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History
The Maroon people originate from a coalition of indigenous Taino people as well as Africans and their descendants who escaped from Spanish and later British slavery on Jamaica’s coastal plantations hundreds of years ago. Our ancestors carved out a new, independent life for themselves and their descendants in the rugged and remote mountains of the island of Jamaica and have lived there continuously from the 16th century until today.
The Jamaican Maroon nation was therefore born out of our struggle for freedom in the crucible of slavery, rebellion, and political reconciliation. When the British attacked the Spanish colony of Jamaica in 1655, many enslaved people were able to flee the plantations to join other free communities in some of the most inhospitable regions of the island. Poorly armed and outgunned, the Maroons faced down the mighty British Redcoats and their allies, which included local white planter militia groups, Miskito Indians from Central America, and free Blacks and enslaved persons serving as Black Shots, for more than eighty years. Our ancestors were led by such warriors as Chief/Captain Cudjoe (Kojo), Captain Quao and Granny Nanny (also known as Grandy Nanny, Grande Nanny, Nanny, and Queen Nanny). Queen Nanny, skilled in the use of herbs and a spiritual leader, not only managed to keep her people healthy, but by utilizing the island’s steep terrain in its mountainous regions, mastered the art of guerilla warfare, inhabiting caves and deep ravines that were easily defended even against superior British firepower.
As a result of The First Maroon War, generally regarded as having occurred between 1720 – 1739, two peace treaties were signed with the British in 1739 – acknowledging Maroon self-government in our traditional territories on the Leeward (western) and Windward (eastern) parts of the island. Only in a few other cases in the New World had such a degree of autonomy been attained, coming almost 60 years before the Haitian Revolution (1791), before the American, French, and Spanish-American Revolutions, and almost 100 years before the abolition of the slave trade (1834) in the former British colonies. Queen Nanny of the Maroons became a Jamaican National Heroine in October 1975, the only female member of Jamaica’s seven National Heroes. Today, an artistic likeness of her appears on the Jamaican $500 bill.
In 1740-41, Queen Nanny established New Nanny Town, which later became known as Moore Town, the capital for the Windward Maroon communities. Moore Town is situated in the Rio Grande Valley, which is part of the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (BJMNP) in Portland Parish. The BJMNP became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2015.
Queen Nanny: Foremother of Moore Town
Queen Nanny of the Maroons stands as the spiritual and strategic heartbeat of Jamaica’s freedom story — a leader whose wisdom and courage shaped the destiny of a people and the land they still call home. Revered as chieftainess, warrior and spiritual leader, she unified Maroon freedom fighters and transformed the eastern mountains into sanctuaries of resistance and spiritual power.
A cultural bearer of Akan tradition, Nanny embodied ancestral leadership, combining West African discipline with ecological knowledge indigenous to the island. Under her guidance, the Windward Maroons mastered guerrilla warfare, healing, and communication — using the Abeng horn to signal across the mountains and deep valleys. Her spiritual insight and strategic brilliance made her both fierce protector and mother to her people.
Refusing to sign a treaty with the British, Nanny obtained a 500-acre land grant on which she built New Nanny Town (now Moore Town). From this new stronghold, she and her followers continued to live by the ancestral values of unity, vigilance, and sacred guardianship of the land.
Old Nanny Town, her earlier settlement, was destroyed by the British and their allies after she made a strategic withdrawal from the site to protect her people, yet her people’s survival and re-establishment in Moore Town stand as enduring symbols of Maroon resilience.
Queen Nanny is honored as the great mother and matriarch of the Jamaican Maroons, and her descendants, known as Granny “Nanny Yoyo,” continue to uphold her legacy of self-determination and spiritual strength.
Her influence extends far beyond her lifetime — she represents the spirit of resistance, motherhood, and sovereignty that continues to animate Maroon life. Crowned Jamaica’s only female National Heroine in 1975, her story remains a testament to the power of ancestral leadership. The mountains still echo her courage, and her powerful legacy continues to be celebrated and preserved by maroons living at home and abroad.
Moore Town Timeline
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Taino Foundations: Indigenous Taino people inhabit Jamaica, developing complex trade, agriculture, and spiritual traditions.
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Early African Arrivals: Africans arrive first with the Spanish from the Iberian Peninsula, and later directly from West Africa, some escaping to form early free settlements with the Taino in Jamaica’s mountains.
Environment
Moore Town is located in the lush Rio Grande Valley, which is nestled in the tropical, montane rainforest of the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (BJMNP) in Portland Parish, Jamaica. The BJMNP became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2015. The region, which is one of the most remote parts of Jamaica, is inhabited by several thousand Maroons who live throughout nine communities. These Maroon villages are connected by rugged parochial roads and nourished by spectacular waterways, such as the mighty and mystical Rio Grande River and, deeper within the forest, the Stony River.
The Stony River is the site of Old Nanny Town –the headquarters of our great 17th – 18th century ancestor Queen Nanny (AKA Granny Nanny and Grandy Nanny). It is from Old Nanny Town where Queen Nanny devised her successful military strategies against the British forces in the early 18th century to secure freedom for her people across the length and breadth of the island. These sites now form part of the Nanny Town Heritage Route, which experienced community tour guides are happy to explore with visitors. This geographic isolation has contributed to the Maroons’ maintenance of strong African-derived oral traditions, language, music, political organization, and spiritual practices, which can be largely traced back to a variety of West African groups, including (but not limited to) the Akan peoples of modern-day Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
Historically, this mountainous forest provided a place of refuge and sustenance for the indigenous Tainos of Jamaica fleeing Spanish enslavement, and later the Africans who had arrived on the island as enslaved peoples, who escaped to the mountains to become Maroons. Within the Caribbean region, the Blue and John Crow Mountains has a unique and varied biodiversity, which includes an exceptionally high proportion of plant and animal species that are endemic to the island. The endemic plant species include lichens, mosses, and a variety of flowering plants. The faunal environment also includes several globally endangered species, including several species of frogs and birds.
The Maroons utilize the renewable and other resources of the forest, such as seeds, bamboo, plants, rocks, and other material to create herbal medicine and traditional arts and craft items that we use not only as a means of generating income, but also as a way of preserving and connecting with the cultural practices of our ancestors.
For more information, visit the following websites:
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Governance
The Maroon Council
​The Moore Town Maroons are governed through a traditional system anchored in both ancestry and autonomy. At the top sits the Colonel or Chief — currently Wallace Sterling, who is presently the longest-tenured Maroon Colonel in Jamaica since his selection in September 1995.
Supporting the Colonel is the Maroon Council (often called the Council of Elders), a body drawn from community members across age groups. This council advises on governance, land use, customs, conflict resolution, and the welfare of the people and its surrounding Maroon communities in the Rio Grande Valley. The practice reflects deep West African precedents—among the Akan peoples, for example—where village chiefs and councils of elders have long guided local governance and communal decision-making.
Within Moore Town and its neighboring Maroon settlements, the Colonel and Council combine centuries-old Maroon tradition with contemporary needs: maintaining ancestral land rights, managing internal discipline, overseeing community projects and liaising with the Jamaican state where necessary.
Under the Maroon Council’s guidance, Moore Town continues to navigate the challenges of the 21st century—balancing heritage, development, land stewardship and cultural resilience while serving both the Moore Town settlement and the wider network of Maroon communities in the Rio Grande Valley.
Diaspora Ambassadors of the Moore Town Maroons
The Diaspora Ambassadors initiative is a new, forward-looking pillar of Moore Town Maroon leadership — honoring ancestral values while embracing the global reality of our people.
Diaspora Ambassadors are Maroon descendants living outside Jamaica — across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and other regions — who maintain deep ties to Moore Town and the wider Rio Grande Valley.
These Ambassadors represent a bridge between home and diaspora, supporting Moore Town’s cultural, social, and economic development while helping preserve the traditions handed down from our ancestors.
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As respected representatives of the community abroad, Diaspora Ambassadors work in collaboration with the Colonel, the Maroon Council, elders, youth leaders, farmers, cultural stewards, faith groups, educators, and business stakeholders to advance shared goals.
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In the picture: Dr. Brittany Osbourne and Dr. Melissa Buckley
Their contributions are shaped by their expertise and passion, including:
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Promoting Moore Town heritage and global Maroon identity
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Supporting education, youth programs, and school supplies
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Assisting with cultural festivals (including Nanny Day) and eco-tourism
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Building partnerships in academia, arts and culture
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Encouraging sustainable farming and craft development
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Mobilizing resources, funding, and material support
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Raising international awareness of the community’s needs and opportunities
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Strengthening ties with the Government of Jamaica, regional groups, and global Afro-descendant and other communities
In the spirit of our ancestors — and grounded in principles found across West African governance traditions and global African diaspora practice — this role honors the shared responsibility of every Maroon to uplift our homeland, wherever we may live.
The Diaspora Ambassadors stand as cultural guardians, community advocates, and global connectors, ensuring that Moore Town’s legacy is not only preserved, but strengthened across generations and across borders.
One people, many places — one purpose.