What did maroon communities?

What did maroon communities?

The maroons formed close-knit communities that practised small-scale agriculture and hunting. They were known to return to plantations to free family members and friends. On a few occasions, they also joined the Taíno settlements, who had escaped the Spanish in the 17th century.

Where did Maroon communities live?

In Brazil, Jamaica, Haiti, Suriname (the former Dutch Guiana), Cuba, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent, Guyana, Dominica, Panama, Colombia, and Mexico and from the Amazon River Basin to the southern United States, primarily Florida and the Carolinas, there are well-known domiciles of the maroons.

Where do maroon people come from?

The Jamaican Maroons are often described as enslaved Africans and persons of noticeable African descent who ran away or escaped from their masters or owners to acquire and preserve their freedom. The word maroon is commonly believed to be derived from the English equivalent of the Spanish word Cimarron (wild).

What states had maroon communities?

People who escaped slavery living in freedom came to be known as maroons or outliers. Maroonage, runaway slaves in isolated or hidden settlements, existed in all the Southern states, and swamp-based maroon communities existed in the Deep South, in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina.

Why are Maroon communities important?

Significance. Maroon societies were a significant form of African and African American resistance to enslavement. In some regions and for some periods, the communities held treaties with other colonists and were recognized as legitimate, independent, and autonomous bodies with rights to their lands.

Why are they called Maroons?

The Spanish called these free slaves “Maroons,” a word derived from “Cimarron,” which means “fierce” or “unruly.” Their numbers grew with each runaway slave, and the Spanish began to fear their power.

What language did the Maroons speak?

Jamaican Maroon language, Maroon Spirit language, Kromanti, Jamaican Maroon Creole or Deep patwa is a ritual language and formerly mother tongue of Jamaican Maroons. It is an English-based creole with a strong Akan component, specifically from the Fante dialect of the Central Region of Ghana.

What does it mean when you call someone a Maroon?

1 : a person who is marooned. 2 capitalized : a Black person of the West Indies and Guiana in the 17th and 18th centuries who escaped slavery also : a descendant of such a person. Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More About maroon.

What religion did the Maroons practice?

Religion was an important part of Maroon life. They worshipped a god they called Nyancompong or Yankipon. Maroons believed that the spirits of their ancestors were all around them and could be called upon for guidance and protection at any time. They would also stage special ceremonies and feasts to honour their dead.

Where did most slaves in Jamaica come from?

Jamaican enslaved peoples came from West/Central Africa and South-East Africa. Many of their customs survived based on memory and myths.

Where did Maroon people live outside of slavery?

Key Takeaways: Maroon. Maroon is a word which refers to African or African-American people who escaped slavery and lived in communities outside of plantations. The phenomenon is known globally wherever slavery occurs. Several long-term American communities were created in Florida, Jamaica, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Suriname.

Where did the Maroon community get its name?

This entry looks at the origins of maroon communities in Africa, their history of struggle and revolt in the New World, and their contemporary representation. According to legend, the Koromanti name continues to ring in the maroon communities for one of two traditional reasons.

Why did the Maroons live in the rain forest?

Maroon Communities. Escaped slaves often banded together for protection, especially in regions where the landscape offered them some defense. From the introduction of African slaves until the nineteenth century, from the rain forests of South and Central America to the mountains of various Caribbean islands, and to the wetlands of Florida,…

What kind of society did the Maroons have?

Few, if any, Maroon communities were totally sundered from the colonial plantation economy and society. Though slave families often ran away together, the majority of slave runaways were mature males.