In the early 18th century, they fought a multiyear war against british colonizers in jamaica. Determined not to go against the wishes of those who had graciously accepted my presence, yet wondering. The word maroon comes from the spanish word cimarrones, which meant mountaineers. Kenneth bilby is a research associate at the smithsonian institution. Maternal ancestries of jamaican maroons article pdf available in american journal of human biology 273. As dominican society splintered, spanish visions of absorbing popular dissidents reverted to a racist pessimism assuming the eternal inferiority of people of african descent, and presaging antagonisms endemic to the. This chapter examines the themes of secrecy, trust and betrayal that permeate jamaican maroon consciousness. Trevor burnard argues that whites who had temperate habits. This article considers the role of the maroons in jamaican history.
A history of queen nanny, leader of the windward jamaican maroons 2000 werner zips, black rebels. In this paper, i argue that the practice of holding people in bondage in maroon communities, which was strongly influenced by the west. A final word about female maroons in the w est indies that cannot be ignored is the profiling of them as captives taken in the plantation raids conducted by male maroons. The word maroon means fugitive or runaway and in jamaica these group of people are descended from runaway slaves who established free communities in the mountainous interior of jamaica during slavery. Sacred oaths, alliances, and treaties among the guianese and jamaican maroons k bilby origins of the black atlantic. In the ensuing decades, the maroons used guerilla tactics to inflict a string of military defeats on the british. However, by 1795 many grievances had piled up, culminating in treaty and sovereignty infringements that convinced the trelawnys to wage war on all things colonial. I would love to read you some of the transcripts of. Pdf trueborn maroons living maroon knowledge introduction.
The firsttime maroons the people who would become the known as the trelawny town maroons first attracted the attention of the british plantocracy in 1690, when a group of about 400 enslaved africans escaped from bondage. Maroons jamaicanos wikipedia, a enciclopedia livre. Jamaican maroons, in the beginning, were not maroons as we know them today. Anthropologist kenneth bilby, whose book trueborn maroons is based on years of research, much of it conducted while living in moore town. Constructed from the oral histories of one of the most secretive groups in the caribbean, this book describes a culture that has been nurtured by enslaved africans and their descendants to survive against tremendous odds for nearly 350 years. Runaway slave colonies in the atlantic world oxford. Mar 01, 2008 the first study of jamaican maroons to place living voices at the center of analysis, true born maroons sheds much new light on both the past and present situation of jamaicas hidden others, once described as some of the worlds most famous but leastknown people. The second maroon war of 17951796 was an eightmonth conflict between the maroons of trelawney parish, jamaica, and the british. Maroons is a name of betrayal legacy it is bad be true to yourselves and. Caribbean maroons hope tourism can save culture maroons. Current issues are now on the chicago journals website. It was captured from the spanish colonists who fled the island leaving behind a large number of african slaves. Mindful that, today, jamaica still experiences tension between the descendants of the maroons and of paul bogle, this article examines the historical roots of this tension and suggests that there is. Communities of runaway slaves, more commonly known as maroon communities, were created throughout the americas.
Mindful that, today, jamaica still experiences tension between the descendants of the maroons and of paul bogle, this article examines the historical roots of this tension and suggests that there is scope for healing across both parties. This means that each day was assigned a particular name, and a baby was named according to which day of the week he or she was born. History of jamaica and its maroon population timeline. Maroons who had not been born on the plantation established a sense of identity that was unique. The second maroon war of 17951796 was an eightmonth conflict between the maroons of cudjoes town trelawny town, a maroon settlement later renamed after governor edward trelawny at the end of first maroon war, located near trelawny parish, jamaica in the st james parish, and the british colonials who controlled the island. Sloane witnessed a relatively early stage in the islands transformation from pirate base to plantation economy. The authentic and original history of the maroons in the history of jamaica, 14901880. Moore town and accompong, anthropologist ken bilby in his recent book trueborn maroons recounts how these communities sought to defend what they understood to be their rights and immunities, long after the end of slavery in jamaica and even longer after the peace treaties of the 1730s.
Mona, and roger buckley university of connecticut, storrs. Bilby, true born maroons 2005 karla gottlieb, the mother of us all. Akan day names predominated among the maroons and other african people of jamaica. The first study of jamaican maroons to place living voices at the center of analysis, true born maroons sheds much new light on both the past and present situation of jamaicas hidden others, once.
Trueborn maroons living maroon knowledge introduction. The descendants of african slaves who escaped from the spanish and british plantations in jamaica during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Trueborn maroons um library digital collections university of. Any maroon may strive to become aetewaw, but it is felt that certain individuals are born with a special gift, and only such per sons can achieve true greatness. These stories and songs belong to an experiential universe that differs sharply from that constructed by outside chroniclers, for whom only the handful of maroons men. The first study of jamaican maroons to place living voices at the center of analysis, trueborn maroons sheds much new light on both the past and present situation of jamaicas hidden others, once described as some of the worlds most famous but leastknown people. The maroons of jamaica black resistance against slavery. This was especially true of nanny, the founder of the. Franklin, john hope and loren schweninger 1999 runaway slaves. All other assigned readings will be posted as pdfs in moodle or placed on reserve in the library. Also see, kopytoff, the early political development of jamaican maroon.
In a very real sense, those who continue to identify themselves as katawud people are the stories they tell and the songs they sing. Maroons of santo domingo in the age of revolutions. True born maroons living maroon knowledge introduction. Escaped africans who were enslaved during spanish rule over jamaica 14931656 may have been the first to develop such refugee communities. In rare instances, a publisher has elected to have a zero moving wall, so their current issues are available.
This article examines the practices of captivity among the maroons of jamaica during the early colonial period. This cited by count includes citations to the following articles in scholar. Sometimes it is surprising to find out that nationals in a country are unaware of some very important data regarding their history. To get a taste of the film, you can view its trailer here she was a queen captured in her homeland, forcefully transported across the atlantic ocean in the belly of a slave ship. They were just individuals trying to escape the future of slavery waiting for them in jamaica. 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. Laurent dubois, on the history of the jamaican maroons, the journal of african american history 93, no. Historians have come to accept that there were many ways. Trueborn maroons combined oral and archival materials, with an emphasis on the perspective of maroons themselves, for jamaica, uncovering a remarkable number of african practices as well as a great deal of early new world creolization, involving language, religious. Of all published articles, the following were the most read within the past 12 months. Jul 09, 2012 anthropologist kenneth bilby, whose book true born maroons is based on years of research, much of it conducted while living in moore town in the 1970s, said it remains to be seen whether. Yet it is one of the best documented in the country, thanks to official correspondence, runaway and jail notices, newspaper articles, and the testimonies of three maroons born during the revolutionary war and expanding in its aftermath, this community was unique in its size, longevity, and the personal experiences and tribulations of some. By enlarging my circle of informants, i thought, and thereby avoiding reliance on only two or three specialists, i might eventually achieve a more representative picture of the social interactions and processes that inter. It was founded by leslie spier in 1945 as the southwestern journal of anthropology.
Trevor burnard argues that whites who had temperate habits and did not easily from business ooo7 at moi university. It explains that these linchpins remain at the center of the maroon ethos and suggests that while these ethical abstractions may well represent human universals, they have unusual salience in the maroon context. There were maroons in jamaica during the period of spanish rule, for instance, before the english took over that. Queen nanny was born in what is today ghana of the akan or ashanti people. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Historians have come to accept that there were many ways of.
Their response was to get as far away from the colonial pawns and slave owners as possible, and so escaped into the mountains and the cockpits on the island to resist enslavement. They fled to the mountainous areas of jamaica, where it was difficult for their owners to. Slaves imported to jamaica from africa came from the gold coast, the congo and madagascar. In a backwoods town along a river cutting between green mountains, quickfooted men and women spin and stomp to the beat of drums. Harcourt fuller of the gsu history department is cocreator and producer of the new film queen nanny, legendary maroon chieftainess 2015, directed by roy t. Born maroons in numerous visits to the island over 25 years, kenneth bilby gained the confidence of the maroon elders, who. In his fas cinating presentation and discussion of oral traditions told to him by the present day maroons of moore town and accompong, anthropologist ken bilby in his recent book true born maroons recounts how these communities sought to defend what they understood to. Documenting the spiritual life of jamaicas maroons in words and photographs, kenneth m. Maroon societies and creole languages ian hancock the isolation of maroon settlements and their efforts to keep outsiders at a distance have ensured that details of maroon history remain incompletely documented.
On the history of the jamaican maroonskenneth bilby, true. Bilby has made a significant contribution to the relatively meager store of knowledge about this fascinating cultural group. Mitochondrial lineages of jamaicas accompong town maroons. The ones marked may be different from the article in the profile. We dont want that to be jamaicans, so were providing you with five essential facts every jamaican needs to know about nanny of the maroons. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study.
The free black maroons who escaped when the english took jamaica from the spanish in 1655, and successfully resisted enslavement, also numbered several thousand people. The maroons adaptation and evasion unravelled basic stitchings of spanish power that bound together the counterrevolution. Yet it is one of the best documented in the country, thanks to official correspondence, runaway and jail notices, newspaper articles, and the testimonies of three maroons. An uneasy peace the trelawny town maroons remained at peace with the british for more than half a century. Also available 2006 ian randle publishers kingston, jamaica pbk. On the history of the jamaican maroons kenneth bilby, trueborn maroons. Search for library items search for lists search for contacts search for a library.
For example, a baby born on sunday was named kwesi in. 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. Born maroons, emmanuel akyeampong harvard university, marcus rediker university of pittsburgh, verene shepherd university of the west indies. Enslaved people ran away from their owners all the time, often just for a few days, but some decided never to return to slavery and instead found permanent or semipermanent refuge from the harsh life on the plantations in swamps, jungles, forests, and mountains. An impressive ethnography of identity and cultural memory among the lit. True born maroons combined oral and archival materials, with an emphasis on the perspective of maroons themselves, for jamaica, uncovering a remarkable number of african practices as well as a great deal of early new world creolization, involving language, religious practices, and much else bilby, 2005. The moving wall represents the time period between the last issue available in jstor and the most recently published issue of a journal. According to the oral tradition and at least one documentary source, she was never enslaved. Dec 31, 2005 the first study of jamaican maroons to place living voices at the center of analysis, true born maroons sheds much new light on both the past and present situation of jamaicas hidden others, once described as some of the worlds most famous but leastknown people. The role of the maroons in the 1865 morant bay freedom war. Descendants of escaped slaves hope tourism can save their. They ran away from their spanishowned plantations when the british took the caribbean island of jamaica from spain in 1655.
An individual user may print out a pdf of a single chapter of a monograph in flaso for personal use. The windward communities of jamaican maroons remained. The role of the maroons in the 1865 morant bay freedom war in. On the history of the jamaican maroons kenneth bilby, trueborn. The journal of anthropological researchis published in the interest of general anthropology.
339 1294 1602 280 459 673 1106 136 519 181 935 781 1363 874 202 1489 1115 806 609 558 147 177 822 1205 673 441 766 988 1018