Africans Ashanti Maroon(ed) around the world
This was a victory for every African Maroon(ed) from Africa. We are African, we are strong,powerful, the United Nations came up out of Africa. A small group did something that has never done then nor since. Civil War
During the course of this war, only about 300 Maroons were engaged in the fight. Still, they held out for more than five months against 1,500 of Europe's finest troops, and more than 3,000 members of the local militia, with only minimal help from nearby Maroons. This is in part because the fighting took place in the inhospitable area of the island known as Cockpit Country.
The favorite method of the Maroons was ambush, and the terrain worked well in their favor. Their intimate knowledge of the area easily allowed them to draw their attackers into traps, and the British could find no way to drive the Maroons out of their hiding places.
In one instance, an area of trees was cleared, and gunmen were brought into the interior of the cleared space, but the Maroons withdrew to higher ground. Over time, Maroons slowly grew more bold, raiding outlying plantations, murdering planters and families, and carrying off the slaves. It didn't take long for this war to disrupt daily life throughout Jamaica.
A Change in Direction
When General George Walpole took command of the forces, he built a chain of armed posts into the mountains, which made rapid advancement easier. This saved the soldiers' energy. Another historic change he made was in training the troops to fight in this type of terrain.
These changes kept the Maroons moving and eventually drove them away from their sources of food and water. However, despite appearances, a Maroon named Johnson managed to lead a small group into St. Elizabeth and burn plantations there.
Finally, Walpole made an important decision. He brought in bloodhounds, something that would be condemned by the government in Britain. Colonel William Dawes Quarrell of the militia was sent to Cuba and returned with 100 dogs and 40 chasseurs, handlers. These dogs were commonly used in Cuba for the capture of slaves and thieves.
The day of their arrival, Walpole learned a lesson about the roughness of these dogs. A gunshot salute spooked them, and Walpole himself barely survived their attacks, as the dogs dragged their chasseurs after them. Walpole's horses almost fell to the dogs as well. Later a woman cooking was not so lucky - she swatted a dog away when it tried to steal a piece of meat, and it jumped and bit her throat, refusing to let go until it was killed - but the woman also died.
The Maroons heard about the importation of these dogs, and, when Walpole offered a chance to surrender, the Maroons took it. Neither Walpole nor the Maroons wished to loose these dogs.
The terms of the surrender included the Maroons' return of all runaway slaves, as well as their acceptance of any land granted to them by the government of Jamaica. They also agreed to seek the King's pardon for the revolt. In turn, they were reassured that they would not be deported.
Surrender
The agreement was made on Dec. 21, 1795, and the governor confirmed it a week later. However, he gave the Maroons just three days to step forward and surrender, giving them the date of Jan. 1.
This was an impossible date, and only 21 Maroons made the deadline, as most were still hidden away in the mountains and hadn't heard the news. But Walpole, understanding the unfairness of the surrender date, accepted the surrender from 400 others throughout the following months.
Still, the government believed that the Maroons had broken their agreement by not surrendering before this early date, and a joint committee of assembly and council was called. The committee refused to listen to General Walpole and said that none of those who had not made the original surrender date - including those who were originally imprisoned - would be deported.
They were rounded up and shipped to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1776, but General Walpole was so incensed by the Jamaican government's actions that he refused the Sword of Honour presented to him by the Assembly. He later resigned his commission in the army. Though there was nothing Walpole could do in Jamaica, he took the matter to England, and brought the matter up in front of Parliament. Still, his efforts failed.
Land was distributed between the neighboring Accompong Maroons and the Jamaican troops. British soldiers were garrisoned in Trelawny Town for nearly another century. The deported Maroons suffered in the cold and refused to work; they were later moved again to Sierra Leone in Africa, where their descendants can still be found.
Although many conflicts came and went during this troublesome time for Jamaica, relations between whites and slaves had a long way to go. However, rising unrest in England over slavery was soon to cause an important change worldwide.