The Maroons

Fugitive slaves turned free people and given the name Maroons, which was taken from the Spanish word "cimarrones".

Transcript

The year is 1494, Jamaica is quote, unquote discovered by the European power, Spain and claimed as a Spanish colony until 1655 when another European power of the period, Britain, conquered Jamaica and capture the island for themselves and Empire.   Following this defeat the Spanish freed their slaves, who are said to have numbered about 1,500, and fled to Cuba leaving their ex-slaves behind.  To avoid being re-enslaved by the British these ex-slaves escaped into the mountains and lived as free people.  They became the first maroons, aptly named because they were isolated from the colonial society of the time.  

Welcome to Small Excellence where I discuss various nations around the world.  I'm your host Ngai.  This season we are speaking about my homeland, Jamaica.  In this episode, I want to share the story of the Maroons.

The British brought in captured people from West Africa as slaves, condemning them to hard labor on sugarcane and tobacco plantations. From time to time some of these slaves escaped into the heavily forested areas where they would join already established maroon settlements in turn becoming maroons themselves. The maroons opposed enslavement and fought against the British relentlessly, burning the plantations and destroying other British assets as best as they could. The slaves would revolt frequently, and the maroons would join them in their assault on the British.  The onslaught of attacks made slave produced sugar very expensive and uneconomical.  Jamaica was a colony with a slave labor-based economy with the greatest number of revolt successes.  The British and their dogs were poor matches for the Jamaican maroons.  The escaped slaves turned maroons fought for their freedom, to maintain their freedom and actively worked to free those in captivity, understanding the severity of the punishment that awaited them if they were caught, and the danger to their family in their making such an effort. The Jamaican maroons had a tremendous will and a desire to free the slaves. The mountainous backbone of the island became a collaborator in the maroons’ quest to rid the island of the enslavers.  The mountains with its caverns, thick brush, peppered with sinkholes and vanishing waterways that seemingly reappeared magically were essential in the guerrilla warfare employed by the maroons against the British; aiding in their escapes, their ability to camouflage themselves allowing them to launch successful skirmishes.  

A cycle emerged from the brutality of life on the slave colony island.  Jamaica had a great number of slaves, yet there was a very high turnover, with replacements continually arriving due to the high death rate associated with plantation life. Because the new arrivals were not accustomed to being in bondage, rebellions were numerous and slaves escaped to freedom frequently, and in many cases went to join the maroons.  During their plantation raids the maroons themselves would free slaves and use them to bolster their numbers. The newly freed slaves taken in by the maroons would be of great use to them because these new members of their community would have intimate knowledge of the planters’ operation.  And the cycle would repeat itself.

There were two full blown Maroon wars. The cause of the first war resulted from unsettled conflicts between the Jamaican Maroons and the colonial British authorities. This war from 1728 to 1739, the Maroons exhausted the British to such an extent that the planters gave serious thought to giving up the colony and going back to England. However, the then governor, Governor Trelawney made one last effort before doing so. He arranged a meeting between his deputies and the Maroon leaders, Cudjoe (Kojo) and Queen Nanny (Nanni). The treaty which resulted from that meeting gave the Maroons complete jurisdiction of all the lands they occupied, approximately 4,000 acres. The Maroons were to have total control of these areas, and would make their own laws, and do their own criminal prosecutions, except in cases of murder. Cases of murder would be referred to the British prosecutor’s office. There was another stipulation, any slaves who ran away from a plantation, should be returned by the Maroons, to the said plantation. This treaty gave the Maroons only partial autonomy.

After fifty years of peaceful relations between the Maroons and the British planters there was a second war between both parties.The cause of the second war was very simplistic, two Maroons were found guilty of steeling two pigs. The Montego Bay court ordered them both flogged by a black slave. The humiliation caused outrage in Trelawney, hence the war. This was not an extended altercation, as it lasted for only eight months.

It is important to note that in their story of survival paired with the established treaty with the British, the Maroons did in fact participate in acts of atrocities against enslaved people.  Such acts included but are not limited to aiding colonial authorities in dispersing runaways who had formed their own communities. On one occasion a large group of runaway slaves had established themselves in the Hellshire Beach area and lived there successfully for many years. However, in 1819 a group of Windward Maroons were able to disband them.  It was with the help of the maroons that the authorities were able to suppress the Sam Sharpe revolt in such a short time.  And it must not be forgotten that it was the Maroons who captured Paul Boggle and delivered him to the colonial authorities to be hanged.  Such incidents do make it seem that the Maroons were always of more benefit to the colonial authorities than to the enslaved people.

Today the status of the Maroons is froth with uncertainty and is sort of in limbo. The relationship between the Maroon communities and the present Jamaican government is much the same as it was between them and the British. Charles Town and Moore Town in Portland, Accompong Town in St. Elizabeth and Scott’s Hall in St. Mary are the four Maroon Towns still in existence. These communities maintain their autonomy and remain isolated due to their location and lack of proper infrastructure. In the presence of today’s morals, one may lay judgement at the altar of history on what the Maroons could have or should have done differently.  It is incredibly difficult to say what one may have done facing the same odds.  The history of the Maroons is complex, rooted in resistance after escaping a life of bondage in a land far from their ancestral home facing a greater military force; they not only survived but they gave the enslavers hell along the way. 

I hope you garnered some knowledge from this episode.  Tune in next time to learn more on Small Excellence.  Walk good, my friends.