The word maroon is not an African word. It has been said that it came from the Spanish word cimarran which means wild, it is also described in the dictionary to mean marooned, when you are cornerned and have no way of escaping. I do not think that there is any tribe of people in Mama Africa who are called maroons. I think those people who allow themselves to be called maroons, are really people from the Coromantee people of West Africa.

It has been recorded, that as early as 1441 or before, the Portuguese were already smuggling African people from the coast of West Africa. Since Portugal and Spain were both Catholic Countries, a large amount of these West African people ended up on the slave plantations in Spain, since they were also very active in the brutish practice of slave trading activities.It is also recorded that these West African people would quite often escape and disappear in the mountians from time to time, and as a result they were called the maroons, which in this context would mean wild.

Now all of this was taking place, ten or fifteen years before Christopher Columbus was born, since he was not born until 1451, while these things were taking place as early as 1441 or before. Therefore west African people were being taken to Portugal and Spain and being multiplied, long before Columbus was born. So when Columbus came to the New world as it was called, it was about 41 years, after West African people were being enslaved in Portugal and Spain, since it was 1492 when Columbus went on his criminal missions.

When Columbus came to Jamaica in the year 1494, he found the Arawak Indians as they put up the flags of Spain and claim it as their property, although the Arawak Indians were living there maybe thousand of years before Columbus was born. Indeed the Arawak Indians were brutalized and mistreated as is always the case with Europeans, whenever they invade other people's country.

Well, after Spain realized that they have just captured Jamaica and other places, they instructed their Spanish people, that they have some new territories and they can go there and settle, and take as much land as they wanted and use the Arawaks as their servants. So when they were going to Jamaica, as well as other places to settle they took all their belongings including their slaves, and so this was how the first set of Africans came to be in Jamaica.

Jamaica later became the distributing center, for all African people, who were caught up in the slave trading activities, for the entire caribbean region. So now these African people who allow themselves to be called the Maroons, were being enslaved by the Spaniards for more than 150 years in the Island of Jamaica, until the year 1655, when the British came and chase away the Spanish people, and establish themselves as the new rulers. There were some battles but the Spaniards finally escape to Cuba and that was that for the time being.

Well, because the maroons as they were called, were living among the Spaniards for such a long time, they naturally would resist the new invaders, but I do think that there was a group of them, who was led by Juan De Bolas, who had jioned with the British in the begining, but abondoned them later as the fight went on. The British in thier arrogance tried to establish rule over the maroons as the new rulers, but the maroons refused to have this and so there were many decades, of irregular warfare between the British and the maroons. It was said that when the peace treaty was signed, the British was tired of the war as a result of the ghost like victories of the maroons, and the maroons were also tired of the war, because they had to keep on moving through the woods, and finding new spots to hide and plant new fields from time to time, as the British were always hunting for them.

They signed the peace treaty in 1738 under a mango tree, but the British had everything to gain in that treaty, and the maroons had every thing to lose. While the war was in progress, there were slave trading activities in progress on the plantations, and aften times Brothers and sisters would escape, and would have found refuge among the maroons, but now that the peace treaty is signed, the British were asking that those slaves who escaped, and were with the maroons should be returned, they were also asking that if any slaved escaped in the future, that the maroons should return them to the British and be rewarded for doing so.Two Europeans was also to take up residence among the maroons, in order to make sure the the treaty agreed upon was carried out.

One of the Europeans was Major John James, who would be among the maroons in the hills from time to time, hunting for African people who ran away from the slave plantation. After this Major John James, was able to learn everything about the maroons, all their secrets and strategies, they transferred him and made him commander of all the maroons across the country, and send another European to learn as much more as he could. So the presence of the Europeans living among them, means that whatever they did was communicated to the Brtish masters, and if a African brother or siter escaped, this information would be sent to Major John James, and then they would go hunting in the bushes for the runaway.

A very serious thing took place however, in the Montego Bay area of Jamaica, after the treaty was signed. One of the writers said, that a maroon was caught stealing a pig, the other one said that the maroon had killed a tame pig, which means the samething for if there is tame pig then some one would claim that the pig belongs to them, since it was not a wild pig in the bush. Anyway there were some slaves which the maroons had returned recently, and after they arrested the maroon for stealing this pig, they allowed one of the slaves who was brought back by the maroon, to beat him with the whip and then send him on his way, while being laughed at by the slaves which he had returned.

This behaviour by the Europeans triggered a second maroon war, but by this time, the Europeans already known the tactics and secrets of the maroons, considering that two Europeans were living in the mountains with them, so they brought in some blood hound dogs from Cuba, and before long this second maroon war was over. I think they sent away some of those who started the war to Cuba are some other place.

Now slavery was not abolished until 1838 the 1st of August in Jamaica and other Caribean Islands, that was when the Queen of England Authorised that twenty million Sterling pounds, be paid to the slave traders as lost of there investment, which was refering to their slaves. That means that if you had five slaves, and they cost $50.00 each, then you would get $250.00 before you would set your slaves free. Indeed no money were granted for the slaves, since they were considered to be not important.

So the Coromantee people who were called the Maroons, were allowed to live without warring with the British on 1500 acres of land, while practical slavery of other Africa people continued to be in progress from day to day, from 1738 when the treaty was signed, until 1838 when they claimed that shackled slavery was abolished. So for 100 years, the maroons were treated different from the rest of African people, and if a slave escaped they would help to catch him and return him to the plantation for a reward. It is a very long and interesting story, which I have read and hope that we can examine it together. I will have much more to say but I will stop here for now. My intentions are good it is for community Reparations among African people and to correct old grieviances
Again I send many oceans of blessings and self determination to African people everywhere.
ONE BLACK LOVE ONE BLACK HEART
Baba Ras Marcus.