Old Nanny Town was a village in the Blue Mountains of

Portland Parish Portland, with its capital town Port Antonio, is a parish located on Jamaica's northeast coast. It is situated to the north of St Thomas and to the east of St Mary in Surrey County. It is one of the rural areas of Jamaica, containing part ...

, north-eastern

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, used as a stronghold of

Jamaican Maroons Jamaican Maroons descend from Africans who freed themselves from slavery on the Colony of Jamaica and established communities of free black people in the island's mountainous interior, primarily in the eastern parishes. Africans who were ensla ...

(escaped slaves). They were led in the early 18th century by an Ashanti escaped slave known as Granny Nanny, or Queen Nanny. The town held out against repeated attacks from the

colonial militia Colonial troops or colonial army refers to various military units recruited from, or used as garrison troops in, colonial territories. Colonial background Such colonies may lie overseas or in areas dominated by neighbouring land powers such ...

before being abandoned in 1734.

Origins

One story is that Granny Nanny was born in what is now

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

, as a member of the Ashanti nation, part of the

Akan people The Akan () people live primarily in present-day Ghana and Ivory Coast in West Africa. The Akan language (also known as ''Twi/Fante'') are a group of dialects within the Central Tano branch of the Potou–Tano subfamily of the Niger–Congo ...

. Allegedly, she was enslaved, along with her five "brothers-in-arms", and brought to eastern Jamaica. She and her five "brothers",

Cudjoe Cudjoe, Codjoe or Captain Cudjoe (c. 1660s – 1764),Michael Sivapragasam''After the Treaties: A Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739–1842'' PhD Dissertation, African-Caribbean Institute of Jamaica library ...

Accompong Accompong (from the Akan name ''Acheampong'') is a historical Maroon village located in the hills of St. Elizabeth Parish on the island of Jamaica. It is located in Cockpit Country, where Jamaican Maroons and indigenous Taíno established a for ...

, Johnny, Cuffy and

Quao Quao (d. c. 1750s) was one of the leaders of the Jamaican_Maroons#Establishment of the Leeward and Windward Maroons, Windward Maroons, who fought the British colonial forces of Jamaica to a standstill during the First Maroon War of the 1730s. The ...

, quickly decided to flee the oppressive conditions of the sugar cane plantations to join the autonomous

African African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...

communities of

Maroons Maroons are descendants of African diaspora in the Americas, Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples, eventually ethnogenesi ...

which had developed in the mountains. These communities of

Free black people in Jamaica Free black people in Jamaica fell into two categories. Some secured their freedom officially, and lived within the slave communities of the Colony of Jamaica. Others ran away from slavery, and formed independent communities in the forested mountai ...

originated from people formerly enslaved by the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, who had refused to submit to British control. The Maroons of Nanny Town claim descent from escaped African slaves and Taino men and women. The Maroon communities grew as many more slaves escaped the plantations and joined them. Angered by continued raiding of plantations and armed confrontations, the colonial government mounted the

First Maroon War The First Maroon War was a conflict between the Jamaican Maroons and the colonial British authorities that started around 1728 and continued until the peace treaties of 1739 and 1740. It was led by self-liberated Africans who set up communities in ...

of the 1730s in an effort to defeat and capture the runaway slaves. One story is that Nanny and her "brothers" split up in order to continue the resistance to the plantation slave economy across Jamaica. Cudjoe went to Clarendon, where he was soon joined by about a hundred Maroons from Cottawood; while Accompong went to St. Elizabeth, where a Maroon community was later named for him. Nanny and Quao made their way to Portland and the Blue Mountains. A more likely origin for the Leeward Maroons occurred in 1690, when there was a Coromantee rebellion on Sutton's estate in western Jamaica, and most of these slaves ran away to form the Leeward Maroons. Cudjoe is probably the son of one of the leaders of this revolt. While Cudjoe emerged as the leader of the Leeward Maroons of the west, Nanny came to prominence as one of the main leaders of the Windward Maroons of the east.

First Maroon War

By 1720, Nanny and Quao had organized and were leading the settlement of Windward Maroons; it was known as Nanny Town. Nanny Town was organized similarly to a typical

Ashanti tribe The Asante, also known as Ashanti () are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asant ...

in Africa. After the

, a deed from the colonial government granted Nanny more than 500 acres (2.4 km²) of land where the Maroons could live and raise animals and grow crops. In addition to what they raised and produced, the Maroons sent traders to the coastal towns to exchange food for weapons and cloth. During the First Maroon War, the Maroons of Nanny Town raided plantations for weapons and food, burnt plantations, and led liberated slaves to join them at Nanny Town. Nanny Town was an excellent location for a stronghold, as it overlooked Stony River via a 900-foot ridge, making a surprise attack by the British very difficult. The Maroons organized look-outs for such attacks, and warriors could be summoned by the sound of a horn called an ''

abeng An Abeng is an animal horn or musical instrument in the language of the Akan people. The word ''abeng'' is from the Twi language in modern-day Ghana, it is a commonly used word in the Caribbean, especially Jamaica, and the instrument is associate ...

''. Granny Nanny allegedly freed more than 800 slaves over the span of 50 years. She also had a vast knowledge of herbs due to her role as a spiritual leader. However, during the First Maroon War, and especially between 1728 and 1734, the British attacked Nanny Town time and time again, but each time the colonial militias captured and occupied Nanny Town, the Windward Maroons regained it shortly afterwards. This was accomplished due to the skill of the Maroons skilled in fighting in an area of high rainfall as well as disguising themselves as bushes and trees. The Maroons also utilized decoys to trick the British into a surprise attack. This was done by having non-camouflaged Maroons run out into view of the British and then run in the direction of the fellow Maroons who were disguised, leading the British into ambushes time and time again. After another Windward Maroon leader,

, signed the treaty of 1740 with the British, the Windward Maroons split up. Quao's supporters moved to what later became known as

Crawford's Town Crawford's Town was one of the two main towns belonging to the Windward Maroon (people), Maroons, who fought a guerrilla war of resistance against the British colonial forces of Jamaica during the First Maroon War of the 1730s. Crawford's Town was ...

, while the Maroons of Nanny Town relocated to

Moore Town Moore Town is a Maroon (people), Maroon settlement located in the Blue Mountains (Jamaica), Blue Mountains and John Crow Mountains of Portland, Jamaica, accessible by road from Port Antonio. The easternmost Maroon town, Moore Town is located in ...

Leaders of Nanny Town

1720s - 1750s Queen Nanny 1720s - 1750s Captain WelcomeMichael Siva, ''After the Treaties: A Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739-1842'', PhD Dissertation (Southampton: Southampton University, 2018), p. 272.

References

{{Settlements in Jamaica Jamaican Maroon establishments Populated places in Jamaica Jamaican Maroons History of the Colony of Jamaica