Maroon Festival, Courtesy Jamaican Observer
Last Sunday there was
diary posted about American Descendants of Slavery(ADOS). I took particular interest because not too long ago a Kossack accused me of forwarding ADOS propaganda on DKos. Frankly, I had no idea what he was talking about. So I looked up ADOS. I still had no idea what he was talking about. Now, finally, I do, thanks to the informative diary linked to above.
Apparently for some, any recognition of differences in the cultural and historical experiences of Africans in North America, Central America, the Caribbean and South America is enough to get you tagged as pro ADOS. In my case, it was enough that I observed that Kalmala Harris being of Jamaican and Tamil indian parentage set her apart from the experience of the average African American in the US. I said this based on my own experience in South Florida where I'd gotten to know Trinidadians, Jamaicans, Haitians, et al. These cultural distinctions were real and readily recognized by both the immigrant and the existing African American communities. I hardly thought there'd be anything controversial about that. Unknown to me it seems the ADOS crowd has been making much of such distinctions in order to forward their agenda. An agenda that, based on the diary, is pretty noxious.
So it occurred to me that since a large proportion of the US population and likely Kossacks as well, know next to nothing about the unique history of
Jamaica, a brief overview of some key distinctions might be useful.
To began with the most obvious, Jamaica is an Island nation and far smaller than the US. Consequently, it didn’t experience anything like the deluge of European settlers that poured into the North American continent. At first conquered by the Spanish, who did little to develop the island but who did introduce slavery, Jamaica was
invaded by the British in 1655. A period of military conflict ensued between Spain and Britain that resulted in a complete victory for Britain.
It was during that conflict that a third force emerged on the island that was to play a pivotal role in Jamaican history. That being the
Jamaican Maroons. While it’s likely that there were groups of escaped slaves living in the interior prior to this, the collapse of Spanish rule resulted in a massive expansion of such communities, as those formerly held in bondage by the Spaniards fled into the mountains. During this conflict two major leaders among the Maroons arose,
Juan de Bolas and
Juan de Serras. In one of those ironies that proliferate throughout history, the Maroons under Bolas and Serras allied with their former Spanish masters in waging a 3 year guerilla war against the British. The fate of the Spanish was largely sealed following the defeat of a Spanish invasion force at the battle of
Rio Nuevo when Juan de Bolas defected to the British. This set him at odds with Serras who, following the death of Bolas in combat, retreated with his forces into the mountains. It is theorized that they may have later formed the nucleus of the
Windward Maroons.
While the British had signed a treaty with Bolas’ maroons, once they settled on developing a slave based sugar plantation economy in Jamaica, it was inevitable that there would be conflict. Throughout the 1670s-!680s there were repeated attempts by former pirate and then Governor
Sir Henry Morgan to suppress the Maroons, none were successful.
Meanwhile the rapid increase in the importation of slaves led to
series of revolts, often attributed to the fact that the enslaved came from militarily sophisticated cultures such as the Ashanti Empire. While these localized rebellions were brutally and bloodily put down, many hundreds escaped, swelling the ranks of the maroon population. More, they established an Ashanti based polity in the western reaches of the island, preserving their cultural identity and continuity with Africa. This period also saw the emergence of two of Jamaica’s great national heros,
Cudjoe and
Queen Nanny. They were respectively leaders of the Leeward and Windward Maroons during the first of two conflicts known as the Maroon Wars. The
1st war (1728-1739) was a long string of disasters for the British, leading to them make terms with the Maroons. A treaty was signed by the Leeward Maroons in 1739 and with the Windward Maroons the next year.
In another ironic historic twist, while the British were forced to admit defeat and recognize the autonomy of the Maroon communities some 51 years before the
Haitian Revolution, the Maroons were obliged to cease harboring escaped slaves and aid in hunting down escapees in future. This fateful provision sowed the seeds of future division.
In 1760 the Maroon’s found themselves called upon to aid in directly suppressing
Tacky’s War. Tacky himself was killed by
Davy the Maroon who afterwards made a career as a slave catcher for the Planter class.
The
2nd Maroon War (1795-1796) saw the splintering of Maroon solidarity, with the Windward Maroons taking up strict neutrality and some of the Leeward Maroons actively siding with the British. The result was that the Maroons of Trelawny Town laid down their weapons on the promise that they would not be deported from the island. The promise was not honored and they were subsequently deported to Nova Scotia.
Subsequent to this, the Maroons continued to fulfill their treaty obligations to the British, culminating in their participation the
Baptist War (1831-1832). This war was a crucial turning point, not only in Jamaican history but world history. It was the largest revolt in Jamaican history, mobilizing an estimated 60,000 enslaved persons under the leadership of
Samuel Sharpe. Awareness that the growing movement for abolition in Britain had resulted in the issue being debated in Parliament led many to believe that emancipation was imminent. Sharpe began to organize a non-violent general strike of labor on the island to demand improved conditions. Nevertheless, the Slave holding elite responded violently, suppressing the movement with brutality and murderous reprisal, executing some 310 to 340 persons, including Sharpe, after the conflict had ended. Indeed, it is widely held that the savagery of the suppression and reprisal contributed directly to the passage of the
Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. This would make it the most significant event in Black Liberation since the Haitian Revolution and one even more far reaching in its impact. Unsurprisingly, Samuel Sharpe is celebrated as a National hero in Jamaica today but he is unarguably a figure of international stature and significance as well.
As inadequate as this overview may be, it does make it clear that Jamaicans share a unique, if conflicted and contradictory, heritage of heroic resistance and resilience military and cultural. One that to this day shapes the national identity and character of Jamaica and Jamaicans.
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