonard Howell established Pinnacle, a Rastafari community in Saint Catherine Parish.

Pinnacle becomes self-sufficient

1939 - 1954

Pinnacle attracted between 500 and 2,000 people and became largely self-sufficient.

Pinnacle is raided and closed

1954

After Howell returned to Pinnacle, police continued raiding the community and shut it down in 1954. Howell himself was committed to a mental hospital.

Ethiopia and Selassie

Haile Selassie is crowned emperor

1930

Haile Selassie was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in 1930, becoming the first sovereign monarch crowned in sub-Saharan Africa since 1891 and the first Christian one since 1889.

Image source: Haile Selassie

Haile Selassie is crowned emperor

Italy invades Ethiopia

1936

Italy invaded and occupied Ethiopia in 1936, forcing Haile Selassie into exile.

Image source: Second Italo-Ethiopian War

Italy invades Ethiopia

Ethiopian World Federation branch reaches Jamaica

1937 - 1939

The Ethiopian World Federation established a branch in Jamaica later in the 1930s, strengthening links between Jamaican Rastafarians and Ethiopia.

Ethiopian World Federation is created

1937

Haile Selassie created the Ethiopian World Federation in 1937.

Italians are driven from Ethiopia

1941

In 1941, the British drove the Italians out of Ethiopia, allowing Haile Selassie to return and reclaim his throne.

Haile Selassie visits Jamaica

Apr 21, 1966

At the invitation of Jamaica's government, Haile Selassie visited the island for the first time on 21 April 1966. Thousands of Rastas gathered at the airport to meet him.

Haile Selassie dies

1975

Haile Selassie's death in 1975 likely dampened enthusiasm for Rastafari, although many Jamaican Rastas had already developed varied views of him.

Conflict and recognition

Backlash follows alleged killing

1957

Backlash against Rastas grew after a practitioner was alleged to have killed a woman in 1957.

First Rastafarian Universal Convention is held

Mar 1958

The first Rastafarian Universal Convention was held in Back-o-Wall, Kingston, in March 1958.

Claudius Henry sells Africa passage tickets

1959

In 1959, Claudius Henry sold thousands of tickets to Afro-Jamaicans, including many Rastas, for a ship he claimed would take them to Africa.

Claudius Henry is imprisoned

1960

Claudius Henry was sentenced in 1960 to six years in prison for conspiring to overthrow the government.

Coral Gardens incident occurs

1963

The Coral Gardens incident began with a skirmish between police and Rastas in 1963. Several people died, followed by a larger roundup of Rastafari practitioners.

Jamaica tightens cannabis laws

1964

In 1964, Jamaica's government implemented tougher laws surrounding cannabis use as part of its crackdown on the Rastafari movement.

Bob Marley dies

1981

The death of Bob Marley in 1981 likely further dampened enthusiasm for Rastafari. Marley had been one of the movement's most internationally influential cultural figures.

Image source: Bob Marley

Bob Marley dies

Rastafari Centralization Organization is established

1995

The Rastafari Centralization Organization was established in Jamaica in 1995 as an attempt to organize the Rastafari community.

Key Facts

  1. Rastafari emerged in Jamaica during the 1930s, influenced by the teachings of Jamaican activist Marcus Garvey and the coronation of Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie I in 1930.
  2. Many Rastafarians regard Haile Selassie I as a divine or messianic figure and identify Ethiopia, or Zion, as their spiritual homeland.
  3. The movement developed in response to colonialism, racism, slavery, and the social and economic marginalization of Black Jamaicans.
  4. Rastafari culture is associated with distinctive practices and symbols, including dreadlocks, ital dietary principles, reggae music, and the colors red, gold, and green.
  5. Reggae artists, especially Bob Marley, helped popularize Rastafari beliefs and Jamaican culture internationally from the 1960s onward.

Source

This Rastafari History timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

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