CARIBBEAN HISTORY

SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT ON THE EXISTENCE OF MAROON SOCIETIES IN

JAMAICA IN THE 18TH CENTURY

Year: 2023
Subject: Caribbean History
Candidate Number: 1005400129
Candidate Name: Renardo Rose
Name of Teacher: Christopher Campbell
Territory: Jamaica

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

Acknowledgement…….………………………………………………………………….. 3

Rationale…..………………………………………………………………………………..4

Introduction……..…………………………………………………………………………5

Essay……………………………………………………………………………………. 6-16

Appendices………………………………………………………………………………17-25

References…………………………………………………………………………….....25-27

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researchers would like to express special gratitude to all of those who

contributed to making this project a complete success. Firstly, The researchers would like

to thank God for giving the researchers knowledge and understanding so the School-

Based Assessment could start and be completed. The researchers would also like to thank

Miss Foster, who gave the researchers a golden opportunity to do this wonderful SBA.

Miss Foster guided the researchers with information collected and help the researchers in

the structuring of the information the researchers got. The researchers are also grateful for

the help received from friends and family. Miss. Foster’s substitute teacher, Mr.

Campbell is well-deserving of gratitude as well, as he stepped in during Miss. Foster’s

absence to help guide the researchers in completing the School-Based Assessment. To all

the members who devoted time and effort to make sure that this project was a success, a

big thank you.

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 RATIONALE

What evidence is there to show that Maroon societies existed in Jamaica during the 18th

century? The researchers became curious about the inhabitants of the Maroons and their

ethnicity. This curiosity stems from the fact that the researchers wanted to know, why there are

not a lot of Maroon societies present today and why did most of them disperse rather than

sticking together.What was the reason for the Maroons completely forgetting about their culture

whilst a few decided to stay and keep their ancestry strong? The researchers also wish to know

how much of their culture has been retained? After doing some research, the researchers found

out that Maroon made settlements were not only in Jamaica but in British Guiana, Hispaniola,

and Suriname. The conditions that the slaves had to endure were unjust, and so many tried to flee

from their captors. Could this be that they were called Maroons? It is understandable if one

wishes to flee during thraldom, but why not try to flee across waters instead of settling among

their captors? It is natural for revolts to occur among rebellious slaves and their captors, how

much of a challenge was the Maroons to the system during this era? Nonetheless, the researchers

link this topic to the recent election in February 2021 in which Mr. Richard Currie was given the

title Chief of the sovereign state Accompong. Accompong, one of the few Maroon societies that

still have a stronghold in this century, independently governed by their hierarchy, traditional

laws passed down from their forefathers or ancestors. The researchers want to ascertain

knowledge and provide credible proof of the existence of the Maroons during the 18th century.

The researchers also wish to know how these Maroon societies have impacted

Jamaica.Therefore, the researchers chose to do the topic, “What evidence is there to show that

Maroon societies existed in Jamaica during the 18th century?”

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 INTRODUCTION

The evidence that showed that Maroon societies existed in Jamaica during the 18th

century. The researchers will look at how the Maroons got their settlements to be organized, the

roles of two influential leaders in the Maroon communities, how did the first and second Maroon

wars against the British affect the Maroon communities, how the abeng and the peace treaty

shows that the Maroons actually existed and some of the strategies used by the Maroons to fight

against the British and maintain their settlements.

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 “The Maroons were escaped slaves who ran away from their Spanish-owned plantations

when the British took the Caribbean island of Jamaica from Spain in 1655. The word Maroon

comes from the Spanish word ‘Cimarrones’, which meant ‘mountaineers’. They fled to the

mountainous areas of Jamaica (See Figure 1), where it was difficult for their owners to follow

and catch them, and formed independent communities (See figure 2) as free men and women”

Slaves were brought to the Caribbean during the transatlantic slave trade or Euro-American slave

trade which involved the transportation of various enslaved African people by slave traders (See

Figure 3).

The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage and

existed from the 16th to the 19th centuries. “Oftentimes the slave raiders used tactics like

surprise attacks to ambush Africans and kidnap them as they worked or traveled away from the

community; even lured Africans with empty promises. They also used the division among

Africans, like tribal differences to acquire slaves. Once brought through harsh conditions which

resulted in many deaths and left others in a melancholy state, the Africans became slaves as they

had no choice but to serve their captors.” These Africans became slaves, slaves who were like

mere cattle, sold like property during auctions and scrambles. “Auctions were where slaves were

presented before an audience while others did bidding until they were slaves. Whereas Scrambles

were done in a less orderly manner as a signal would be given, such as drum beat, and the buyers

would rush towards the slaves, choosing the ones they wanted and having them dragged away at

once.” Many slaves could not withstand the harsh and unjust treatment they had to face on the

plantations (See figure 4), many desired freedom even if it would cost them their lives.

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 The researchers used secondary sources to acquire credible information for this School

Based Assessment such as books, credible articles, and the internet. There are a lot of key terms

that will come out in the researchers’ essay such as; Maroon community; a group of formerly

enslaved Africans and their descendants who gained their freedom by fleeing chattel

enslavement and running to the safety and cover of the remote mountains or the dense

overgrown tropical terrains near the plantations. Maroonage: the process of freeing oneself from

slavery, these people were given the name Maroons. Maroons: a set of abandoned/ isolated

people, maroon is derived from the English equivalent of the Spanish word 'Cimarron' which

means wild, fatigue, and runaway. Grand Marronage refers to large groups of people who ran

away from plantations. Petit Maroonage describes those who stayed in small groups after

running away. Thraldom; being under the control of another person.

The Maroon societies were indeed in existence in the 18th century as both the Maroons

and the British signed the Articles of Pacification giving the Maroon lands.

The Maroon societies were indeed in existence in the 18th century as both the Maroons

and the British signed the Articles of Pacification giving the Maroon lands.

Firstly, “Maroon communities faced great odds to survive against white attackers, also to

obtain food for subsistence living, and to reproduce and increase their numbers. As the planters

proceeded to take over more land for crops, the Maroons began to vanish on the small islands.

Only on some of the larger islands were organized Maroon communities able to thrive by

growing crops and hunting.” They continued to grow in numbers as more slaves escaped from

plantations and joined their communities. Seeking to separate themselves from Whites, the

Maroons gained power and amid increasing hostilities, they raided and pillaged plantations and

harassed planters until the planters began to fear a massive slave revolt. Why would the

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Maroons be a threat to the British when they had better weapons? “These rebellious Maroons

then posed a threat to English planters which made them fear the rising power of the Maroons

and therefore tried to subdue them. Most forms of subduction failed because Maroon societies

had effective leadership by people like Captain Cudjoe (See Figure 6), Captain Quoa, and Nanny

(See Figure 5).” Traits such as being skilled marksman and expert trackers came in handy.

“As Maroons challenged the slavery system in many ways, three specific ways were;

organizationally, ideologically, and militarily.” Organizationally, through the establishment of

often viable administrative and political systems with settlements that ranged from a few dozen

to several thousand persons, they demonstrated that they were able to develop meaningful

alternatives to the slavery system. “The fact that many of these communities lasted for several

decades indicates their viability and attractiveness to would-be deserters. Ideologically, desertion

was a clear expression of Maroon rejection of the slavery system and the control the enslavers

had on their lives. Although this was one of the main ways of slave control, ideology, those

slaves who were strong-willed forced themselves to go against the constant proclaims of them

being inferior to whites and to deny servitude rather than accept it.” Militarily, “the Maroons

demonstrated their ability not only to defend their politics but also to attack plantations and other

settlements, destroying several of them, forcing the enslavers to spend large sums of money to

counter such attacks”, and limiting the spread of the plantations geographically in several

instances.

Secondly, the Maroons used various strategies to maintain their freedom and undermine

the constant threat which the English posed. “The Maroons would escape to mainly the Cockpit

Country which was inaccessible and remote parts of the island where it was hilly and densely

vegetated where it was difficult for their owners to follow and catch them, and formed

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independent communities as free men and women, which were often disrupted by the English.

Some slaves chose to run away in small groups and were given the title Petit marrons whilst

those who chose to run away in large groups were given the title Grand Marronage.” Grand

Maroonage led to the establishment of large Maroon communities because these maroons were

less fearful of their captors so they were less likely to return to the plantations whilst Petit

Marronage was made up of people who sometimes returned to the estates.

“The Maroons were divided into two groupings based on their location, Windward and Leeward.

The Windward Maroons were those located in the East of the island, while the Leeward Maroons

were those occupying the Western part of the island. The Leeward Maroons include locations

such as Trelawny Town in St. James and Accompong in St. Elizabeth. Among the Windward

settlements are Moore and Charles Town in Portland, Nanny Town in St. Thomas, and Scotts

Hall in St. Mary. Even with these groupings, the Maroons were organized into different bands.

Such organizations facilitated their mobilization.”1 When runaway enslaved people and

Amerindians banded together they created symbiotic relationships and lived independently they

were called Maroons. “On the Caribbean islands, they formed bands and on some islands, armed

camps. Maroon communities faced great odds against their surviving attacks by hostile colonists,

obtaining food for subsistence living,as well as reproducing and increasing their numbers.”

As the planters took over more land for crops, the Maroons began to lose ground on the

small islands. Only on some of the larger islands were organized Maroon communities able to

thrive by growing crops and hunting. Here they grew in number as more enslaved people

escaped from plantations and joined their bands. “Seeking to separate themselves from

colonizers, the Maroons gained power and amid increasing hostilities, they raided (See Figure 7)

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plantations and harassed planters until the planters began to fear a massive revolt.” This was

because the slaves were getting ideas form the Maroons that they could stage revolts and get

freedom or also run away and get their freedom.

Thirdly, Maroon societies were governed and led by courageous, influential, and

exceptionally leaders, who fought for the freedom of their people. “After the Maroons divided

themselves into two groups based on their location, each set had their leaders. Nanny Town was

one of the Windward settlements and was governed by a female who went by many names.

Nanny, known as Granny Nanny, Grandy Nanny, and Queen Nanny (See Figure 5) was a

Maroon leader and Obeah woman in Jamaica during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.”

Maroons were slaves in the Americas who escaped and formed independent settlements.

Nanny herself was an escaped slave who had been shipped from Western Africa. It has been

widely accepted that she came from the Ashanti tribe of present-day Ghana. “Nanny and her four

brothers (all of whom became Maroon leaders) were sold into slavery and later escaped from

their plantations into the mountains and jungles that still make up a large proportion of Jamaica.

Nanny and one brother, Quao, founded a village in the Blue Mountains, on the Eastern (or

Windward) side of Jamaica, which became known as Nanny Town. Nanny Town, placed as it

was in the mountains away from European settlements and difficult to assault, thrived.“ Nanny

limited her attacks on plantations and European settlements and preferred instead to farm and

trade peacefully with her neighbors. “She did however make numerous successful raids to free

slaves held on plantations and it has been widely accepted that her efforts contributed to the

escape of almost 1,000 slaves over her lifetime. The British colonial administration became

embarrassed and threatened by the successes of the Maroons.” Nanny’s life and

accomplishments have been recognized by the Government of Jamaica and she has been honored

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as a National Hero and awarded the title of “Right Excellent.” Currently, in Jamaica there are

only seven such National Heroes and Nanny is the only woman.

Another prominent leader during this time was Captain Quao of the Windward Maroons

Another of Nanny’s brothers. “Quao came to Jamaica shortly before the destruction of Nanny

Town in 1734. Within a few years, he became the foremost military captain of the Maroons,

next to his sister. During the First Maroon War, he employed skillful war tactics, including

lookouts and ambush attacks. Quao led his group to victory when he ambushed (See figure 8)

and defeated a band of British soldiers in 1739.” It can be therefore seen that Maroon leaders

such as Quao and Nanny were not afraid to fight the British using different tactics so that they

could continue live free and live peacefully.

Fourthly, wars became inevitable between the Maroons and the British, and because of the

wars that broke out, both sides were affected immensely, especially the Maroons. “The first and

second war against the British affected the Maroon communities by infusing conflict, division of

land between Maroon groups the British, there was a separate land grant signed with Nanny and

the Maroons of Nanny Town, which granted Nanny and the people now residing with her and

their heirs a certain parcel of land containing five hundred acres in the parish of Portland. This

land patent consisted of 500 acres (2.4 km²) of land granted by the government to the Maroons of

New Nanny Town under a separate 1740 document ending the First Maroon War.” The land was

given because the Maroon communities started to be more populated. The war against the British

also brought peace to Maroon communities because they could live peacefully without knowing

the British militia would try to capture them who signed a peace treaty with the Maroons.

The First Maroon wars ended between 1728 and 1740 with the British being defeated the

Maroon leadership at that conflicted time featured Nanny of the Maroons, Quao and the

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Windward Maroons and Cudjoe in Accompong and the Leeward Maroons. The Maroons after

defeating the British signed a treaty. “It was the first Maroon treaty and was signed by the fierce

Leeward Maroon leader, Cudjoe (See Figure 6), on 1st March 1739.” This treaty that Cudjoe

signed did not apply to the Maroon community in its entirety as the Windward Maroons were not

involved in the process and were possibly unaware of such occurrences. “The Second Maroon

wars arose. The Second Maroon War of 1795–1796 was an eight-month conflict between the

Maroons of Cudjoe’s Town, a Maroon settlement later re-named after Governor Edward

Trelawny at the end of First Maroon War.” The Maroons were persistent infighting and so were

offered to sign a peace treaty by the English (See figure 13). They maintained their defense,

however, not long thereafter (four months) they were also offered to sign a treaty by the English.

“The English had made five attempts at getting them to sign this treaty which was eventually

signed by the Windward Maroon leader, Quao, on 23rd December 1739. As a result of a divide

between the Windward Maroons.” During the aftermath of the Second Maroon War, the treaty

signed in December between Major General George Walpole and the Maroon leaders established

that the Maroons would beg on their knees for the King’s forgiveness, return all runaway slaves,

and be relocated elsewhere in Jamaica. “The governor of Jamaica ratified the treaty but gave the

Maroons only three days to present themselves to beg for forgiveness on the 1st January 1796.

Suspicious of British intentions, most of the Maroons did not surrender until mid-March. The

British used the contrived breach of the treaty as a pretext to deport the entire Trelawny Town

Maroons to Nova Scotia.” After a few years, the Maroons were again deported to the new British

settlement of Sierra Leone in West Africa. Another treaty was signed a year later by Nanny,

perhaps the most celebrated leader of the Moore Town Maroon.

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 Fifthly, communication among the slaves was not easy. They had to find alternate ways to

communicate plans for raids without notifying external forces. “An Abeng (See Figures 10 & 11)

is an animal horn or musical instrument in the language of the Akan people. The word abeng is

from the Twi language in modern-day Ghana, a commonly used word in the Caribbean,

especially Jamaica, and the instrument is associated with the Maroon people.” The Maroons of

Jamaica used the abeng to communicate over far distances. They used it in ways which no one

outside the community could understand. It was made from an animal’s horn and was also used

by slaveholders to summon the slaves to sugar fields, but only as a noise of indication and not

communication. There are still Maroon and Maroon communities today that use the abeng in

ceremonies or to announce important news. Today’s abeng is made from cattle horn and is one

of the most important items kept by the Maroons from long ago.

The First Maroon war was a conflict between the Jamaican Maroons and the colonial

British in power, which started around 1728 and continued until 1739 and 1740. “The Maroons

were determined to fight against the British, so they were offered to sign a peace treaty by the

English (See figure 9).” They were offered to sign because, during the 18th century, they became

more powerful and settled in, among other places, for example, the mountains of Jamaica.

“Carving out an important area of impact, their threat to slavery was clean, thus the reason the

white planters signed a treaty with them in 1738.” However, in 1739 the colonial militia signed

the first treaty with the Maroon leader, Cudjoe who restlessly fought years for the independence

of his people.

Later that year, the more rebellious of all Maroons of Nanny Town, led by Nanny also

agreed on signing a treaty whilst being under the pressure of white Jamaicans and their own, the

Leeward maroons. “A separate land was granted and signed with Nanny and the Maroons of

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Nanny Town, which granted Nanny and the people now residing with her and their heirs a

certain parcel of land containing five hundred acres in the parish of Portland. This land was

granted by the government to the Maroons of New Nanny under a separate 1740 document

ending the first maroon war.” If the Peace Treaty hasn’t been made and signed, there would be

fewer chances of the survival of Maroons, and all Maroon heritage and communities would be

abandoned. Today there are Maroon communities still alive and still administered in Jamaica,

and all their traditions from before are still practiced today.

Lastly, “As Maroons challenged the slavery system in many ways, three specific ways

are; organizationally, ideologically, and militarily.” Organizationally, through the establishment

of viable administrative and political systems with settlements that ranged from a few dozen to

several thousand persons, they demonstrated that they were able to develop meaningful

alternatives to the slavery system. “The fact that many of these communities lasted for several

decades indicates their viability and attractiveness to would-be deserters. Ideologically, desertion

was a clear expression of Maroon rejection of the slavery system and the control the enslavers

had on their lives. Although this was one of the main ways of slave control, ideology, those

slaves who were strong-willed forced themselves to go against the constant proclaims of them

being inferior to whites and to deny servitude rather than accept it.” Militarily, the Maroons

demonstrated their ability not only to defend their politics but also to attack plantations and other

settlements, destroying several of them, forcing the enslavers to spend large sums of money to

counter such attacks, and limiting the spread of the plantations geographically in several

instances.

The fight against the British was tremendous, the Maroons had to use various strategies

to maintain their settlements. After escaping the clutches of the British (See Figure 12), the

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escapees had a taste of freedom, they became determined to keep it that way at any cost, to

preserve it for those to come. “The Maroons refuse to go back into thraldom. Both the Leeward

and Windward Maroons displayed highly skillful tactics, which proved to be most challenging

for the English. Their major tactic may be described as the forerunner of modern guerrilla

warfare. This type of warfare lent itself beautifully to the rugged terrain of Jamaica, much to the

irritation of the British. The conflict between the British and the Maroons dragged on for many

years due to the tactics of the Maroons.” Not only was it becoming very expensive for the

British' but also. their soldiers were growing weary. One such leader who is well known for

using this tactic is Nanny of the maroon. “She was particularly skilled in organizing the guerilla

(See Figure 14) warfare carried out by the Eastern Maroons to keep away the British troops who

attempted to penetrate the mountains to overpower them.”2 Her cleverness in planning guerilla

warfare confused the British and their accounts of the fights reflect the surprise and fear which

the Maroon traps caused among them. “To the bewilderment of their European enemies, whose

rigid and conventional tactics were learned on the open battlefields (See Figures 15 - 17) of

Europe, these highly adaptable and mobile warriors took maximum advantage of local

environments, striking and withdrawing with great rapidity, making extensive uses of ambushes

to catch their adversaries in the crossfire, fighting only when and where they chose, depending

on intelligence networks among non-Maroons (both slaves and white settlers).” It can therefore

be seen that when Maroons chose to fight many times it was on their own accord, so that they

could defeat the Europeans easily.

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 Finally, the evidence presented proved that Maroon societies were indeed in existence in

the 18th century due to the present Maroon settlements that can be found in Jamaica on the lands

allotted to the Maroons in the 1739 - 1740 treaties with the British. Settlements were organized

after many slaves escaped thraldom. Though they sought freedom, it was better said than done,

they had used many strategies or tactics to rebel against their oppressors, even communicating

with each other through mediums that were endemic just to them. To have accomplished this,

Maroons were led by a tremendous amount of leaders who came forth to lead their brothers and

sisters out of slavery, wars were raged for this modern society to become what it is today. Many

aspects of Maroon life during the 18th century have been retained in this era. Many Maroon

communities still exist, on lands allotted to them in the past, Accompong being one of these

settlements. It is one of the few Maroon societies that still have a stronghold in this century,

independently governed by their hierarchy, traditional laws passed down from their forefathers

or ancestors. Present-day Maroons still use the abeng as a means of communication.

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 Appendices

Figure 1: Slaves escaping to the mountainous areas.

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 Figure 2 : How their communities were set-up in the mountainous areas

Figure 3 : How slaves were on the ship from Africa to Jamaica

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 Figure 4: Slaves working in harsh conditions

Figure 5: Nanny of the Maroons or Granny Nanny

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 Figure 6: Captain Cudjoe

Figure 7 : Slaves getting ready to raid and revolt

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 Figure 8: Slaves ambushing the whites

Figure 9: Slaves Slaves conversing with the Whites about the Peace Treaty

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 Figures 10 & 11: The Abeng

Figure 12: Slaves escaping the clutches of the British

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 Figure 13: Trewlawny slaves conversing with a white official

Figure 14: Guerilla Tactic formation

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 Figure 15: The Battlefield

Figure 16: The Battlefield 2

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 Figure 17: The Battle field 3

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