The Jamaican
Maroons
Escaped slaves who fought the British rulers in
Jamaica
• Jamaica is one of largest Caribbean
Islands
• When Christopher Columbus arrived at the
island in 1494, he claimed the land for
Spain.
• In 1655, the British
captured Jamaica from
the Spanish.
• When the British captured Jamaica from the
Spanish, the Spanish ran away from the island
after freeing their slaves and turning their cattle
loose.
• The Spanish did not want the British to be able
to set up farming on the island easily.
• Once they were freed, the slaves became a
fighting force and adopted the name Maroons.
• They escaped into the mountains & jungles.
• The word “Maroon”
comes from the word
“cimarrone” which
means runaway
slave or savage in
Spanish.
• The British also brought a
lot of slaves to Jamaica via
the Atlantic Slave Trade
• It became the most
important slaving colony of
the British Caribbean and
was known as "the jewels
in the English crown.“
• Within 100 years, virtually
the whole island had been
divided up into large
plantations. (Mostly sugar
plantations)
• Slaves began to
escape from
their plantations
because they
refused to accept
their colonial
slave masters
• They joined the
Maroons in the
wilderness of
Jamaica
• The Jamaican Maroons began a very
successful guerilla warfare by striking
quickly at night, then disappearing.
• At the same time, they established an
early-warning system - using an abeng
(horn) to warn their villages of attack by
the red-coats (British).
• They were successful, in retaining their
independence by constantly defending
their freedom.
• Their settlements were small (not more
than 2,000 strong) but they fought as if
they were in greater numbers.
• For the next 76 years the Maroons and the
British fought with each other.
• The Maroons knew the forests well and used
leaves to disguise themselves.
• Their successful attacks gave rise to a saying
`Land of Look Behind' - because the British had
to always look behind them for a sudden
ambush.
• The British lost many people to the sharp
shooting Maroons.
• Many of their hit-and-run attacks became
often-told epics
• The most famous tale was about Nanny, a
warrior queen
• Nanny, who fought the British at the beginning of
the 1700s, is often described as an almost
supernatural Ashante warrior Queen who could
catch musket balls and fire them back
• She was the spiritual, cultural and military leader
of the Windward Maroons who had a stronghold
in the Blue Mountains, known as Nanny Town.
• She was also known as the ‘Mountain Queen’
• She was an excellent leader, who was
able to keep the British out of the Blue
Mountains by using guerilla warfare.
• It took the British 6 years to locate
Nanny Town
• When they tried to attack the town, Nanny and
her followers dumped boiling water on the
troops.
• Eventually, the British destroyed the town, killing
Nanny, by using canon fire.
• She is still considered a national hero today!
• In 1729, the British began what was to
become known as the `First Maroon War'.
• Cudjo or Kojo, emerged as leader of the
Maroons.
• In 1739, a treaty was signed with the
Maroons.
• Under its terms, they were to remain in
their five main towns, living under their
own chief and a British supervisor.
• In exchange, they were asked to agree not
to take in new runaway slaves, but rather
to help catch them.
• In 1795, Trelawney Town Maroons declared war
for a second time against the British.
• They felt that they were being badly treated
under the terms of the treaty.
• They felt that the land allotted to them for
farming was rocky and inadequate
• This time the British were more successful.
Using dogs, they flushed the Maroons from their
hiding places, forcing peace.
• In order to teach them a lesson, almost 600
maroons were put on 3 prison ships and were
sent away from Jamaica in 1796.
The Mary
The Ann
The Dover
The British thought about sending them to Upper
Canada, but eventually decided on Nova Scotia.
• They were held in Halifax Harbour until
they were released to work in Citadel Fort
in Halifax.
• One of the walls in the fort is named
Maroon Wall.
• Accommodations were first made in the
center of Halifax, but were later located to
land in Preston, which was left vacant by
the Black Loyalists. Maroon Hall was built
for them here.
• Eventually, they were split into 2
communities: Preston and the other a
farming community of Boydville located in
the area known as Maroon Hill (now
Middle Sackville)
• In 1798, the Maroons became dissatisfied
with life in Nova Scotia.
• They attempted to farm. However, like the
previous occupants of the poor, rocky land
at Preston, they had little success.
• They found farming in Nova Scotia
difficult, especially as the climate
prevented the growing of familiar food
crops such as pineapples, bananas, yams,
and cocoa.
Lieutenant Governor Sir John
Wentworth attempted to change the
Maroons’ culture by introducing them
to Christianity.
However, the Maroons were not
interested in changing their traditions
and customs regarding marriage,
funerals and religious beliefs.
• They also found it difficult to get jobs because
they refused to work for less wages than a white
person would receive. This caused financial
disputes with the government.
• They also did not enjoy the climate and were
isolated.
• They requested permission to leave and
the Sierra Leone Company came in 1800
to take them to Sierra Leone.