Easter 2022 bought what I consider a most welcome announcement
in Jamaica, one which will improve on how we discuss one very important
aspect of our history and heritage from now on.
No, I am not referring to the numerous headlines
saying; “he is risen,” as that is stale news and not at all factual!
What I am citing is the revolutionary story which the majority
of the media fraternity in Jamaica ignored, except those at the Jamaica Observer.
They carried it under the banner headline “Maroons
finally say sorry.”
The earth-shattering word in that story in my book is,
‘finally,’ as for centuries, the Maroons in Jamaica have sought to
either deny the treacherous act of their ancestors or ignore it.
Oh yes, the Maroons have an outstanding history and
this is so highly respected by us that Queen Nanny was elevated to the position
of National History.
Incidentally, they are not however the indigenous Jamaicans as some have belatedly claimed, for the only people who can fill that bill are the Tainos.
The fact is, the original Maroons were enslaved Africans
who were brought to the island by the Spaniards. Cherishing their freedom though, they escaped to the hills after the British defeated their
Spanish enslavers in 1655.
From strategic points, they conducted guerilla wars
for some seventy years.
Because they couldn’t be defeated, the British offered
them a treaty which included; their own lands and limited autonomy. Also included
in the agreement though, was a commitment that they would help the British
forces defeat other slave uprisings and return escaped slaves to the
plantations.
The Observer
story reported; It took almost three centuries, but on Good Friday 2022 the
Maroons of Jamaica apologized for their sordid role in crushing popular
anti-slavery uprisings and forcibly returning runaway slaves to hellish
conditions on British-owned sugar plantations, sullying their storied history.
Two of the more well-known black
rebellions put down by the British colonial forces with the solid support of
the Maroons were that led by West African slave Chief Takyi of St Mary in 1760
and Baptist Deacon Paul Bogle of Stony Gut, St Thomas, in 1865. Bogle and his
key ally George William Gordon were hanged but later named national heroes of
Jamaica, and just two Fridays ago, April 8 was officially declared Chief Takyi
Day, henceforth to celebrate the freedom fighter credited with the first slave
uprising in the Caribbean.
“We regret
the hurt and sufferings caused from such actions. We take total responsibility
on behalf of our ancestors,” said paramount chieftainess and Queen of the
Maroons Gaamang Gloria “Mama G” Simms, the woman now occupying the seat once
held by Queen Nanny of the Maroons, the only female among the seven national
heroes. “…We realise that we cannot undo the past, but we can remedy the
situations through reconciliatory actions that will repair the damage and
rebuild trust so that these behaviours will not be repeated,” continued the Maroon spiritual leader in a
press statement, according to the Observer.
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| Mama G |
It is the refusal by
previous Maroon leaders to admit that treachery and apologize, which has caused numerous other Jamaicans of African
ancestry, to remain bitter against them.
Maybe if they had been
honest in celebrating their history, more of us would have been more
understanding and forgiving, for indeed Africa has never been a unified black
continent, as it has always been tribal loyalties not color that remained supreme.
However, while forever
boasting about their courageous feats, previous leaders have rubbed salt
into the wounds by denying the ‘treachery’ of their ancestors.
Until now.
This long-awaited
apology therefore makes Mama G a very special Maroon leader indeed.
Hopefully her courage
and honesty will temper the attitude of the pretenders like Chief Currie of
the Accompong Maroons, (a little village in St. Elizabeth) who has
belatedly been trying to rewrite history to the point of declaring that they
were given sovereignty by the infamous treaty!
Yes, the Maroons have a
proud legacy to celebrate and now that Mama G has finally admitted that they
also had feet of clay, maybe we can all now proudly embrace our motto ‘out
of many one people’ as we continue the journey to make Jamaica one of the
greatest nations on earth.
