A careful and thorough study of the Jamaican Maroons from the British conquest to the late 18th century. Choice This richly textured study of the struggles of the Maroons of Jamaica against the British colonial authorities, their subsequent collaboration with and betrayal by them, will be of great interest to historians of Africa. . . . Elegantly written . . . the author . . . makes her own contribution to current debates on resistance and collaboration. Michael Crowder, Institute of Commonwealth Studies

The unique story of a small community of escaped slaves who revolted against the British government yet still managed to maneuver and survive against all odds After being exiled from their native Jamaica in 1795, the Trelawney Town Maroons endured in Nova Scotia and then in Sierra Leone. In this gripping narrative, Ruma Chopra demonstrates how the unlikely survival of this community of escaped slaves reveals the contradictions of slavery and the complexities of the British antislavery era. While some Europeans sought to enlist the Maroons' help in securing the institution of slavery and others viewed them as junior partners in the global fight to abolish it, the Maroons deftly negotiated their position to avoid subjugation and take advantage of their limited opportunities. Drawing on a vast array of primary source material, Chopra traces their journey and eventual transformation into refugees, empire builders--and sometimes even slave catchers and slave owners. Chopra's compelling tale, encompassing three distinct regions of the British Atlantic, will be read by scholars across a range of fields.

Engaging the past, the present, and the future, The Workings of Diaspora: Jamaican Maroons and the Claims to Sovereignty shows how the lived experience of Jamaican Maroons is linked to the African Diaspora. In so doing, this interdisciplinary undertaking interrogates the definition of Diaspora but mainly emphasizes the term’s use. Mario Nisbett demonstrates that an examination of Jamaican Maroon communities, particularly their socio-political development, can further highlight the significance of the African Diaspora as an analytical tool. He shows how Jamaican Maroons inform resistance to abjection, a denial of full humanity, through claiming their African origin and developing solidarity and consciousness in order to affirm black humanity. This book establishes that present-day Jamaican Maroons remain relevant and engage the African Diaspora to improve black standing and bolster assertions of sovereignty.

Remarkably, this and later efforts to destroy the group failed, and today the Maroon settlements on Jamaica still consider themselves an independent nation governed by the terms granted in the 1739 truce.".

In this detailed, brilliantly researched book, historian Lennox Honychurch tells the enthralling and previously untold story of how the Maroons of Dominica challenged the colonial powers in a heroic struggle to create a free and self-sufficient society. The Maroons, runaways who escaped slavery, formed their own community on the Caribbean island. Much has been written about the Maroons of Jamaica, little about the Maroons of Dominica. This book redresses this gap. Honychurch takes the reader deep into the forested hinterland of Dominica to explore the political, social, and economic impact of the Maroons and details their struggles and victories.

An analysis of the history of Queen Nanny, the 18th century leader of the Jamaican Maroons whose struggle against the institution of slavery on the island has up until now been largely ignored.