Maroon Town is a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

. It has a population of 3122 as of 2009.

Geography and economy

Maroon Town is located in the conical

Cockpit Country Cockpit Country is an area in Trelawny and Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Ann, Manchester and the northern tip of Clarendon parishes, mostly within the west-central side, of Jamaica. The land is marked by lush, montane forests and ste ...

that spans parts of the parishes of St. James, St. Elizabeth and Trelawny. Located in

Saint James Parish, Jamaica St. James is a suburban parish, located on the north-west end of the island of Jamaica in the county of Cornwall. Its capital is Montego Bay (derived from the Spanish word ''manteca'' (lard) because many wild hogs were found there, from which ...

the community sits approximately 29 kilometers, southwest of

Montego Bay Montego Bay () is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth most populous urban area in the country, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Portmore ...

, the parish capital. This former settlement of the

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

has a variety of Jamaican flora and fauna. Farmers in this area invest in ground provisions (including yam) and other staples, but especially bananas. Bananas have over the years been commercially successful as a profit-making venture in this community and are also a regular staple of locals. The Maroon Pride Banana Chips brand originated in this community.

Cudjoe's Town and Trelawny Town

It is a former home of runaway slaves who became

and fought two guerrilla wars against the colonial authorities, 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 Indigenous Jamaicans who helped Africans to set ...

of the 1730s and the

Second Maroon War The Second Maroon War of 1795–1796 was an eight-month conflict between the Maroons of Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town), a Maroon settlement later renamed after Governor Edward Trelawny at the end of First Maroon War, located near Trelawny ...

of 1795–6. When it was a home to these escaped slaves, it was called

Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town) Cudjoe's Town was located in the mountains in the southern extremities of the parish of St James, close to the border of Westmoreland, Jamaica. In 1690, a large number of Akan freedom fighters already living in the mountains launched an assault ...

. Once the governor, Edward Trelawny, authorised the signing of a treaty with

Cudjoe Cudjoe, Codjoe or Captain Cudjoe (c. 1659 – 1744),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 libra ...

in 1739, Cudjoe's Town became known as Trelawny Town. After the

, the colonial authorities deported the Maroons of Trelawny Town to

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

and then

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

. They then renamed the settlement Maroon Town, and since then it has been a place of archaeological research.

Military barracks

Maroon Town was used as a military barracks for half a century after the Trelawny Maroons were deported, but the colonial government found it difficult to maintain an outpost there. In 1812, a hurricane destroyed most of the buildings in the barracks. Since then, over the years, many officers complained about the poor state of the barracks and the hospital, as well as the frequent rainfall and dampness. The barracks became difficult to maintain, and the colonial authorities eventually abandoned the barracks in the 1850s.

Returned Maroons of Flagstaff

When scores of Trelawny Maroons returned to Jamaica following the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

in the 1830s, many of them settled in the nearby village of Flagstaff. In 1905, visitors to Maroon Town observed some Returned Maroons from nearby Flagstaff hunting wild hogs.Frank Cundall, ''Historic Jamaica'' (London: West India Committee, 1915)Curacao/Puerto Rico: University of Curacao, 2020), p. 335.

References

Populated places in Saint James Parish, Jamaica Jamaican Maroon establishments {{Jamaica-geo-stub