Unconquered: How the Jamaican Maroons Resisted British Colonization

Dylan Siwicki History 4401: Senior Research Seminar Professor Joe Lunn December 12, 2017 Since Jamaica was one the world’s most productive sugar colonies, it wasn’t long until it captured the eyes of the British. The British then sent an Armada led by Oliver Cromwell and went on to defeat the Spanish in Jamaica. Following the British colonization of Jamaica in 1655, many of the Spanish slaves fled their plantations and moved away into the interior of the island.

They became known as the “Jamaican Maroons,” as maroon means runaway. These Maroons often fought the British using guerrilla tactics and raided many plantations, disrupting the sugar economy for the British. The Jamaican Maroons continued to resist the British on the island for the next 84 years, until peace treaties were signed in 1738 and 1739. Since the Jamaican

Maroons were never defeated on the battlefield by the British, the Maroons effectively earned the title of freedom fighters. However, while the Jamaican Maroons liberated themselves from plantations and established free communities in the middle of Britain’s most important sugar colony, they collaborated with the British colonial government after 1739 in crushing slave rebellions on the island, therefore the Maroons helped forestall the eventual downfall of slavery in Jamaica and were traitors of their own race.

Beginning with Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the new world in 1492, Europeans began to set their sights on extracting wealthy resources, such as gold from the new world. Since

Columbus sailed for King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain, the Spanish were able to become one of the first primitive world powers to colonize the new world. In doing so, Jamaica was one of the islands in the Caribbean the Spanish colonized, but they quickly lost interest in the island when little to no gold was found. Although the Spanish never completely abandoned

Jamaica, their interests was in gold and there was plenty of gold found on the continent of South

American after the they defeated the Aztec, Mayan, and Inca empires.

1 The Spanish, however, was not the only European power to colonize the new world.

Shorty after the Columbus’s discovery, other European powers, such as the English and French began colonizing new world land as well. The British and French was primarily interested in

North America, along with the Caribbean, while the Spanish and Portuguese dominated South

America. As European colonization continued in the new world, the Europeans relied on the natives as the primary labor force in extracting the wealth. The Europeans did not set their sights on exterminating the natives, but rather as enslaving them. However, disease ran rampant and affected both the Europeans and the Natives. Without immunity to European diseases, such as influenza, many natives were killed off and it led to a major labor shortage in the new world.

Since Europeans did not have immunity to new world diseases like malaria, Europeans had to look elsewhere for labor. While the Europeans continued world colonization, Vasco da

Gama led a Portuguese fleet around the West coast of Africa, while in route to the East Indies.

The British, Spanish, French, German, and the Dutch soon followed with their own explorations.

Although the Europeans found no gold in Africa, they discovered that Africans were immune to their diseases. In addition, the Europeans had many manufactured goods and weapons that the

Africans did not have, but wanted. Therefore, the Europeans ability to cheaply trade with African

Kingdoms, along with the Africans immunity to new world diseases made them the most profitable labor option for the Europeans in the new world.

It became known as the TransAtlantic slave trade, where the Europeans traded weapons, textiles, and manufactured goods to the Africans for captured slaves within Africa, who then became slaves in the new world for the Europeans to extract wealthy resources that were sent back to Europe. The Portuguese dominated the TransAtlantic slave trade early on due to their

2 position on the Canary islands. Most of the African slaves were taken from West Africa and sent into the Caribbean or South America with many working on the sugar plantations. Although the

Portuguese were a primitive new world power, the slave trade was eventually taken over by the

French, British, and Dutch as they continued their growth in the new world.

The Middle Passage, which was the voyage from West Africa to the Americas saw

Africans endure inhumane and cruel conditions. The dehumanization process began as they were often chained and cramped tightly together. These harsh conditions along with low morale led to the death of many Africans during the voyage. Once they arrived, their dehumanization became reality as the sole purpose was to produce wealth for European colonies through enslavement.1

Africans resisted European enslavement from the moment they embarked on the ships transporting them to the Americas. Their resistance took many forms. One is they simply tried to escape the ships by throwing themselves and their companions into the Atlantic Ocean. In addition, many committed suicide during the voyage, as well as upon their arrival. Another form of resistance they took was that women would commit abortions and infanticide. While those are extreme forms of resistance, the most common resistance Africans took was to revolt and stir up rebellions on the plantations. This allowed them to escape en masses and become fugitive slaves or Maroons.2

Although Maroon societies emerged throughout the Americas, the Jamaican Maroons are one of the most well known. During the slave trade, most of the Africans imported to Jamaica were from West Africa. The Africans were from many different African ethnic groups, such as

1 Amanda Moore, “Maroon Societies in Brazil, Jamaica, and Mexico,” Sryacuse University Honors Program Capstone Project. (2005). Paper 710. 4-5.

2 Moore, “Maroon Societies,” 17-18.

3 Coromantee, Congos, Eboes, Mandingos, Pawpaws, and Nagos. The largest of these populations to inhabit Jamaica was the Coromantee, who were from Ghana and were Akan-speaking

Africans. The English conquest of Jamaica in the mid-17th century allowed the opportunity for slaves to runaway, which many did. After the British routed the Spanish, pockets of ex-slaves scattered throughout the island. Although the Spaniards were unable to resist the English invasion because of the lack of weapons, many stayed and became rebels. Furthermore, the

Spanish rebels went on to form collations with runaway slaves to put up a guerilla resistance against the British. However, the Spanish formally ceded Jamaica to the British in 1670 and many of rebels fled, but many slaves remained in the mountainous interior of Jamaica to continue resistance.3

Since the British demanded the Spanish to hand over all slaves, the Maroons had to secure protection from British invasion. The topography in Jamaica was very favorable to the

Maroons, as the interior of Jamaica saw high mountains and many swaps that can help deter a

British invasion. Although harsh environments, such as jungles, mountains, swaps, and valleys ensured tough living conditions, the Maroons had no choice but to acclimate themselves to them for protection. The relatively inaccessible mountains gave them a commanding view of the lowlands. By the beginning of the 18th century, two distinct Maroon communities emerged in

Jamaica’s interior; the Leeward and Windward. The Leeward’s were based in the west and the

Windward’s in the east. Even though both similarity planted crops and hunted for survival, they also had distinct differences. For example, the Leeward Maroons had a central leader that was elected and divided their villagers into politico-military units. The Windward community, on the

3 Moore, “Maroon Socities,” 28, and Vernot Satchell, “Jamaica,” The Retrospective history of Jamaica, World History Archive, Hartford Web Publishing, 1999.

4 other hand did not have central leader, but a loose federation of villages under smaller leadership.4

As the Maroon communities continued to grow to several hundred escaped slaves throughout the latter half of the 17th century, by 1700 the British began financing military campaigns against the Maroons because they saw the Maroons as a threat to English colonization. Since many of the Maroons are escaped slaves, the British believed the Maroon communities could influence future slaves desire to runaway, disrupting the plantation economy in Jamaica. As the British continued to try and suppress the Maroons through military might, the

Maroon communities fought back and began to view themselves as freedom fighters. Even though the British were a superior military, the Maroons were familiar with the terrain of

Jamaica and their their guerrilla warfare tactics proved quite costly to the British. After 85 years of fighting, the British were unable to subjugate the Maroons and were forced to sign separate peace treaties with the Windward’s and Leeward’s in 1738 and 1739. The treaty formally acknowledged the Maroons as free and independent, however the Maroons also had to collaborate with the British in suppressing any sort of slave revolt, as well as suppressing and capturing runaway slaves. Overall, the treaty was a British victory for the future of Jamaica.5

The Maroons proved that fighting the British is the best way to secure freedom. Although the Maroons never defeated the british on the battlefield, they were never defeated themselves; essentially fighting the British to a stalemate. So future slaves can capture the ideal of not having to defeat the British in battle, but by being able to escape and disrupt the economy can prove

4 Moore, “Maroon Societies,” 35, and Satchell, “Jamaica.”

5 Jonathan Brooks, “From Freedom to Bondage: The Jamaican Maroons, 1655-1770,” University of North Carolina Wilmington and Satchell “Jamaica.”

5 quite disastrous to the British. However, it’s important to remember that the Maroons had established communities of hundreds of runaway slaves in the interior of Jamaica that allowed them to organize themselves into military units and fight. So the Maroons proved that by establishing large communities in the interior of Jamaica is the British’s worst nightmare, as it is difficult to fight on unfamiliar terrain.

However, with the peace treaty stating that the Maroons had to help suppress future slave rebellions and return runaways, the future did not look bright for the 99,200 slaves on the island.

Since the Maroons have proven to be familiar with the terrain of Jamaica, runaways would have a much more difficult time hiding in the forests and mountains that proved so effective for the

Maroons. For example, a prominent Jamaican slaveholder William Beckford wrote in 1740,

“They [Maroons] keep our woods clear of Runaways, & if a Negroe starts they are sure to bring him or his head back.” Not only does Beckford acknowledge his satisfaction of the maroon treaties by also exulting, “that our Negroe treaty has succeeded to our wishes,” but he also explains the vast knowledge of the forests the Maroons have. Furthermore, London writer James

Knight wrote in 1942, “for many Negroes who frequently deserted and concealed themselves in the mountains were immediately taken up by them [Maroons] who were well acquainted with their lurking places.” It is essential for the British to prevent any large scale communities similar to the Maroons, Windward and Leeward. Since the British were susceptible to those large communities, who can say that other large scale runaway slave communities could not contend.

By not allowing these runaways to go into hiding, the Maroons significantly reduced the chances of these runaways banding together and revolting in large numbers.6

6 Tyson Reeder, “Liberty with the Sword: Jamaican Maroons, Haitian Revolutionaries, and American Liberty.” Journal of the Early Republic, 37 (Spring 2017). 85-86, 88.

6 Not only were the Maroons capturing and preventing runaway slaves from establishing similar community’s like theirs’, but they were also violently suppressing slave revolts. For example, one Jamaican colonist explained a scenario were the Windward Maroons helped the colonist suppress a short lived revolt. “When approximately twenty blacks set out in 1746 with a design to kill all they met with, the colonist mobilized against them and enlisted the aid of their friend Negroes (who had been formerly the Rebels).” By acknowledging the isolation of the

Maroons, the British acknowledged that a community of blacks could rightfully contend for liberty with violence. So it is important for the British to suppress these revolts as quickly as possible to prevent large scale revolts that can become disruptive to the sugar economy.7

Although the Maroons would clearly align themselves with the British in crushing slave revolts, slaves were still determined win their freedom in the same manner the Maroons did. A much larger slave revolt exploded in 1760 by a slave named Tacky. Now that the British believe they can rely heavily upon on the Maroons to help suppress any slave revolt, they can relax their general security. So Tacky believed the Easter Sunday holiday could be a good opportunity to catch the British off guard. According to Michael Craton, the British the over-reliance of the

Maroons mixed with the lack of strict security of the holiday gave the slaves a perfect opportunity to unite and mobilized into a “marronage on an unprecedented scale.”8

The Jamaican great upheaval of 1760-61, also known as Tackey’s Rebellion was the first major slave insurrection on the island of Jamaica. Up until then, slaves resisted on a small scale

7 Extract of a Private Letter from a Gentleman in Jamaica,” Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia), Jan. 21, 1746, quoted in Reeder, “Liberty with the Sword” p.89 and 91.

8 Michael Craton, “Testing the chains: Resistance to Slavery in the British West Indies, (Ithaca, NY :Cornell University Press, 1982), 125, quoted in Thomas R. Day, “Jamaican Revolts in British Press and Politics, 1760-1865,” Virginia Commonwealth University, (2016) p.22.

7 with small revolts and by often running away from their plantations attempting to hide. However, they were met with only various degrees of success, due to the aid the Maroons, by the British.

So large scale violence resorted to the ultimate ideal of freedom.9

While a desire of freedom was the most primitive reason for the slave revolt, there were also other reasons as well. For one, slaves thought to the “challenging existence of Maroon settlements.” After all, it’s those Maroons encampments that are the symbols of freedom and a threat to slavery in Jamaica. It’s the experience of guerrilla tactic fighting the Maroons brought, along with their knowledge of the terrain in Jamaica that makes a serious threat to the slave system in Jamaica. Although the Maroons have been aiding the British and living up to their terms in treaty so far, the ratio between slaves and white settlers was considerably in favor of the slaves. In fact, by 1760 the slaves outnumbered the ruling class by nearly ten to one. With such disproportionate numbers, it was impossible for the colonial settlers to ensure security of the island. In addition to the slaves outnumbering the white settlers, the British’s attention was also diverted elsewhere with the ongoing struggle against the French and Spanish in North America

(Seven Years War). The time to test the Maroons allegiance to the British on a large scale seemed ideal.10

Even though the slaves significantly outnumbered the white settlers and along with the window of opportunity created by the British by diverging their attention from Jamaica, Tacky’s

Rebellion was violently crushed after a little more than a year long struggle. Furthermore, the

Maroons allegiance remained loyal to the British in helping to suppress the revolt. When fighting

9 Thomas R. Day, “Jamaican Revolts in British Press and Politics, 1760-1865,” Virginia Commonwealth University, (2016) p.23.

10 Oats, Lynne, Pauline Sadler, and Carlene Wynter, “Taxing Jamaica: The Stamp Act of 1760 & Tacky’s Rebellion.” eJournal of Tax Research 12.1 (2014).

8 reached Jamaican planter Thomas Thistlewood prized estate, he wrote that the Maroons fought with “great bravery” with the local militia. Much of the fighting took place in the wilderness after many slaves rose and killed nearby whites to gain arms and supplies. The rebel slaves then resorted to guerilla style warfare which was synonymous with the Maroons. Overall, the rebellion was similar to the war the Maroons waged on the British during the First Maroon

War.11

Trevor Burnard states that Tacky’s Rebellion was “the most serious slave revolt in British imperial history.”12 For one, Tacky’s Rebellion saw a series revolts of at least and possibly more than fifteen hundred slaves across Jamaica, significantly outnumbering the colonial settlers.

Another was the uncertainly by the British militia when the revolts spiraled out of control, as they could not tell if it was a large scale well organized revolt or a small local one. A letter written by a British militiaman at St. Mary where a revolt took place confirmed the British militia’s uncertainly “I am informed you have received several erroneous and contradictory

Accounts of the proceedings of the rebellious Negroes, which I am not suppressed at, as the

Truth is difficult to come at here on the spot. The following is the best information I can give you.”13 The Maroons allegiance to the British could of quickly been broken during this massive confusion amongst the British militia. The element of surprise was the Maroons best weapon in securing their freedom and by catching the British militia off guard in joining the rebel slaves in

11 Day, “Jamaican Revolts,” p.23, and Trevor Burnard, Mastery, Tyranny, and desire: Thomas Thistlewood and His Slaves in the Anglo-Jamaican World (Chapel Hill, NC 2004,) quoted in Reeder, “Liberty with the Sword,” p.89.

12 Burnard, Trevor. “Slavery and the Enlightenment in Jamaica and the British Empire, 1760-1772: The Afterlife of Tacky’s Rebellion and the Origins of British Abolitionism” p.abstract.

13 Extract of a letter from a gentleman at St Mary, April 14, 1760, “The Pennsylvania Gazette, June 5, 1760, quoted in “Slave Revolt in Jamaica,” 1760-1761.

9 the wilderness would of significantly increased the chances of challenging the slave system. Not only would the rebel slaves then outnumber the colonial settlers and the British militia greater than fifteen to one, but the Maroons experience in fighting a guerilla war proved costly to the

British during the First Maroon War. Admiral Holmes expressed his frustration in writing

“Experience has proven that it is much easier to Vanquish & Rout them [rebel slaves] in the

Field, or in a Collective Body Entrenched, than to grab them out of the woods.”14 Although the

British’s proven difficulties in fighting guerilla warfare were exposed when more than 60 whites killed during the rebellion, the experience in the wilderness and guerilla tactics of the Maroons helped save the British, as the the Maroons helped crush the rebellion. Had the Maroons helped to exploit the British militia weakness of guerilla warfare, like the did in the first Maroon War instead of assisting it, history may have been different.15

Tacky’s Rebellion was not the only time the Maroons had a chance to lead a massive slave on Jamaica. Following the rebellion, reform minded activist within the British Empire began to challenge the British slave system. This led to the beginning of many religious missionaries and political reformers spreading anti-slavery activism throughout Jamaica as well as the British Empire. Although small scale skirmishes continued on the island throughout the

18th century, none of them presented the same kind of opportunity as Tacky’s Rebellion did for a massive slave revolt that could be led by the Maroons. However, the reformers had managed to

14 Holmes to Cleveland, 25 July 1760, TNA, ADM 1/236, f. 53, quoted in “Slave Revolt in Jamaica 1760-1761.”

15 “Slave Revolt in Jamaica, 1760-1761,” A Cartographic Narrative, (2012).

10 overturn and ultimately end the TransAtlantic slave trade in 1807 and by the 1830s, slavery in the British Empire was in it’s dying days.16

With the British slave system being attacked by reformist, it’s no surprise that in late

1831 the largest slave revolt in Jamaican history took place. More than fifty thousand slaves took part in the rebellion that was significantly larger that than Tacky’s seventy years prior. The rebellion was led by educated and well placed slaves, as well as free people of color and Baptist missionaries. Their mission became “to afford the slaves means of salvation within the social structure.” Following the Christmas, the enslaved led by Baptist Samuel Sharpe were to demand the rights of free workers, which included wages. If the demands were not met, the enslave would strike and if the suppressed the strike, a revolt was planned. With their missions founded by the church and endorsed by the antislavery party, the slave owners began to suspect subversion on the slave system.17

However, unlike Tacky’s Rebellion, the leaders of the 1831 rebellion or usually called the

“Baptist War” because many of these leaders were native Baptist “were educated, informed and aware of the wider world of British imperial policy.” These leaders knew about the growing abolition movements within the British Empire. They also understood Jamaica’s role of the sugar estate within the British Empire, therefore knowing the importance of a massive slave revolt, which could lead to treaties or abolishing slavery in Jamaican. As the revolt unfolded, due to

16 Day, “Jamaican Revolts,” p.57.

17 Mary Turner, “Slaves and Missionaries: The Disintergration of Jamaican Slave Society, 1787-1834,” Press Universities of the West Indies, (1982) p. 148 and Shepherd, Verene, Ried, Ahmed, “Rebel Voices: Testimonies from the 1831-32 Emancipation War in Jamaica,” Jamaican Journal, 27, 23 (2004) 56.

11 hostility from British planters in late December, slaves destroyed property often by torching estates and significantly damaging the sugar economy.18

Although the leaders of the revolt were educated and well informed, much of the slaves who fought and resisted were not. Furthermore, like Tacky’s Rebellion, these leaders lacked the military and leadership skills necessary to fight the British in the same fashion the Maroons did.

Slaves were banned together into companies with their own self-appointed leader who was responsible for guarding their boundaries. Although Colonel Robert Gardner made his estate the center for all military operations, there was often no cooperation between groups themselves or to Colonel Gardner’s center. Furthermore, as Turner describes, “they [groups of slaves] were short of arms, they had no experience in military operations, and in their contacts with the soldiers they showed none of the skill in guerrilla warfare that had characterized the Maroon

Wars.” Without the Maroons leadership and guerilla warfare experience, the revolt was suppressed by January 7, 1832.19

The Maroons failed again to curtail slavery in Jamaica as they honored the treaties of

1739 and came to the defense of the British. With more than 50,000 rebel slaves, the opportunity to push back at the Colonial forces on a scale similar to the likes of the Haitian Revolution was possible. However, all thorough the island, armed Maroons helped the Colonial forces violently put down the rebellion. In addition to honoring the treaties, the Maroons also feared deportation from the British if they did not cooperate and hold up to their end of the deal. Following the

Second Maroon War (1795-96) in which some Maroons protested the new British governor and

18 Day, “Jamaican Revolts,” p.63-63.

19 Turner, “Slaves and Missionaries,” p.157.

12 tensions rose between planters and Maroons, many of the rebel Maroons were exiled to Nova

Scotia and then to Sierra Leone under British authority. Remembering these deportations, the

Maroons chose to assist the Colonial forces in squashing the Sam Sharpe rebellion.20

Although the Maroons are often viewed as a heroic challenge to white authority, their image as freedom fighters is greatly misunderstood, as they never perceived to fight the British slave system in Jamaica. As Amy Johnson notes, “while they [Maroons] rejected enslavement for themselves, they were not ideologically against slavery.” The Maroons did accept runaway slaves into their communities prior to the 1738 and 1739 treaties, but overall, the Maroons saw unfreedom as a part of life and did what was best for their own people. Also, the Maroons viewed themselves as separate from the slaves of Jamaica with their own society. As Reeder explains, “By treating with the maroons, however, British officials recognized them as a legitimate political body.” Although the Maroons collaborated specific terms with the British in securing their freedom, they did not “desire a closer alignment to the colonial regime nor a break with the enslaved brethren.” What the treaties signified was the precise understanding of self- determination that the Maroons established for themselves, overall the treaties became the emblem of separation between the Maroons and nonMaroons.21

Even though slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire by 1838, Jamaica was still a British colony. Although the British had no use of the Maroons to catch runaway slaves anymore, they did still expect the Maroons to be allies in case of an invasion by another colonial power or an insurrection on the island. With gradual emancipation across Jamaica, the British

20 Peter P Hinks, John R. McKivigan, “Encyclopedia of Antislavery and Abolition, Volume 1,” Westport, Connecticut; Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007, p.81 and Reeder, “Liberty with the Sword,” p.96.

21 Amy Johnson, “Gradations of Freedom: The Maroons of Jamaica, 1798-1821,” The Journal of Caribbean History, Vol. 49, Iss. 2, (2015).

13 feared any kind of African-type communities, similar to the Maroons away from white supervision. Since the working and living conditions in Jamaica remained poor, specifically due to the low wages and high taxes led to serious conflicts occurred between the employers and employees, who were former slaves. When Paul Bogle along with some 500 other black men and women marched to Morant Bay and demanded social justice, they were confronted by white authority and rioting broke out.22

Prior to Bogle’s march into Morant Bay, he met with the Maroons and asked for their assistance in providing security; in other words, policemen. However, it is not known whether

Bogle had violent intentions or a peaceful protest, but the Maroons aided the British in violently putting down the rebellion once the rioting broke out. Since slavery had been abolished, Bogle felt that the Maroons had no reason to aid the British because their not fighting a slave revolt, but rather to equality and justice of their brethren; former slaves. However, the Maroons believed themselves to be different from the rest of the Africans on the island and specifically chose to defeat the rebels to show their own spirituality and militarily might.23

The Maroons had a strong sense of who they were. Since they had their own land and elected their own officials, they believed to be of a higher authority of the enslaved and blacks on the island after emancipation. The Maroons developed aggressive defense strategies to improve on the quality of their own lives. Therefore any enemy to the British became an enemy to the

Maroons because they threaten the Maroons basic survival. Not only did the Maroons fear the consequences of fighting with the rebels against the British, but they also feared the results of

22 Sarchell, “Jamaica.”

23 Devon Dick. “The Role of the Maroons in the 1865 Morant Bay Freedom War.” International Journal of Public Theology, Vol 7, no. 4 (2013)

14 losing the British as allies. The Maroons relied on the British for basic survival needs, such as food. Therefore, the Maroons refused to part take in the rebellions because they saw equality and justice for all as a threat to their own survival.24

After the treaties were signed, the Maroons effectively turned their backs to all the enslaved on Jamaica. Although slavery was eventually abolished by 1834 in Jamaica, the

Maroons could of been central figures in overthrowing the Colonial regime in Jamaica prior to

1834. Since the Maroons gained their freedom from fighting the British to a stalemate during the

First Maroon War, they proved slaves could earn their autonomy by a simple show of a large scale resistance.

During Tacky’s War, the slaves significantly outnumbered the Colonial forces greater than 15-1. Had the Maroons aided the slaves the colonial forces would of been completely overwhelmed. With the proven effectiveness of guerilla warfare, the colonial regime in Jamaica would of been in grave danger. However, when the slaves revolted and took to the mountainous areas of Jamaica’s interior to use guerilla warfare tactics, the Maroons lend their experience to the British and made up for all the Colonial Forces mistakes in the First Maroon War.

Although slavery continued to flourish in Jamaica after Tacky’s War, it was evident by the early 1830s that slavery in the British colonial system was in its’ dying days. Many Jamaican activist, such as Baptist preacher Sam Sharpe believed the same and saw another opportunity to challenge the slave system in Jamaica. Like Tacky’s War, the slaves much outnumbered the colonial forces in Jamaica at an astonishingly 30-1. As many Baptist leaders began urging work stoppages to the slaves, the British responded violently. When the slaves fought back by burning

24 Dick, “The Role of the Maroons in the 1865 Morant Bay Freedom War.”

15 plantations and attacking colonial forces. the British called upon the Maroons to help put down the rebellion. The Maroons went on to fight side by side with the British.

Overall, the Maroons had a chance to join the slaves in Jamaica and challenge the colonial slave system in sheer numbers only seen by the likes’ of the Haitian Revolution.

However, the Maroons saw themselves as separate from the Jamaican slaves because of the political autonomy the British gave them in the treaties of 1738 and 1739. As the Morant Bay

Rebellion proved that the Maroons did not believe in equality and social justice for all and did not see themselves as “brothers” of the slaves. The Maroons cooperated with the British and hunted down runaways, preventing them from establishing similar communities like the Maroons did. When the slaves revolted in large numbers that could effectively challenge the British, the

Maroons upheld to their political autonomy and used their knowledge of Jamaica's interior and experience in guerilla warfare to assist the British in putting down the revolts, therefore the

Maroons were traitors of their own people.

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18