This month in Kickass Women in History we salute Queen Nanny (also known as Granny or Grandy Nanny and Nanny of the Maroons) a hero of Jamaican history.
Jamaica’s original inhabitants were the Arawak and Taino people. Upon Columbus’ landing in 1494, the island became the property of Spain and most of the Arawaks and Tainos were murdered or killed by disease. Spain “imported” African slaves, many of whom escaped during the violent transition from Spanish to British rule. These and other escapees formed bands and villages in the mountains and became known as “maroons,” from the Spanish word “cimarron” which means “wild.”
Queen Nanny was from the Ashanti nation in what is now Ghana, probably born around 1680. There are two theories about how she came to Jamaica. One was that she was sold into slavery in Ghana and brought to Jamaica, where she promptly escaped. The other was that she was royalty who arrived in Jamaica by choice, a free woman, with slaves of her own. Regardless of how she showed up, she promptly became the spiritual (she was known as a powerful Obeah practitioner), political, and military leader of a community called the Windward Maroons. This community lived in the mountains where it was difficult for British troops to attack en masse. Thanks to geography and guerrilla tactics, they were able to preserve their freedom despite being opposed by a much larger number of British troops.
During the First Maroon War (1720-1739) Queen Nanny was an effective leader against the British. She was known for her military and spiritual leadership. Legends from both sides of the war claimed that she used special powers against the British along with guerrilla warfare. They said that she could catch bullets in her hand and throw them back at the opposition and that she tricked British soldiers into falling into cauldrons of water that boiled without heat (the latter probably refers to a geographical phenomenon where the Nanny River and Stony River meet in a churning, dangerous vortex). She taught her soldiers to use camouflage so effectively that the British accused her of charming trees to cut off soldier’s heads. She freed an estimated 1000 slaves who joined her community.
The Windward Maroons signed a treaty with the British in 1740. Controversially, the treaty stated that the Maroons would return future runaway slaves in return for autonomy for their community, which was relocated but remained free. Today, the Maroon village is called Moore Town and is the site of an annual festival honoring Queen Nanny. Queen Nanny died in battle in 1733 but her free community lives on.
For more about this amazing woman, check out:
“Queen Nanny Queen Nanny:” In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre
“10 Fearless Black Female Warriors Throughout History” by A Moore
A History of Queen Nanny, the Mother of Us All, by Karla Gottlieb
‘Black Rebels, African Caribbean Freedom Fighters in Jamaica’ by Werner Zips
Carrie, thank you for putting this together, Queen Nanny sounds like she was quite the leader! I guess it doesn’t surprise me that the treaty would include the return-runaways provision. I am curious as to how much that was actually enforced, but I’m guessing the historical record that might answer that is not robust.
I’m Jamaican, thank you so much for honouring Nanny of the Maroons
my family lived in Jamaica in the mid 60s & we were fortunate to be surrounded by people who were willing to share stories about the real Jamaica & the “Maroons” – “me no send, you no come”. Thank you, @Carrie S, for the history lesson & the memories!!