Rastafari emerged in Jamaica as a group of oppressed people, descendants of enslaved African slaves who tried to resist colonial rule and establish their own sovereignty. But Rastafarians have been heavily persecuted by the government and even their own fellow countrymen. Despite the vicious attempts to suppress the Rastafarian Movement since its inception in the 1930s, Rastafari has grown in popularity beyond the borders of the small island of Jamaica and become a global phenomenon where you find Rastafarians in all parts of the world. But the original intention of Rastafari has been distorted along the way.