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==Attacks on Nanny Town==
=== Military Tactics ===
The Windward Maroon's success against a much superior and better armed enemy was a testament to the great skill their leader, Nanny, possessed. One of their advantages over the British was their long-range communications capability. They pioneered the use of a cow horn called an abeng.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/852941442|title=Nanny's Asafo warriors : the Jamaican Maroons' African experience|last=Zips|first=Werner|date=2011|publisher=Ian Randle Publishers|year=|isbn=9789766376659|location=Kingston|pages=70|oclc=852941442}}</ref> This horn with a hole drilled in one end was used for long range communications. Its signals allowed Maroon lookouts to communicate over great distances. Its signals were not understood by the British who had no similar communications capability.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/38061550|title=The mother of us all : a history of Queen Nanny, leader of the Windward Jamaican Maroons|last=Gottlieb|first=Karla Lewis|date=2000|publisher=Africa World Press|year=2000|isbn=0865435642|location=Trenton, NJ|pages=95|oclc=38061550}}</ref>
Between 1728 and 1734, during the [[First Maroon War]], [[Nanny Town]] and other Maroon settlements were frequently attacked by British forces. They wanted to stop the raids and believed that the Maroons prevented settlement of the interior. According to some accounts, in 1733 many Maroons of Nanny Town travelled across the island to unite with the Leeward Maroons.<ref name="BP">{{cite web|url=http://www.blackpast.org/gah/queen-nanny-maroons-1733|title=Queen Nanny of the Maroons|last=Bernard|first=Ian|date=March 2011|publisher=Blackpast.org|accessdate=9 December 2015}}</ref> In 1734, a Captain Stoddart attacked the remnants of Nanny Town, "situated on one of the highest mountains in the island", via "the only path" available: "He found it steep, rocky, and difficult, and not wide enough to admit the passage of two persons abreast."<ref name=Edwards525>Edwards, vol. 1, p. 525.</ref>


Nanny's troops were masters of camouflage. The soldiers were so proficient at disguising their location that the British soldiers circulated tales of trees in the forest becoming alive and cutting one's head off. Besides the physical aspects of camouflage the Maroons became experts in slowing their breathing so as not to reveal their presence to someone in their vicinity. The maroons also developed ways of creating stealthy fires that were not readily visible.<ref name=":22">{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/61821888|title=True-born maroons|last=Bilby, Kenneth M., 1953-|first=|date=2005|publisher=University Press of Florida|year=|isbn=0813028736|location=Gainesville|pages=150-156|oclc=61821888}}</ref><ref name=":13" />
In addition to the use of the ravine, resembling what Jamaicans call a "cockpit", the Maroons also used decoys to trick the British into ambushes. A few Maroons would run out into view of the British and then run in the direction of fellow Maroons who were hidden and would attack. After falling into these ambushes several times, the British retaliated. According to a planter named Bryan Edwards, who wrote his narrative half a century later, Captain Stoddart "found the huts in which the negroes were asleep", and "fired upon them so briskly, that many were slain in their habitations".<ref name=Edwards525 /> However, recent evidence shows that the number of Windward Maroons killed by Stoddart in his attack on Nanny Town was in single digits.<ref>{{cite thesis|first=Michael |last=Siva |title=After the Treaties: A Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739-1842 |type=PhD |publicationplace=Southampton |publisher=Southampton University |date=2018 |url=https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/423482/1/LIBRARY_COPY_After_The_Treaties_Final.pdf |pages=35–39}}</ref>

The Windward Maroons were innovators in guerilla warfare. They used surprise, the knowledge of the terrain, and cleverly chosen positions in their fight against the British. Their village was located in rugged territory with only one way in. That one way in was a narrow path that was only wide enough for one person. Soldiers trying to attack arrayed in a single file were easily ambushed. To heighten the enemy's fear, Nanny never killed all of the attacking force. She would always allow a remnant to live to return to based a relay the story and horror of the massacre.<ref name=":13" />

=== Treaty ===
Representatives of the British governor in Jamaica signed a treaty with the Windward Maroons in 1740.<ref name=":13" /> The colonial authorities promised them 500 acres. This initial allocation was later added to. The rebuilt Nanny Town, now called Moore Town was built on that location. The Maroons agreed not to harbor new runaway slaves, but to help catch them for bounties. The Maroons were also expected to fight for the British in the case of an attack from the French or Spanish.<ref name="Carey22">Bev Carey, ''The Maroon Story: The Authentic and Original History of the Maroons in the History of Jamaica 1490-1880'' (Kingston, Jamaica: Agouti Press, 1997), pp. 117–257.</ref> In signing treaties with the Maroons, the British not only made a truce with a troublesome foe but also enlisted that foe in capturing runaway slaves.
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== Death ==
== Death ==

Revision as of 17:58, 16 December 2019

Queen Nanny, Grandy Nanny or Nanny (c. 1686 – c. 1755), led a community of formerly enslaved Africans called the Windward Maroons.[1] In the early 18th century, they fought a multi-year war against British colonizers in Jamaica. Queen Nanny was born in what is today Ghana of the Akan or Ashanti people.[2] According to the oral tradition and at least one documentary source, she was never enslaved.[2] Although widely assumed that she arrived in Jamaica as a slave, how she arrived in Jamaica is not certain.

In 1976 Jamaica declared Nanny as their only female national hero celebrating her success as a leader, military tactician and strategist.[3] During the years of warfare, the British suffered horrendous losses in their encounters with the Windward Maroons. Many attributed their mastery over the British to the successful use of supernatural powers by Nanny. This reputation coupled with the losses terrorized the British troops.[3]Having failed to defeat them on the battle field, the British sued for peace signing a treaty with them on April 20, 1740.[2] The treaty stopped the hostilities, provided for state sanctioned freedom for the Maroons, and a granted 500 acres of land to Nanny and her followers. The village built on the land grant still stands and today is called Moore Town. It is also known as the New Nanny Town. Modern members of the Moore Town celebrate April 20, 1740 as a holiday. Her image is also on the Jamaican $500 bill which is called a Nanny.

Biography

Nanny was born into the Ashanti/Asante nation about 1686 in what is now Ghana, West Africa. There are two versions of her early story. It is not clear from objective sources which is accurate. In one she came as a free woman who may have even had her own slaves.In the other, she came to Jamaica as a slave but then escaped, perhaps even jumping off of the ship while it was off shore. However, the oral traditions about her arrival in Jamaica maintain that she was always free.[4]

By 1720, Nanny and Quao, sometimes called her brother, settled and controlled an area in the Blue Mountains. It was later given the name Nanny Town. Nanny Town had a strategic location overlooking Stony River via a 900-foot (270 m) ridge, making a surprise attack by the British very difficult.[5]

Nanny became a folk hero. While the British captured Nanny Town on more than one occasion, they were unable to hold on to it, in the wake of numerous guerrilla attacks from the Maroons. The Maroons waged a successful war against the British colonial forces over the course of a decade.[6]

When Nanny Town was abandoned, the Windward Maroons under the command of Nanny moved to New Nanny Town, which consisted of 500 acres (2.4 km²) of land granted by the government to the refugee slaves under a 1740 treaty ending the First Maroon War.[7]

Windward Maroons

The Windward Maroons fought the British on the east side of the Island of Jamaica from their village in the Blue Mountains of Portland Parish.[8] They traced their heritage to the Africans who were brought to Jamaica by the Spanish during the Spanish rule of Jamaica 1509-1665. When the British conquered Jamaica, the Spanish left leaving many of their slaves. These formerly enslaved people with their ranks enhance with escaped and liberated slaves became the core of the Windward Maroons. They staged a prolonged fight against British subjugation and enslavement.[8]

The community raised animals, hunted, and grew crops. Maroons at Nanny Town and similar communities survived by sending traders to the nearby market towns to exchange food for weapons and cloth. It was organized very much like a typical Asante society in Africa.

The Maroons were also known for raiding plantations for weapons and food, burning the plantations, and leading freed slaves to join their mountain communities. Nanny was highly successful at organizing plans to free slaves. During a period of 30 years, she was credited with freeing more than 1000 slaves, and helping them to resettle in the Maroon community.[9]

First Maroon War

Between 1728 and 1734, during the First Maroon War, Nanny Town and other Maroon settlements were frequently attacked by British forces. They wanted to stop the raids and believed that the Maroons prevented settlement of the interior. According to some accounts, in 1733 many Maroons of Nanny Town traveled across the island to unite with the Leeward Maroons.[10] In 1734, a Captain Stoddart attacked the remnants of Nanny Town, "situated on one of the highest mountains in the island", via "the only path" available: "He found it steep, rocky, and difficult, and not wide enough to admit the passage of two persons abreast."[11]

In addition to the use of the ravine, resembling what Jamaicans call a "cockpit", the Maroons also used decoys to trick the British into ambushes. A few Maroons would run out into view of the British and then run in the direction of fellow Maroons who were hidden and would attack. After falling into these ambushes several times, the British retaliated. According to a planter named Bryan Edwards, who wrote his narrative half a century later, Captain Stoddart "found the huts in which the negroes were asleep", and "fired upon them so briskly, that many were slain in their habitations".[11] However, recent evidence shows that the number of Windward Maroons killed by Stoddart in his attack on Nanny Town was in single digits.[12]

Military Tactics

The Windward Maroon's success against a much superior and better armed enemy was a testament to the great skill their leader, Nanny, possessed. One of their advantages over the British was their long-range communications capability. They pioneered the use of a cow horn called an abeng.[13] This horn with a hole drilled in one end was used for long range communications. Its signals allowed Maroon lookouts to communicate over great distances. Its signals were not understood by the British who had no similar communications capability.[14]

Nanny's troops were masters of camouflage. The soldiers were so proficient at disguising their location that the British soldiers circulated tales of trees in the forest becoming alive and cutting one's head off. Besides the physical aspects of camouflage the Maroons became experts in slowing their breathing so as not to reveal their presence to someone in their vicinity. The maroons also developed ways of creating stealthy fires that were not readily visible.[15][14]

The Windward Maroons were innovators in guerilla warfare. They used surprise, the knowledge of the terrain, and cleverly chosen positions in their fight against the British. Their village was located in rugged territory with only one way in. That one way in was a narrow path that was only wide enough for one person. Soldiers trying to attack arrayed in a single file were easily ambushed. To heighten the enemy's fear, Nanny never killed all of the attacking force. She would always allow a remnant to live to return to based a relay the story and horror of the massacre.[14]

Treaty

Representatives of the British governor in Jamaica signed a treaty with the Windward Maroons in 1740.[14] The colonial authorities promised them 500 acres. This initial allocation was later added to. The rebuilt Nanny Town, now called Moore Town was built on that location. The Maroons agreed not to harbor new runaway slaves, but to help catch them for bounties. The Maroons were also expected to fight for the British in the case of an attack from the French or Spanish.[16] In signing treaties with the Maroons, the British not only made a truce with a troublesome foe but also enlisted that foe in capturing runaway slaves.

Death

In the Journal of the Assembly of Jamaica, 29–30 March 1733, is a citation for "resolution, bravery and fidelity" awarded to "loyal slaves ... under the command of Captain Sambo", namely William Cuffee, who was rewarded for having fought the Maroons in the First Maroon War and who is called "a very good party Negro, having killed Nanny, the rebels old obeah woman".[17] These hired soldiers were known as "Black Shots".[18]

Another record states that in 1740, a parcel of land named Nanny Town was awarded to "Nanny and her descendents" under a treaty with the colonial government.[19][20] Some claim that Queen Nanny lived to be an old woman, dying of natural causes in the 1760s. The exact date of her death remains a mystery. Part of the confusion is that "Nanny" is an honorific, and many high-ranking women were called that in Maroon Town. However, the Maroons are adamant that there was only one "Queen Nanny."

Nanny's remains are buried at "Bump Grave" in Moore Town. New Nanny Town was renamed Moore Town in the 1760s.[21]

By 1760, New Nanny Town, now known as Moore Town, was under the command of a white superintendent named Charles Swigle, and the Maroon leaders of that town, Clash and Sambo, reported to Swigle, when the superintendent commanded their forces against slave rebels in Tacky's War.[22]

Legacy

Agreements

Representatives of the British governor in Jamaica signed a treaty with the Leeward Maroons in 1739 and the Windward Maroons in 1740. The colonial authorities promised them 2500 acres (10 km²) in two locations. The colonial authorities initially recognised two Maroon towns: Crawford's Town and Cudjoe's Town, later to be renamed Trelawny Town. Eventually, there were five Maroon towns in the 18th century – Accompong Town, Trelawny Town, Charles Town, Jamaica, Scott's Hall (Jamaica), and Nanny Town (later Moore Town) – living under their own chiefs with a British supervisor in each town. In exchange, they agreed not to harbour new runaway slaves, but to help catch them for bounties. The Maroons were also expected to fight for the British in the case of an attack from the French or Spanish.[23]

Recognition

Nanny is celebrated in Jamaica and abroad:

References

  1. ^ Bilby, Kenneth M., 1953- (2005). True-born maroons. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. pp. 150–156. ISBN 0813028736. OCLC 61821888.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ a b c Gottlieb, Karla Lewis (2000). The mother of us all : a history of Queen Nanny, leader of the Windward Jamaican Maroons. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. p. 95. ISBN 0865435642. OCLC 38061550.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. ^ Zips, Werner (2011). Nanny's Asafo warriors : the Jamaican Maroons' African experience. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers. p. 70. ISBN 9789766376659. OCLC 852941442.
  4. ^ Gottlieb, Karla Lewis (2000). The mother of us all : a history of Queen Nanny, leader of the Windward Jamaican Maroons. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. p. 95. ISBN 0865435642. OCLC 38061550.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  5. ^ Bernard, Ian (March 2011). "Queen Nanny of the Maroons". Blackpast.org. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  6. ^ Bev Carey, The Maroon Story: The Authentic and Original History of the Maroons in the History of Jamaica 1490-1880 (Kingston, Jamaica: Agouti Press, 1997), pp. 117–257.
  7. ^ Brathwaite, Edwad Kamau, Wars of Respect: Nanny, Sam Sharpe and the Struggle for People’s Liberation (Kingston: API, 1977), p. 10.
  8. ^ a b Gottlieb, Karla Lewis (2000). The mother of us all : a history of Queen Nanny, leader of the Windward Jamaican Maroons. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. p. 95. ISBN 0865435642. OCLC 38061550.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  9. ^ Bernard, Ian (March 2011). "Queen Nanny of the Maroons". Blackpast.org. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  10. ^ Bernard, Ian (March 2011). "Queen Nanny of the Maroons". Blackpast.org. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  11. ^ a b Edwards, vol. 1, p. 525.
  12. ^ Siva, Michael (2018). After the Treaties: A Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739-1842 (PDF) (PhD). Southampton: Southampton University. pp. 35–39. {{cite thesis}}: Unknown parameter |publicationplace= ignored (|publication-place= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Zips, Werner (2011). Nanny's Asafo warriors : the Jamaican Maroons' African experience. Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers. p. 70. ISBN 9789766376659. OCLC 852941442.
  14. ^ a b c d Gottlieb, Karla Lewis (2000). The mother of us all : a history of Queen Nanny, leader of the Windward Jamaican Maroons. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. p. 95. ISBN 0865435642. OCLC 38061550.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  15. ^ Bilby, Kenneth M., 1953- (2005). True-born maroons. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. pp. 150–156. ISBN 0813028736. OCLC 61821888.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Bev Carey, The Maroon Story: The Authentic and Original History of the Maroons in the History of Jamaica 1490-1880 (Kingston, Jamaica: Agouti Press, 1997), pp. 117–257.
  17. ^ Campbell, p. 177.
  18. ^ Campbell, p. 37.
  19. ^ Gottlieb, 2000.
  20. ^ Brathwaite, p. 10.
  21. ^ Journals of the Assembly of Jamaica, Vol. 5, 3 December 1760, p. 227.
  22. ^ Siva, After the Treaties pp. 70–71.
  23. ^ Bev Carey, The Maroon Story: The Authentic and Original History of the Maroons in the History of Jamaica 1490-1880 (Kingston, Jamaica: Agouti Press, 1997), pp. 117–257.
  24. ^ "About Queen Nanny of the Jamaican Maroons". itzcaribbean.com. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  25. ^ "Moore Town Maroons". Blue & John Crow Mountains. Retrieved 9 December 2015.

Bibliography

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