After the Treaties: a Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739-1842

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University of Southampton Department of History After the Treaties: A Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739-1842 Michael Sivapragasam A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History June 2018 i ii UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY Doctor of Philosophy After the Treaties: A Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739-1842 Michael Sivapragasam This study is built on an investigation of a large number of archival sources, but in particular the Journals and Votes of the House of the Assembly of Jamaica, drawn from resources in Britain and Jamaica. Using data drawn from these primary sources, I assess how the Maroons of Jamaica forged an identity for themselves in the century under slavery following the peace treaties of 1739 and 1740. I will argue that the story of the Maroons of Jamaica is more complicated than previously thought. First, I analyse the origins of the Maroons, and the circumstances that led to them signing peace treaties with the colonial authorities. Second, I consider how the white superintendents usurped the authority of the Maroons in five official towns. Third, I scrutinize the Maroon response to the requirements of the treaties concerning suppressing slave revolts and hunting runaway slaves. Fourth, I examine the relationship between Trelawny Town and the colonial authorities. This allows me to demonstrate that while the colonial elite made concessions over land disputes with other Maroon towns, their reluctance to do so with Trelawny Town eventually culminated in the Second Maroon War of 1795-6. Fifth, I consider the relationship between Trelawny Town and runaway slaves, and the effect it had on the rise in runaway communities in western Jamaica in the nineteenth century. Finally, I explore the changing relationship between the Maroons remaining in Jamaica and the colonial authorities in the aftermath of the Second Maroon War. iii As a whole, my PhD challenges the simplistic view of the Maroons as collaborators, and argues that their story was a complex one of divisions between Maroon towns, a lack of coherence, and they were often inefficient hunters of runaways. The Maroons sometimes collaborated with the colonial authorities, and then assisted runaways to escape during the Second Maroon War. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 The Academic Scholarship on the Maroons of Jamaica 6 The Structure and the Primary Sources 14 Part One: The Maroons in Eighteenth Century Jamaica 19 Chapter One: The Treaties and their Effects on the Maroons 19 Maroon origins 22 The First Maroon War 31 The peace treaties of 1739 and 1740 40 Conclusion 47 Chapter Two: Superintendents replace Maroon Leaders 49 Maroon resistance to the peace treaties 52 Cudjoe and Nanny: The strong leadership of the early post-treaty Maroons 59 White superintendents take control of the Maroon towns 70 Land disputes 77 Conclusion 84 Chapter Three: Slave Revolts and Runaways 87 Maroons suppress eighteenth century slave revolts 91 The Maroons as hunters of runaways 100 Eighteenth century runaway communities and Three-Fingered Jack 107 Conclusion 117 Part Two: The Second Maroon War and Nineteenth Century Jamaica 119 Chapter Four: Maroon Officers retake control of Trelawny Town 119 The Causes of the Second Maroon War 123 The Second Maroon War 136 The surrender of Trelawny Town 147 Conclusion 155 Chapter Five: Runaways in the West 159 Western Runaways in the eighteenth century 165 Runaways during the Second Maroon War 172 Cuffee and runaways after the Second Maroon War 182 v Runaways in the nineteenth century 190 The Maroons and the Sam Sharpe Rebellion 199 Conclusion 209 Chapter Six: Maroon Society to the Abolition of Slavery, 1796-1842 211 The Maroons and British culture 214 Maroon land and economy 230 Maroon population growth 238 Outside pressures on Maroon towns in the nineteenth century 247 Conclusion 255 Conclusion 259 Appendix One: Maroon leadership in the official Maroon towns 1739-1810 271 Appendix Two: The superintendents of the Maroon towns up to 1841 275 Bibliography 279 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure One: The physical geography of Jamaica.………………………………………………..9 Figure Two: Plaque commemorating Cudjoe at Accompong Town...…………………………30 Figure Three: ‘Old Cudjoe making peace’………………………………………………………..41 Figure Four: The Maroon towns of Jamaica……………………………………………………..58 Figure Five: Headstone of Roger Hope Elletson, Bath Abbey, Bath………………………….63 Figure Six: A plaque commemorating Nanny of the Maroons…..……………………………..67 Figure Seven: A plaque commemorating Tacky’s Revolt……………………………………....96 Figure Eight: A plaque commemorating Three-Fingered Jack………...……………………..111 Figure Nine: Image of Jack Mansong..………………………………………………………….113 Figure Ten: Colonel Alexander Lindsay, Earl of Balcarres, 1825…………….……………...123 Figure Eleven: Engraving of Captain Leonard Parkinson………………………………….....134 Figure Twelve: Fighting in the Second Maroon War……..……………………………………143 Figure Thirteen: ‘Pacification with the Maroon Negroes’..……………….…………………....149 Figure Fourteen: The Parishes of Jamaica in the nineteenth century….……………………185 Figure Fifteen: A view of Montego Bay……….………………………………………………....200 Figure Sixteen: Monument to Sam Sharpe, Montego Bay……..……………………………..202 Figure Seventeen: Boston Jerk Centre, Port Antonio…….……………………………………235 vii LIST OF TABLES Table One: Slave Ships to Jamaica 1663-1700………………………………………………26 Table Two: Slave Ships to Jamaica 1700-1720………………………………………………27 Table Three: Maroon town population growth in the eighteenth century………….……….56 Table Four: Budget for Maroon parties 1775-96…………………………………………….105 Table Five: Windward Maroon population in the eighteenth century……………………...108 Table Six: Trelawny Town Maroons in the eighteenth century…………………………….128 Table Seven: Superintendents of Trelawny Town…………………………………………..130 Table Eight: Trelawny Town Maroon Officers……………………………………………….132 Table Nine: Numbers of Trelawny Town Maroons, 1795-7………………………………..145 Table Ten: The Leeward Maroon men in the eighteenth century…………………………171 Table Eleven: Trelawny Town population by gender in the eighteenth century…………176 Table Twelve: Windward Maroon men in 1819…………………………….……………….195 Table Thirteen: Runaways captured by Maroons in the 1830s …………………...……...206 Table Fourteen: Maroon names in 1798..………………………………………..................217 Table Fifteen: The number of slaves owned by Maroons……………………………….....224 Table Sixteen: Residents of Scott’s Hall 1827-33…..……………………………………....228 Table Seventeen: Leeward Maroon populations in the eighteenth century.………..…....239 Table Eighteen: Maroon population growth by gender in the eighteenth century………..240 Table Nineteen: Slaves in Jamaica 1808-34…………………………………………………242 Table Twenty: Maroon population 1808-41…...….………………………………………..…243 Table Twenty-one: Residents of Scott’s Hall 1817-33…………………………………..…..248 viii Academic Thesis: Declaration Of Authorship I, Michael Sivapragasam, declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research. The thesis is entitled ‘After the treaties: A Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739‐1842’. I confirm that: 1. This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; 2. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; 3. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; 4. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; 5. I have acknowledged all main sources of help; 6. Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; 7. None of this work has been published before submission. Signed: …Michael Sivapragasam……………………………………………………………………… Date: …24 May 2018……………………………………………………………………… ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My greatest debt is to my supervisor, Dr Christer Petley, whose constructive criticism, knowledge, and endless support enabled me to convert a wealth of research into a PhD with some coherence. I would also like to thank my secondary supervisors, Dr Helen Paul and Dr Rachel Hermann, for their feedback. In putting together this thesis, I have relied heavily on the people who run the archives and records in both the United

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