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History of The Accompong Maroons
By Bill
Evans
Marshall, Maroon
HISTORICAL OVERVIEW:
In May of 1655, under a plan aimed against Spain known as the “Western
Design”, the English Fleet of 38 ships and about 8,000 men sailed
into Kingston Harbor. The “Roundheads” under Oliver Cromwell’s leadership
had many motives for attacking the Spanish. Chief among them was
to avenge the deportation of English Settlers from St. Kitts in
1629 and the countless attacks on English ships resulting in the
murder and enslavement of their crews. The Expedition assembled
to enforce the “Western Design” was perhaps the worst equipped and
poorly organized to ever leave England. Sailing in secrecy from
Portsmouth England at the end of December 1654, the Expedition achieved
some moderate success when, after five weeks at sea, they stopped
in Barbados. There eleven Dutch ships were seized by Admiral Penn
to be used as transports. Food and arms were demanded along with
4,000 men recruited for the Expedition Army.
Santo Domingo, capital city of Hispanola and a Spanish stronghold
was the next target according to the instructions set down in the
“Western Design” plan. A tactical error in landing the forces 30
miles outside the city without sufficient food or water caused panic
and disorder. Sickness from drinking polluted water and the long
march made the Expedition vulnerable to Spanish lancers and local
cattle hunters. A complete massacre of the nearly 12,000 man Expeditionary
force was only averted by successfully landing a party of sailors
who covered their retreat. Nearly 4,000 men were left behind as
dead or missing. Fearful of Cromwell’s anger over the failure at
Santo Domingo, a hasty decision was made to attack another thinly
populated and weakly defended Spanish island; Jamaica.
 Children
of Accompong Town
With less than 1,500 Spaniards on the island and only about 500
able to bear arms, the English made another blunder. Instead of
pressing the attack and taking advantage of the superiority of sheer
number of troops, they handed the Spaniards an offer to surrender
with terms to leave the island if they so desired. Venables, the
Expedition leader, unwisely gave the Spaniards time to consider
these terms. During this time the Spanish turned their cattle loose
and escaped to the North Coast and from there to Cuba. When the
Expeditionary army marched into Spanish Town, they found it empty
and bare of booty. In anger and disappointment, they destroyed much
of the town.
Before departing, the Spanish also freed their slaves and left
them behind in the mountains to harry the English until they could
amass a force for reconquest of Jamaica. These freed slaves, later
to become famous as the Maroons, were organized into a fighting
force by Christoval Arnaldo de Ysasi before he too escaped to Cuba.
These first Maroons settled mainly in the St. John district of St.
Catherine still called Juan de Bolas after one of their chiefs whose
real name was Juan Lubolo, on Vera-mahollis Savanna (Los Vermejales)
and on the Rio Juana (exact location uncertain). The name “Maroon”
probably derived from the Spanish “cimarron” meaning wild, untamed.
The Maroons whose number kept swelling from the addition of more
runaway slaves continued to raid the English plantations and become
a thorn in England’s plan to colonize Jamaica but it was tolerated
until 1663 when an offer was made for land and full freedom to any
Maroon who surrendered. The Maroons ignored the offer. This failure
to come to terms was to result in 76 years of irregular warfare;
expenditure of nearly 250,000 English Pounds and passing of some
44 Acts of the Assembly.
Flashy in his Store
CUDJOE AND THE FIRST MAROON WAR:
In 1690 a large group of slaves in Clarendon, consisting mainly
of Coromantees an extremely brave and warlike people from Africa’s
Gold Coast, rebelled and escaped into the dense woods. Soon they
would join forces with the Spanish-freed Maroons under the able
leadership of one of their number named Cudjoe. We are told he was
a thick necked, short, extremely squat man with a large lump of
flesh upon his back. They say he was “bear-like” in appearance and
often acted in a strange wild manner. Cudjoe, with the help of his
two brothers Accompong and Johnny (in the West or Leeward side),
and two sub-chiefs Quao and Cuffee (in the East or Windward side),
began a campaign of murder and robbery known to history as the First
Maroon War. Disguised from head to foot with leaves and cunningly
concealed, the Maroons chose to attack from ambush. This form of
warfare along with their skill in woodcraft and familiarity with
the untracked forests along with their legendary skill as marksman
baffled and confounded those sent to fight them. Keen-eyed lookouts
would spot an approaching force long before their arrival and spread
the warning through the abeng horn, a kind of bugle made from a
cow’s horn. Especially skilled horn blowers could use particular
calls to summon each member of their party from long distances as
if they were face-to-face. The English forces suffered huge losses
both from the sharp shooting Maroons and the tropical diseases that
were very common at that time.
 Blowing
the Abeng
In 1734 Captain Stoddart lead a successful attack on Nanny Town
(named for a Maroon Chieftainess) aided by Mosquito Coast Indians
and tracking dogs. The town was completely leveled and to this day
is believed haunted by the ghosts of those who died in that battle.
Cudjoe, finding himself less secure, moved further into the Trelawny
Cockpits and those that escaped the battle moved even further into
the Cockpits to establish a new village site. The fighting soon
resumed. With a slave to owner ratio of 14:1 and successful new
raids on plantations occurring more frequently, the Assembly was
sufficiently alarmed to vote the necessary funds for a large scale
campaign against the Maroons. The situation was getting desperate
for the Maroons as their provision grounds were destroyed and they
were forced into smaller areas. The alternative of surrender over
starvation was becoming a real option…..but the government did not
know this. Shortly after a bloody massacre of English soldiers by
a band of Maroons led by Cudjoe from a hiding spot in a cave to
be later dubbed the Peace Cave, the King of England in 1738 commissioned
Colonel Guthrie to seek out Cudjoe and offer him favorable terms
of peace.
 Marshall,
Kindah One Family Tree
END OF THE FIRST MAROON WAR: PEACE
On January 6th 1738, Colonel Guthrie and Colonel Cudjoe exchanged
hats as a sign of friendship and, after some discussion, the treaty
was agreed to under a big cotton tree then called Cudjoe’s tree
and today called the Kindah One Family tree. By its terms the Maroons
were granted full freedom and liberty, given 1,500 acres of land
and the right to hunt wild pig anywhere except within a 3 mile limit
of a town or plantation. Cudjoe was appointed Chief Commander in
Trelawny Town and his successors in order beginning with Accompong
and Johnny. The Chief Commander or “Colonel” as he is called today
is empowered to inflict any punishment he thinks proper for crimes
committed by his people except those requiring the death sentence
when then they are handed over to a justice of the peace. The Maroons
had to agree to end all hostilities, receive no more runaway slaves
and further agreed to help recapture them for a reward when the
runaways were returned to their owners. Finally the Maroons had
to agree to suppress any local uprising or foreign invasion. The
following year a similar treaty was agreed to and signed with Quao,
Chief of the Windward Maroons in what is called Moore Town today.
The First Maroon War had officially ended and more than 50 years
of peace ensued. Two more conflicts were later dubbed the Second
Maroon War and the Third Maroon War but neither of these involved
the Accompong Town Maroons. They remained neutral in both conflicts
and remain so today.[1] [2] [3]
 Marshall
at Peace Cave
ACCOMPONG TOWN MAROONS: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.
Not all historical accounts written by Western scholars agree with
the Maroon Historian’s versions of those same events. One such example
is the signing of the Peace Treaty ending the First Maroon War.
No mention of the Peace Cave as the official site of the treaty
signing can be found in history textbooks but Maroon Historians
insist that Colonel Guthrie and Colonel Cudjoe signed the Peace
Treaty in a “blood brother” ceremony within it’s confines. Location
of that original Peace Treaty is hard to pin down as the Maroon
Historians only say a trusted Maroon elder is the keeper of this
valuable document and keeping its location secret is a top priority.
Accompong Town is a relatively new settlement as the original village
“Old Town” where Cudjoe is buried was abandoned in favor of higher
ground when Accompong, his brother, took over leadership of the
Maroons. This “Old Town” is considered sacred ground today and a
secret ceremony is performed there each January 6th when the signing
of the Peace Treaty is celebrated. The position of “Colonel” was
once a lifetime position but now has been modified to a 5 year elected
position.
In the 263 years since the Peace Treaty was signed, the Accompong
Maroons have had only 1 unfortunate incidence of a capital crime
requiring the intervention of a justice of the peace making this
a truly remarkable place. There are no Jamaican Police in Accompong
and the substation in Maggotty is on-call if needed but that has
never been necessary as the Maroons are quite capable of policing
themselves. There are no ground-based telephones in Accompong. Pipe
water is relatively new and not in all areas of the community. Electricity
has been available for a number of years but not in all homes. The
roads to Accompong Town are in dire need of repair and only local
professional drivers or vehicles built for off-road terrain should
attempt to drive there. Some new Guest Houses have been constructed
as of late and overnight, as well as Day Visits by tourists, are
roundly encouraged by the Maroon Council and community members.
The future of Accompong and its residents is in question. No jobs
in the community mean that many Maroons have to go past the gate
to get employment. The Government of Jamaica along with the Tourist
Product Development Company is currently trying to help remedy this
situation. Efforts to preserve the history, folklore, music and
craft making skills have been ongoing as well as training the youth
to carry on the proud traditions is being instituted. Approximately
500 residents live in Accompong Town or in the surrounding Cockpit
Country. Another possible 5,000 live around Jamaica and still another
10,000 or more are scattered in foreign countries like Canada, the
US and Great Britain. However, as they say, “once a Maroon, always
a Maroon!”[4]
 Nicky
Close Up
PLANNING A VISIT?
Anyone who desires to see Accompong Town, learn its history, walk
to the Peace Cave or just “hang out” with some of the finest people
in Jamaica are welcome to contact me, Bill Evans at: accompong98@yahoo.com
OR accompong2000@aol.com
. I am always happy to help my friends in Accompong Town and to
help you have a unique experience you will treasure forever.
I would like to acknowledge the following sources of information
from which I compiled this condensed version of Maroon History.
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other Articles written by Bill
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