Marcus Garvey was born on august 17, 1887 in St. He attended school but because of his family situation of poverty he had to quit school and get a job as an apprentice in his god fathers print shop. It was at the print shop where he became aspired to become a Forman at the print shop, and after the earthquake in 1907 he went on strike with the workers for better pay even though he did not have to. As a result Marcus was fired and then picked up by the Jamaican government to be a printer. During this time their was a lot of problems in the country because most of the people could not vote and there was a large out cry for the right to vote and the only people who were able to vote were rich land owners. The people were mad at the british control of the country and wanted Jamaica to be and independent country. Because of this many Jamaicans went abroad to work for better money, and marcus decided to travel around the Caribbean. Garvey returned to Jamaica in 1912, and left shortly after to visit his sister in London and also to further studies and become well-educated so that he could attend a university. While in London Garvey meet up with pan African movement leaders and other black freedom leaders. The leaders taught him about the rich history of the race.
Although Marcus was born in Jamaica, he achieved his greatest success in the United States. As a young man, Marcus, political protest, advocating loyalty to the established colonial government. Garvey established the first American branch of the UNIA (Universal Negro Improvement Association) in 1917 in the midst of the mass migration of blacks from the Caribbean to cities of the North. It was also a time for political awakening in the Africa and the Caribbean, to which marcus encouraged the export of his movement. In the era of global black awakening following World War I, Garvey became the best known, the most controversial, and for many the most attractive of a new generation of New Negro leaders.