User:Jvstinjvnes/Maroon people

The maroon people come from a long lineage of escaped African slaves who fled into the mountains and the forest. The maroon communities are extremely diverse due to the many African slaves who were dispersed enslaved by colonies all across the Caribbean islands and all throughout South America. The Africans had escaped upon arriving on the shores of the Americas or they had escaped later on while on the plantation they were sold to. These people fled into the forest and the mountains to start new lives as free men and women. They had encountered the many indigenous tribes who inhabited the forest and the mountains which prompted many escaped slaves to join some of these tribes. As the escaped slaves began starting their own communities and growing in numbers, they became known as the Maroon people.

Maroon Communities also developed in Africa as the captured men and women fled from slave raiders along the slave trade routes. There were also Maroon communities in North America along the coast of North Carolina and Virginia specifically in the Great Dismal Swamp. These were also escaped slaves who seek to find a safe place to live peacefully and freely. Many of these slaves were transported from different regions along the coast of Africa. The Gambia river which leads to the Atlantic Ocean was used as a passage way to transport slaves from different regions within West Central Africa. With easy access into the Gambian river, Colonists had a straight shot route from West Central Africa into the American colonies. Slaves were also brought in from Senegambia, the Windward Coast, the Gold Coast, the Bights of Benin, and also southeast Africa. In Suriname and French Guiana, 23% of slaves came from the Gold Coast, 16% percent of slaves came from the Bight of Benin, and 30% came from West Central Africa.

The maroon people throughout the centuries have always had to fight with different nations such as the Dutch, Portuguese, British, and the Spanish. Many times, the maroon communities successfully fought off their enemies and maintained their freedom. To this day, the maroon people have been thriving ever since their ancestors claimed their freedom from the colonists. One notable group of maroon people that still thrives to this day is the Noir Marron communities. The Noir Marron communities still “preserves their African heritage in their cultural traditions, languages, and social organization” (Cesar). These people are direct descendants of escaped slaves who escaped from the Dutch colonies in Suriname during the 16th and 17th centuries.