Alfred Dawes | The third Maroon war

To delve into the history of the Maroons is a path that inevitably leads to divisiveness. To some they are the paragons of Black resistance. The sons and daughters of Africans exported as slaves to the new world, who fought and kept their freedom within the realm of the British Empire. To others they were sell-outs who profited immensely from the bounties on the runaway slaves they returned to the plantations. History has recorded carefully the interactions of the British and the Maroons. There is ample evidence for either view, but now is not the time.

The archives of Jamaica serve as time capsules as to what took place from the moment the first Maroon chief Juan de Bolas switched alliances from the Spanish to the English in 1655. That act of betrayal was the turning point in the Penn and Venables invasion. The British and the Maroons soon fell out and the ensuing decades were characterised by skirmishes and raids on plantations. Slave revolts swelled Maroon numbers as the escaped slaves made their way to the safe havens in the mountainous interior of the island. All-out war was inevitable and occurred between 1728 and 1740. This was not the history book version of Maroons hiding in the bushes and ambushing the Redcoats. There were attacks on Forts and barracks as the Maroons took the fight to the British. As the island’s economy lay in ruins from this civil war and whites fled in droves, the British had no choice but to sue for peace.

It was the terms of these treaties between the British and the Leeward and later Windward Maroons that lay the foundation for further conflicts that led to the Crawford Town uprising and later the Second Maroon War. The irony of the later war was that the defeat and exile of the Trelawny Town Maroons was successful because of the alliance between the British and Accompong Maroons. The treaty of 1739 between Cudjoe and Guthrie, now almost 300 years later, threatens to ignite a third Maroon war with the now independent State of Jamaica.

At the heart of the debate is the proclamation of the sovereign state of the Cockpit country with its capital in Accompong. The treaty had bequeathed 1500 acres of land to Cudjoe and his heirs. However, the destruction of that settlement, Trelawny Town, in the Second Maroon War saw the end of that agreement. I am unable to find the exact terms of the treaty with his brother Accompong, but 1500 acres has been used to define the extent of those Maroon holdings. The new Chief of the Maroons, Richard Currie, interprets the treaty as a recognition of a self-governing state within the State of Jamaica, no different from Lesotho in South Africa. The Minister of National Security Dr Horace Chang has stated that he does not know of Maroon land.

STAND-OFF BETWEEN PARTIES

This would have made for good fodder for comedians except that the pronouncements from the Maroon leadership is becoming more militant. A stand-off between members of the police force and a band of Maroons led by their armed chief could have had a bloody end. The Maroons are prepared to fight for their land as their ancestors did. They do not believe the Jamaican police have any jurisdiction in their state and their native laws are the only ones that matter. With a cryptocurrency to be launched by their central bank, marking out the boundaries of their sovereign territory, and entreaties to negotiate with the Government of Jamaica on a state-to-state level, the Maroon Government is taking their treaty seriously.

The silence of the Government has emboldened them. The video of the retreating police officers a rallying cry for those who are dissatisfied with the state of affairs in Jamaica. In just two days Chief Currie gained 10,000 followers on Instagram. The comments on social media are largely supportive of the Maroon stance. The rising popularity of the Maroon push for independence from the Government of Jamaica should not be taken lightly. There are enough disaffected youth out there to result in a Jamaican Wako. The charismatic leader is inspiring enough to lead his warriors into a defence of their state should an incursion by the Jamaican security forces occur.

The minister of national security and the prime minister know that such a move would not end well within and outside of Jamaica. The approach of ignoring the noise in Accompong has served them well so far. However, looking the other way may not work if the Maroons use force to repel encroaching miners or police with warrants. Their ever-growing army of fans sees the Accompong Maroons as freedom fighters standing up to an increasingly authoritarian state. The fairy tale of Wakanda rings loudly in the fiery speeches of Currie and the aura brightens with each video released. The State will not be so lucky as to ignore the Maroons until they go away. Decisions will have to be taken as to the legality of issuing their own currency, bearing arms in contravention of the laws of Jamaica, and where exactly the boundaries of this fabled Maroon land lay.

If negotiations take place it will already be a victory for Currie in his thrust to be treated as a head of state. If, however, he becomes more belligerent, the Jamaican State will have no choice but to embrace the inevitable pathway to a pyrrhic victory following all-out conflict. A third Maroon war.

- Dr Alfred Dawes is a general, laparoscopic, and weight-loss surgeon; fellow of the American College of Surgeons; Follow him on Twitter @dr_aldawes. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and adawes@ilapmedical.com.