The maroons of jamaica excerpted from the book travellers and outlaws, episodes in american history, section black. Harris, made the transition into the ancestral realms. Jamaica is known for many things like its beaches, wildlife, and reggae music. As maroons, you are jamaicas best example of the past informing the present and the future. Jamaican maroons descend from maroons, africans who escaped from slavery onto the island of jamaica and established free communities in the mountainous interior, primarily in the eastern parishes. From 1729 to 1739, a state of open warfare existed between the british and the maroons.
Tired and thirsty with climbing, the weary soldiers toil on, in single file. Among the wild mountains of jamaica, the maroons dwelt in a savage. African runaways and maroons in the americas alvin o. The maroons in ambush on the dromilly estate in the. The maroons show a love for community and self, and respect for the environment. In the mountains, they developed their own way of life by incorporating the various cultures with those of the other runaway slaves who made up the diverse maroons. The history of jamaican maroons essay 2381 words bartleby. A segment from our show island stylee takes a look at the maroons of jamaica. The history of jamaican maroons european colonialism in the caribbean was dependent upon the use of african slaves as a major source of labor.
The rights of maroons in international human rights law. Throughout the eighteenth century, jamaican maroons, or original bands of. The leaders of the maroons did meet british officers to accept a peace agreement offered to them. Isolation protected jamaicas maroons from slavery but also prevented them from partaking in the prosperity of the growing british empire. This article considers the role of the maroons in jamaican history. The obscured history of jamaicas maroon societies jstor. In modernday jamaica, maroons may not have the same historical distinction as in preemanciption jamaica. I first mention the number of hits in the pdf file for 17181795 followed by the one for 18101817. The absence of a masjid, which is a formal house of worship for the muslims, as an archaeological.
There were many years of peace between the maroons and the british in jamaica. A social, economic and demographic history of maroon society in jamaica, 17391842 pdf phd. During the 18th century, the powerful maroons, escaped exslaves who settled in the mountains of jamaica, carved out a significant area of influence. Last tuesday evening, only a few days after he celebrated his 100th birthday, former colonel of the moore town maroons in portland, charles l. The isolation used to their advantage by the ancestors has today led to their communities being amongst the most inaccessible on the island. The maroons, escaped slaves in the west indies, were feared by colonists and slave owners for their fearsome fighting ability and magical arts. A journey through their history and their ethnic identity formation the maroons, by their daily struggle for freedom, forged for themselves an identity according to which they judge themselves. But the courageous resistance of the maroons threatened this prosperous industry. Jamaica may also be proud of the continued level of mutual respect that both the maroons and the government.
On the island of jamaica, the maroon council is the executive body with administrative powers and obligations for the maroon communities. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page information. To a muslim, the whole world is a house of worship. Without a properly reconstructed history of the maroons in jamaica, the history of jamaica remains incomplete. Inevitably, some of these slaves escaped and formed.
The vast majority of american states have ratified international human rights treaties that obligate them to respect the rights of individuals and certain groups. Rastafari speaks archive 1 according to what we read in the history books, after the long war between the english and those africans, who allow themselves to be called maroons, a peace treaty was. After being brought to jamaica in the course of the transatlantic slave trade. There, the duke of kent was so impressed with the marrons he formed some into a military unit, furnishing them with uniforms with metal buttons struck with jamaica to the maroons. Upward of 1,500 slaves revolted across the island, but there is no evidence that the majority of revolts were initiated by maroons, unlike brazil where. Bourgoin depicting british troops caught in an ambush by a group of. Trelawney town, the chief residence of the maroons rmg e9983. The authentic and original history if the maroons in the history of jamaica, 14901880.
There they settled, and over time, they became known as maroons. A careful and thorough study of the jamaican maroons from the british conquest to the late 18th century. The maroons have their own unique code that they use to communicate with each other, this was done using an instrument known as the abeng an african word meaning conch shell the. The isolation used to their advantage by the ancestors. Jamaica, this classcolor distinction has played a much more prominent role in assigning people value, which stemmed directly from the. We hear from colonel wallace sterling, leader of the moretown maroons at the celebrations honoring nanny. Maroons of jamaica is not only the most important link, but has become and remains in its entirety a part of the historical period long, 1774, vol. Acceptance of maroon autonomy as a kind of mythic quality belonging to all jamaicans is exemplified by a letter recently published in the daily gleaner, jamaicas main newspaper, in which the. The jamaican maroons were not a small rebel community, instead they were a.
Perhaps the most wellknown maroon societies are the ones that existed, and in fact still exist, in jamaica. View maroons in jamaica research papers on academia. This is easily verifiable by searching the pdf files yourself. 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. The maroons of jamaica the good, the bad, and the forgotten. In the beginning, as humans started to leave africa, included with the second ooa group were the albinos of caucasian. This article examines the practices of captivity among the maroons of jamaica during the early colonial period. Still, when one attends the annual festivities, one gets a sense that much is. During the 17th and 18th centuries, some of the africans brought to jamaica as slaves escaped to the mountains. A history of resistance, collaboration and betrayal campbell, mavis c. If that struggle and identity are not understood then any judgment of them is not valid. The role of the maroons in the 1865 morant bay freedom war. The fighting maroons of jamaica national library of.
Maroon heritage which is a true example of resilience and determination. The maroons are descendants of west africans, mainly people from the ashanti region of what is today ghana. The wider jamaican community would do well to mirror those traits so that we can see them more strongly reflected in jamaican society as a whole. Maroon council members are appointed by the colonelin. Maroon societies in jamaica can trace their roots back to the 1500s, when the ruling. The utilization of documents written by the british, archaeological excavations of.
Jamaican maroons descend from maroons, africans who escaped from slavery onto the island. Jamaican maroons descend from maroons, africans who escaped from slavery onto the island of jamaica and established free communities in the mountainous interior, primarily in the eastern. Jamaica has a mix of people from different races, religions, and countries so its culture is varied. The jamaican maroons are often described as enslaved africans and persons of noticeable. Collins and sangster jamaica kingston wikipedia citation please see wikipedias template documentation for further citation fields that may be required. Jamaica gleaner news maroons fight to preserve tradition. The royalist maroons of jamaica in the british atlantic world, 1740. But, in 1795, the new governor of jamaica, balcarres, decided to deal with some minor breaches of the peace treaty by a community of maroons called the trelawney town.
By 1720, the maroons took the offensive, mounting raids against british plantations along the base of the mountains. Through the use of slave labor, the production of sugar in this british colony flourished. The british recognized the maroons as a threat to their possession of jamaica. The spanish colonists fled from jamaica after the land was captured in 1655. The maroons in ambush on the dromilly estate in the parish of trelawney, jamaica. Choice this richly textured study of the struggles of the maroons of jamaica against the british. Senator the honourable mark golding government of jamaica. Mindful that, today, jamaica still experiences tension between the descendants of the maroons and of paul bogle. Jamaican maroons the indomitable maroons of jamaica. The maroons of jamaica black resistance against slavery. Media in category maroons of jamaica the following 11 files are in this category, out of 11 total. Escaped africans who were enslaved during spanish rule over jamaica 14931656 may have been the first to develop such refugee communities the british, who invaded the island in 1655, expanded. The presence of islam in the form of existing historical institutions and vernacular culture in predominantly black christian maroon communities in jamaica is an eye opener to.
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