Originally Posted by
Fred Stripe
I was ready to post the story of the Marrons on my Facebook page,but I now read that the Accompong Maroons did not fight with the other Marron towns against the British and therefore were the only town to survive? I also read that they were released by the Spaniards who fled but then had an agreement with the British to SELL them new slaves???? So they had their freedom but took $2 dollars for each new slave they gave back to the British? Is this true?
Let's go through this one topic at a time:
- Accompong Maroons did not fight with the other Marron towns against the British and therefore were the only town to survive?
- Spaniards who fled but then had an agreement with the British to SELL them new slaves
- So they had their freedom but took $2 dollars for each new slave they gave back to the British? Is this true?
#1 - The Accompong Maroons DID fight with the other Maroon towns in the First Maroon War and then, after signing the Peace Treaty in 1739, they remained true to the blood treaty and did not get involved in the Second Maroon War which was more of an insurrection than a war. There are two other Maroon Villages; Scots Hall and Moore Town which do exist today but they made peace with the English as well after the 1739 Treaty.
#2 - Yes, the Spanish did release the original Maroons who went to live in various places across Jamaica (i.e. Juan De Bolas in the Mountains of St. Catherine, Accompong Town, Trelawney Town, Moore Town, Nanny Town.... well, you get the picture. The "agreement" you are referring to is the 1738-1739 Peace Treaty. The Ninth of 15 Clauses in the Treaty reads>
That if any negroes shall hereafter run away from their masters or owners and fall into Captain Cudjoe's hands, he shall immediately be sent back to the chief magistrate of the next parish where they are taken; and those that bring them are to be satisfied for their trouble, and the legislature shall appoint
As far as your "agreement with the British to SELL them new slaves" well, that is plain ridiculous and on it's face, a ginned up flamethrower statement.
There are a lot of misconceptions on just what the Accompong Maroons did or didn't do. Every slave who escaped captivity and ran into the mountains did not go to live in Accompong Town. Some of these former slaves did take escaped slaves into town to collect a reward but none of them lived in Accompong Town or were representing the Maroon population of that town.
I can not speak for the Leeward Maroons who hunted down Three Finger Jack, Tacky, Paul Bogle or many others. This movie is about Accompong Town Maroons and not those from any other area or village in Jamaica. They have lived on the land they settled in 1655 and, after signing the Peace Treaty, have continued living on it for 275 years of self governess.
Skimming articles and picking out bits and pieces of facts or fiction is not like actually reading and studying the culture. Perhaps a little more in depth reading is needed but I do admire you wanting to know the truth.
Peace and Guidance