Let's talk about some personal heroes of mine . Warriors, survivalists, the only group of escaped slaves to ever force the British into a truce pact……..
THE MAROONS…
I don’t like that color, so, I know what you’re thinking - “Whats so special bout a color?”
Well, fun fact, the name maroon that I'm writing about is a dirivative of the French word marron meaning feral or fugitive and the Spanish word cimmaroon which is referred to a wild or unruly slave.
Let me give you a little background. Maroons were dependents of escaped slaves that hid up in the mountains of in Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and other island countries. They often mixed with the indigenous people of the area and created other groups.
Maroons can typically be divided into three groups:
New Arrivals Some Africans refused to surrender their freedom and become slaves. They made their escape as soon as they got off the boat. They would then try to find a way back to Africa.
Slaves These were people that worked and lived on plantations for a while before escaping. They were usually somewhat adjusted to bondage but chose to escape due to the slavemaster's brutality or to get away before being sold or traded.
Skilled Craftsman These were individuals were also slaves. However they were highly trained and skilled The job of blacksmith is an example of one that would fit into this category.
Tactics
Now to my knowledge, as with most things to do with my people (descendants of Africa), there's not anything written about maroon fighting tactics. The techniques were probably passed down orally from generation to generation. So, I'm going to use some creative reasoning and try guess as best as I can:
Guerrilla Warfare
Let's imagine you have a group of enemies and you are facing extremely uneven odds. How would you react? How would you tip things in your favor? I know how I would react. I would attack their weaknesses - attack, ambush, adapt and use their own equipment against them. I would use tactics unknown to them to constantly keep them off guard and off balance.
Survivalism
How would you survive? The Maroons became self sufficient. They learned what plants were good and safe to eat and what plants were not. They also learned how to find and hunt food. One fact is that they were known to use rivers as roads. By doing this they didn't leaving footprints and the British weren't able to track them.
Weaponry
Alright guys now for my favorite part. Let's talk about their arsenal:
Cane Machete
In the Caribbean, slaves were typically used to process sugar cane for rum. To cut cane, they used a large, almost cleaver shaped blade. The shape and size of the blade made a perfect weapon. So most likely, seeing that we're talking about escaped slaves, it makes sense that they would use the tool forced upon them in bondage as a weapon of their freedom.
Rifles & Pistols
Its possible that fire arms of the time were taken from slave traders, soldiers etc. But I doubt they were used often, due to the fact that guns were loud and drew attention
Bows
Its been said, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do”. So seeing as how the escaped slaves mixed in with indigenous people, I could also see them adopting weaponry such as the bow and arrow. This weapon as been used for centuries all over the world and it is especially handy for stealth.
Knives, Swords, Axes and Tomahawks
All of these weapons and tools could have been easily made by African bladesmiths (more about them in another blog) or salvaged from surrounding farms. These weapons are and great for close range combat.
So, these are just some of the reasons, that I consider the maroon warriors my personal heroes. Their desire to just be free and live peacefully describes me perfectly. So as a way to honor them, I named my new Instagram page modern_maroon. Its all about my journey in self defense training, shooting and gunsmithing. If you're interested in these things too, head on over, check it out. and click that follow button.
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