1.
“We the Maroon People”
Maroons (from the word Spanish word "Cimarron": "fugitive,
runaway", lit. "living on mountaintops"; from Spanish cima: "top,
summit") were runaway slaves in the West Indies, Central America,
South America, and North America, who formed independent
settlements together…

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Maroon (people)
Maroons (from the word Spanish word "Cimarron":
"fugitive, runaway", lit. "living on mountaintops"; from
Spanish cima: "top, summit") were runaway slaves in
the West Indies, Central America, South America, and
North America, who formed independent settlements
together. The same designation has also become a
derivation for the verb to maroon.
History
In the New World, as early as 1512, black slaves had
escaped from Spanish and Portuguese captors and
either joined indigenous peoples or eked out a living on
their own.[1] Sir Francis Drake enlisted several
'cimaroons' during his raids on the Spanish.[2] As early
as 1655, runaway slaves had formed their own
Body of Ndyuka Maroon child brought before a shaman, Suriname
communities in inland Jamaica, and by the 18th
1955
century, Nanny Town and other villages began to fight
for independent recognition.[3]
When runaway slaves banded together and subsisted
independently they were called Maroons. On the
Caribbean islands, runaway slaves formed bands and
on some islands formed armed camps. Maroon
communities faced great odds to survive against white
attackers, obtain food for subsistence living, and to
reproduce and increase their numbers. As the planters
took 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. Here they grew in
number as more slaves escaped from plantations and
joined their bands. Seeking to separate themselves from
whites, the Maroons gained in power and amid
increasing hostilities, they raided and pillaged
plantations and harassed planters until the planters Ndyuka Maroon women with washing. Suriname River. 1955
began to fear a mass slave revolt.[4]
The early Maroon communities were usually displaced. By 1700, Maroons had disappeared from the smaller islands.
Survival was always difficult as the Maroons had to fight off attackers as well as attempt to grow food.[4] One of the
most influential Maroons was François Mackandal, a houngan, or voodoo priest, who led a six year rebellion against
the white plantation owners in Haiti that preceded the Haitian Revolution.[5]
In Cuba, there were maroon communities in the mountains, where escaped slaves had joined refugee Taínos.[6]
Before roads were built into the mountains of Puerto Rico, heavy brush kept many escaped maroons hidden in the
southwestern hills where many also intermarried with the natives. Escaped Africans sought refuge away from the
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coastal plantations of Ponce.[7] Remnants of these communities remain to this day (2006) for example in Viñales,
Cuba [8] and Adjuntas, Puerto Rico.
Maroon communities emerged in many places in the Caribbean (St Vincent and Dominica for example), but none
were seen as such a great threat to the British as the Jamaican Maroons.[9] A British governor signed a treaty
promising the Maroons 2500 acres (10 km²) in two locations, because they presented a threat to the British. Also,
some Maroons kept their freedom by agreeing to capture runaway slaves. They were paid two dollars for each slave
returned.[10]
Beginning in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Jamaican Maroons fought British colonists to a draw and
eventually signed treaties in the 18th century that effectively freed them over 50 years before the abolition of the
slave trade in 1807. To this day, the Jamaican Maroons are to a significant extent autonomous and separate from
Jamaican society. The physical isolation used to their advantage by their ancestors has today led to their
communities remaining amongst the most inaccessible on the island. In their largest town, Accompong, in the parish
of St. Elizabeth, the Leeward Maroons still possess a vibrant community of about 600. Tours of the village are
offered to foreigners and a large festival is put on every January 6 to commemorate the signing of the peace treaty
with the British after the First Maroon War.[3][11]
In Suriname, which the Dutch took over in 1667, runaway slaves revolted and started to build their own villages
from the end of the 17th century. As most of the plantations existed in the eastern part of the country, near the
Commewijne and Marowijne rivers, the "Marronage" (literally: running away) took place along the river borders and
sometimes across the borders of French Guyana. By 1740, Maroons had formed clans and felt strong enough to
challenge the Dutch colonists, forcing them to sign peace treaties. On October 10, 1760, the Ndyuka signed such a
treaty forged by Adyáko Benti Basiton or Boston, a former Jamaican slave who had learned to read and write and
knew about the Jamaican treaty. The treaty is still important, as it defines the territorial rights of the Maroons in the
gold-rich inlands of Suriname.[12]
Culture
Slaves escaped frequently within the first
generation of their arrival from Africa and
often preserved their African languages and
much of their culture and religion. African
traditions include such things as the use of
medicinal herbs together with special drums
and dances when the herbs are administered
to a sick person. Other African healing
traditions and rites have survived through
the centuries — see, for example, the
accompanying photos of a medicine man
and a protective charm from Suriname.
The jungles around the Caribbean Sea Maroon village, Suriname River, 1955
offered food, shelter and isolation for the
escaped slaves. Maroons survived by growing vegetables and hunting. They also originally raided plantations.
During these attacks, the maroons would burn crops, steal livestock and tools, kill slavemasters, and invite other
slaves to join their communities. Individual groups of Maroons often allied themselves with the local indigenous
tribes and occasionally assimilated into these populations. Maroons/Marokons played an important role in the
histories of Brazil, Suriname, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Jamaica.
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There is much variety among Maroon cultural groups because of differences in history, geography, African
nationality, and the culture of indigenous people throughout the Western hemisphere.
Maroon/Marokon settlements often possessed a clannish, outsider identity. They sometimes developed Creole
languages by mixing European tongues with their original African languages. One such Maroon Creole language, in
Suriname, is Saramaccan. Other times the Maroons would adopt the local European language as a common tongue,
for members of the community frequently spoke a variety of mother tongues.
The Maroons/Marokons created their own independent communities which in some cases have survived for
centuries and until recently remained separate from mainstream society. In the 19th and 20th centuries,
Maroon/Marokon communities began to disappear as forests were razed, although some countries, such as Guyana
and Suriname, still have large Maroon populations living in the forests. Recently, many Maroons/Marokons have
moved to cities and towns as the process of urbanization accelerates.
Geographical distribution
North America
Florida
The Black Seminoles who allied with Seminole
Indians in Florida, were by far the largest and most
successful Maroon community in North America.
Nova Scotia
Briefly, from 1796 to 1800, around 550 maroons,
who had been deported from Jamaica after the
Second Maroon War, lived in Nova Scotia. In 1800
they were sent to Sierra Leone.
Mexico
See Gaspar Yanga, Afro-Latin, Afro-Mexican.
Asian
Maroon communities were formed amongst the Afro
Asians that resisted slavery.[13] These communities
of maroons still inhabit the South Asian countries.
Maroon men, picture taken between 1910-1935
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Central America
Panama
A recently arrived slave, Bayano, led a rebellion in 1552 against the Spanish in Panama, and he and his followers
escaped to found villages in the lowlands. Later these people, known as cimarrons, assisted Sir Francis Drake against
the Spanish.
Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, Nicaragua
The Gulf of Honduras produced several types of maroon societies. Some of these were found in the interior of
modern day Honduras along the trade routes by which silver mined in the Pacific side of the isthmus was carried
down to coastal towns such as Trujillo or Puerto Caballos to be shipped to Europe. The English bishop of
Guatemala, Thomas Gage, reported active bands of maroons numbering in the hundreds along these routes in 1648.
A second group that could be classified as maroons were the Miskito Sambu, who formed from revolted slaves on a
Portuguese ship around 1640 who wrecked the vessel on the coast of Honduras-Nicaragua and blended in with the
indigenous people over the next half century. They eventually rose to leadership of the Mosquito Coast, and led
extensive slave raids against Spanish held territories in the first half of the eighteenth century.
A third group were the Garifuna, who were actually maroons on the island of Saint Vincent deported to the coast of
Honduras in 1797. From their original landing place in Roatan Island, the Garifuna moved to Trujillo, and then
groups of them spread south into the Mosquito Kingdom and north into Belize. See main article Garifuna.
Caribbean islands
Jamaica
Escaped slaves during the Spanish occupation of the island of Jamaica fled to the rugged interior and joined with the
Taínos living there. Additional numbers fled during the confusion surrounding the 1655 British invasion. Run-away
slaves continued to join them until the abolition of slavery. The main British complaint was that they occasionally
raided plantations, and made expansion into the interior more difficult. These conflicts led to the First Maroon War
in 1731 and the Second Maroon War in 1795. After which, approximately 600 maroons were deported to Nova
Scotia, and later in 1800 removed to Sierra Leone. The only maroon settlement that remained after the Second
Maroon War was Accompong, which had abided by its 1739 treaty with the British.
Haïti
See Mawon.
Dominican Republic
see History of the Dominican Republic.
St. Vincent and Dominica
Similar Maroon communities emerged elsewhere in the Caribbean (St Vincent and Dominica for example).
Cuba
In Cuba, there were maroon communities in the mountains, where escaped slaves had joined refugee Taínos.[6]
Remnants of these communities remain to this day (2006) for example in Viñales.[8]
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Puerto Rico
In Puerto Rico, Taíno families from neighboring Utuado were found living in the Southwestern mountain ranges,
along with the escaped Africans who intermarried with the Taíno. DNA genetic evidence shows that many Africans
fled up the Camino Real into the mountains to escape the sugar plantations of Ponce. The Mandinka, Wolof & Fulani
mtDNA African haplotype, L1b, is present here.[14] Taíno haplogroups A & C can also be found in this area.
South America
French Guiana and Suriname
Escaped slaves in French Guiana and Suriname fled to the interior and joined with indigenous peoples and created
several independent tribes, among them the Saramaka, the Paramaka, the Ndyuka (Aukan), the Kwinti, the Aluku
(Boni), and the Matawai. By the 1990s the maroons in Suriname had begun to fight for their land rights.[15]
Brazil
One of the best-known quilombos (maroon settlements) in Brazil was Palmares (the Palm Nation) which was
founded in the early 17th century. At its height, it had a population of over 30,000 free people and was ruled by king
Zumbi. Palmares maintained its independent existence for almost a hundred years until it was conquered by the
Portuguese in 1694.
Colombia and Ecuador
Escaped slaves established independent communities along the remote Pacific coast, outside of the reach of the
colonial administration.
Notes
[1] "Sir Francis Drake Revived" in Voyages and Travels: Ancient and Modern. The Harvard Classics. 1909–14 paragraph 21 (http:/ / www.
bartleby. com/ 33/ 34. html).
[2] "Sir Francis Drake Revived" in Voyages and Travels: Ancient and Modern. The Harvard Classics. 1909–14 paragraph 101 (http:/ / www.
bartleby. com/ 33/ 35. html).
[3] Campbell, Mavis Christine (1988) The Maroons of Jamaica, 1655–1796: A History of Resistance, Collaboration & Betrayal Bergin &
Garvey, Granby, MA, ISBN 0-89789-148-1.
[4] Rogozinski, Jan (1999). A Brief History of the Caribbean (Revised ed.). New York: Facts on File, Inc.. pp. 155–68. ISBN 0-8160-3811-2.
[5] "The History of Haiti and the Haitian Revolution" (http:/ / www. ci. miami. fl. us/ haiti2004/ history. htm). The City of Miami. . Retrieved
2007-08-16.
[6] Aimes, Hubert H. S. (1967) A History of Slavery in Cuba, 1511 to 1868 Octagon Books, New York;
[7] The Hispanic American Historical Review, Vol. 66, No. 2 (May, 1986), pp. 381-382 (http:/ / links. jstor. org/
sici?sici=0018-2168(198605)66:2<381:EPYCPR>2. 0. CO;2-R)
[8] "El Templo de los Cimarrones" Guerrillero:Pinar del Río (http:/ / www. guerrillero. co. cu/ pinardelrio/ 2004/ marzo/ eltemplo. htm) in
Spanish
[9] Edwards, Bryan (1801) Historical Survey of the Island of Saint Domingo J. Stockdale, London;
[10] Taylor, Alan (2001) American Colonies: The Settling of North America Penguin Books, New York;
[11] Edwards, Bryan (1796) "Observations on the disposition, character, manners, and habits of life, of the Maroon negroes of the island of
Jamaica; |b an a detail of the origin, progress, and termination of the late war between those people and the white inhabitants." in Edwards,
Bryan (1801) Historical Survey of the Island of Saint Domingo J. Stockdale, London, pp. 303-360;
[12] Alex van Stipriaan, Surinaams contrast (1995); Hans Buddingh', Geschiedenis van Suriname (1995/1999); Alex van Stipriaan/Thomas
Polimé, Kunst van overleven (KIT, 2009)
[13] Oka, R., & Kusimba, C. (2007). Siddi as Mercenary or as African Success Story on the West Coast of India. In J. C. Hawley, India in Africa
Africa in India: Indian Ocean Cosmopolitans (pp. 203-224). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
[14] African DNA Project mtDNA Haplogroup L1b (http:/ / web. archive. org/ web/ 20080508023420/ http:/ / africandnaproject. homestead.
com/ L1bmtDNA. html) African DNA Project, archived May 8, 2008 from the original (http:/ / africandnaproject. homestead. com/
L1bmtDNA. html)
[15] Case of the Saramaka People v. Suriname, Judgment of November 28, 2007 (http:/ / www. corteidh. or. cr/ docs/ casos/ articulos/
seriec_172_ing. pdf), Inter-American Court of Human Rights (La Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos), accessed 21 May 2009
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References
• Daughters of the Dust, 1991, film by Julie Dash taking place in 1902 off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia.
It shows how, on an isolated island, a group of people manages to hold on to their Ibo customs and traditions.
ISBN 0-525-94109-6
• Ganga Zumba, (1963), film by Carlos Diegues
• Quilombo, (1985), film by Carlos Diegues about Palmares, ASIN B0009WIE8E
• Hoogbergen, Wim S.M. Brill (1997) The Boni Maroon Wars in Suriname Academic Publishers, ISBN
90-04-09303-6
• Corzo, Gabino La Rosa (2003) Runaway Slave Settlements in Cuba: Resistance and Repression (translated by
Mary Todd), University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, ISBN 0807828033
• De Granada, Germán (1970) Cimarronismo, palenques y Hablas “Criollas” en Hispanoamérica Instituto Caro y
Cuero, Santa Fe de Bogotá, Colombia, OCLC 37821053 (http://worldcat.org/oclc/37821053) (in Spanish)
• van Velzen, H.U.E. Thoden and van Wetering, Wilhelmina (2004) In the Shadow of the Oracle: Religion as
Politics in a Suriname Maroon Society Waveland Press, Long Grove, Illinois ISBN 1577663233
• Price, Richard (ed.) (1973) Maroon societies: rebel slave communities in the Americas Anchor Books, Garden
City, N.Y., ISBN 0-385-06508-6
• Honychurch, Lennox (1995) The Dominica Story Macmillan, London, ISBN 0333627768 (Includes extensive
chapters on the Maroons of Dominica)
• Thompson, Alvin O. (2006) Flight to freedom: African runaways and maroons in the Americas University of
West Indies Press, Kingston, Jamaica, ISBN 9766401802
• Learning, Hugo Prosper (1995) Hidden Americans: Maroons of Virginia and the Carolinas Garland Publishing,
New York, ISBN 0815315430
• Campbell, Mavis Christine (1988) The Maroons of Jamaica, 1655-1796 : a history of resistance, collaboration &
betrayal Bergin & Garvey, Granby, Mass., ISBN 0-89789-148-1
• Dallas, R. C. The History of the Maroons, from Their Origin to the Establishment of Their Chief Tribe at Sierra
Leone. 2 vols. London: Longman. 1803.
• Sergey Slepchenko (2009) Nations of Latin America, Phoenix, Rostov-on-Don, ISBm 92-86-36414-2
Further reading
• Johnson, Brian D. "The Land of Look Behind." Equinox Magazine, September to October, 1983, pp. 49–65. A
detailed article with many superb photos.
External links
• Maroon music and teaching methods (http://www.kingbotho.com)
• Creativity and Resistance: Maroon Cultures in the Americas (http://www.folklife.si.edu/resources/maroon/
presentation.htm)
• A good short history of the "Bush Negroes" of Suriname (http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/EthnoAtlas/Hmar/Cult_dir/
Culture.7834)
• The Maroons, Hindustanis and others of Surinam (http://www.toplumpostasi.net/index.php/cat/9/col/85/
art/1008/PageName/English)
• "The Maroon Culture of Endurance by Helen Reidell". (http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Maroon+
culture+of+endurance.-a08929661). A history of Jamaican Maroons. Also available in Américas Magazine,
Vol. 42, January–February 1990, pp. 46–49.
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Article Sources and Contributors 7
Article Sources and Contributors
Maroon (people) Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=476491517 Contributors: 1ForTheMoney, AKeen, Adam Keller, AeonicOmega, Aetylus, Afv2006, Altaar, Andonic,
Andycjp, Art Unbound, Austinbirdman, Aymatth2, Bart133, Beepsie, Bejnar, Bender235, Big Adamsky, Bob32rere, Bobblewik, Bohemianpotato, Buzzlightyear, Calatayudboy, Canthusus,
Carlon, Chris Edgemon, Contributor777, Culturama, Darklilac, Darwinek, Deeceevoice, Ekotkie, Esperant, Fabzgy, Fishal, Futurebird, Gaius Cornelius, Glasperlenspiel, Goustien, Gwellesley,
Hammer1980, Helelyn, Hottentot, Hugo.arg, Infoseeker560, Ipatrol, IronChris, Ishikawa Minoru, J.delanoy, JaGa, Jaberwocky6669, Jeodesic, JoJan, Johan Lont, John Hill, JohnI, Jor, Joriki,
Joseph Solis in Australia, Josh a brewer, Joshdboz, Jpcarver, Junuxx, Jupitereng, Kbdank71, Kemet, Khatru2, Khoikhoi, LaNicoya, Leandrod, Lestari, Leutha, Levisky, Magidin, Marek69,
Matthew Platts, Mattisse, Medicineman84, Michael Daly, Michael Hardy, Mindymazur, Mkmcconn, Moorishbrooklyninteligence, MsTingaK, Night w, Noozgroop, North Shoreman, Not with all
those rocks about, Nwavi, Ollydurrant, Omnipaedista, PatGallacher, Paul Barlow, Pearle, Pgan002, Pharos, Picaroon, Pigman, Postdlf, PumpkinSky, Pwt898, RJFJR, Raedwulf16, RafaAzevedo,
RepublicanJacobite, Rich Farmbrough, Richard Keatinge, SFGiants, Saintswithin, Sangrene, Sannse, Scarian, ScottyBerg, Shanes, ShelfSkewed, Skomorokh, Smalljim, Spyder00Boi,
Srinivasasha, Statisfactions, Stevey7788, TUF-KAT, Taranah, The WikiWhippet, Thierry Caro, Thiseye, Toodeep, Trabelsiismail, Tukes, Wikiaddict8962, Wikiuser100, Woohookitty, Xjy, Zak
Arntson, Zondor, 188 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
Image:Body of Maroon child brought before medicine man, 1955.jpg Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Body_of_Maroon_child_brought_before_medicine_man,_1955.jpg License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: John Hill
Image:Maroon women with washing. Suriname River. 1955.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Maroon_women_with_washing._Suriname_River._1955.jpg License:
GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: GregManninLB, John Hill
File:Maroon village, Suriname River, 1955.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Maroon_village,_Suriname_River,_1955.jpg License: GNU Free Documentation
License Contributors: John Hill
File:Tropenmuseum Royal Tropical Institute Objectnumber 10024950 Portret van drie Marron mannen en een.jpg Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Tropenmuseum_Royal_Tropical_Institute_Objectnumber_10024950_Portret_van_drie_Marron_mannen_en_een.jpg License: unknown
Contributors: Al Silonov, Docu, Encyacht, Mangercratie, Siebrand, Trinity507, 2 anonymous edits
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
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“We the Maroon People”