Queen Nanny wriggled her way out of the shackles – she was free! But she wasn’t satisfied with her own freedom unless her people were free too. Tucked into the hills of the Blue Mountains in Jamaica, she plotted her next move.
She began leading successful raids, helping over 1,000 enslaved people escape. They joined Nanny and became a part of the “Windward Maroons” community, and they were NOT playing about their liberation.
They burned down plantations by day, and by night Nanny taught them West African customs so that they’d never lose their roots. They got so powerful that the British colonizers wanted war – so Nanny and her people gave them Hell!
British hunting parties scoured the jungles to get to them, but when they did, the maroons – trained by Nanny in guerilla warfare – were ready to defend their community.
The First Maroon War lasted nearly two decades before a peace treaty was signed in 1739. The Maroons secured 500 acres of land where they built their village, called New Nanny Town – a village that still exists today.
In many ways, we’re still fighting for true liberation. But they can’t defeat us if we are united and ready to go to war!
Like Queen Nanny, we must be willing to get liberation by any means necessary. With unity and strategy, we can fight for our freedom and win!