Kristen Gyles | Count the cost of Cockpit Country

For argument’s sake, I will refer to Maroons and the Jamaican people as distinct and exclusive groups. What exactly is the nature of the relationship that the Maroons want with Jamaicans? I ask this because the claim that Maroons are a sovereign people, not answerable to the Jamaican Government, is one that has been repeatedly backed by the Leeward Maroon Treaty of 1739.

Maroon leader Chief Richard Currie is a very confident man. That is good. I am somewhat curious about his confidence in consistently calling on Jamaicans to rally around the cause of the Maroons, however. As a child growing up, like many children growing up today, I was taught that the Maroons were allies of the enslaved and that the Maroons fearlessly fought the ‘white man’ on the behalf of our enslaved ancestors. We were told stories about their ingenious tactics that helped to undermine the planters and give solace to the enslaved.

And then…a new narrative emerged. A narrative that for years I didn’t want to believe. A narrative that flipped the script altogether and alleged that the Maroons were, quite contrarily, an aide to the white man and, instead, an obstacle to what could have been the independent overthrow of the oppressors by the enslaved.

We have all heard the accusations by now, that the maroons were tasked with returning those who escaped the plantations, and may have even been instrumental in the turning over of National Hero Paul Bogle to the British authorities – an allegation they are yet to deny. Their cooperation and assistance to the enslavers was supposedly in exchange for peace with the British and…the Cockpit Country.

STORY OF MAROONS

We no longer need to argue whose history this is. This is no longer a story spun to us by the enslavers, nor is it ‘his-story’ as some would call it. It is the story of the Maroons. The treaty outlining this agreement, which has now become the subject of a society-wide controversy, is clearly widely embraced by the Maroons. However, whereas the Maroons have boldly laid claims to the Cockpit Country, as stated by their beloved treaty, they are yet to comment on the rest of the treaty which tells us at what price they were able to claim this land as their own.

Chief Currie has wisely endeared himself to the Jamaican people, as he needs the support of Jamaicans to achieve his feat of attaining true sovereignty for his people. However, it will take a lot more than empowering talks to convince Jamaicans who are paying attention, that the cause he champions is a noble one.

For years we have called on the British to right their wrongs. This request won’t escape the Maroons, who have a duty to come clear on their stance on this repulsive agreement they continue to boast about. To date, an admission of guilt has never been made – almost as if Jamaicans will, or should, simply forget about the undisputed role they played in the promulgation of the enslavement of our ancestors. Many will forget and be awestruck by the uniqueness of what is being portrayed as Maroon culture by a PR-conscious leader. But many will not.

USE JAMAICAN RESOURCES

Maroons, who seem to want desperately to establish themselves as independent and sovereign, continue to use Jamaican resources and don’t seem ready or willing to give up these resources. A constructive conversation should be had between the Maroons of the Cockpit Country and the Jamaican Government to establish crystal-clear parameters between both parties. There is no true sovereignty in dependence, especially when the dependence seems to go unacknowledged by the dependent party. I do, however, believe that the Maroons, at their insistence, should be allowed to keep what is rightfully their own shamefully acquired gains. Nevertheless, citizens of sovereign nations stay within their nation’s borders, unless welcomed as visitors by other sovereign nations; and citizens of sovereign nations use their own resources, or buy resources they don’t have from other sovereign nations. Just saying.

We do not address issues by ignoring them or by brushing them under the rug. A conversation needs to be had, and not just about land. As is clear, I have not commented on the rights the Maroons may or may not have to the land under dispute. But there are serious implications for the Maroons holding on to this land and holding on to a treaty that they cannot firmly stand by. Or maybe I am running ahead of them. They should clarify – Are they willing to stand by the single most powerful piece of evidence of their betrayal?

Kristen Gyles is a graduate student at The University of the West Indies, Mona campus. Email feedback to kristengyles@gmail.com.