Yardie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yardie is a term stemming from the slang name given to occupants of government yards in Trenchtown, a neighborhood in West Kingston, Jamaica. Trenchtown was originally built as a housing project following devastation caused by Hurricane Charlie. Each development was built around a central courtyard with communal cooking facilities. Due to the poverty endemic in the neighbourhood, crime and gang violence became rife, leading the occupants of Trenchtown to be in part stigmatized by the term "Yardie".
[edit] In the United Kingdom
Yardies is used as a slang term for Jamaicans.
During the 1950s, while the United Kingdom was enjoying a post-war economic boom, the British Government encouraged immigration to the country to fill existing job vacancies. As a result, many African-Caribbeans immigrated to what was often considered a better opportunity. Within the Caribbean community new arrivals from Jamaica could be instinctively referred to as "Yardies."
