On board the slave ship, many slaves would often jump overboard. Some would starve themselves. They preferred death than to become slaves on foreign soil. The African believed that after death the soul would rise again to a new life in his fatherland.

We have been told that these Africans were already slaves in Africa. But slavery in Africa was a different form of slavery.

People became slaves in Africa in various ways. Some were prisoners of war. Those captured in a war between two African communities were made slaves. Some became slaves as punishment for crimes they had done. Some sold themselves and their families into slavery during famine. They did this to avoid death by starvation.

Slaves in Africa could often buy their freedom. They were protected against extreme cruelty by their customs. A slave was regarded as a person. In Africa a female slave could become her master’s wife. There were some cases in Africa where slaves rose to become kings.

When Africans were brought into the ‘New World’ as slaves, it was to a way of life they had never known. The European slave traders and masters were very cruel to their slaves. They were not looked upon as equal human beings. They were to be worked and bred. They were slaves for life. The slave masters tried in many ways to make Africans forget the land of their birth. They tried in many ways to break their slaves’ spirit.

As soon as there was a chance for escape and revolt, the slave masters had problems. The punishments for escaping and revolt were very cruel. Sometimes slave owners cut off the legs of slaves for running away. But many of the slaves still ran away to build their own villages in the bush.

Jamaica was not different from the other places to which Africans were carried as slaves. The first Africans were brought by the Spaniards in 1517.

When the British attacked Jamaica, the Spaniards and their slaves ran into the mountains. There the African slaves helped the Spaniards to fight the British.

In 1655, the British captured Jamaica from the Spaniards. The Spaniards fled from the island. Their slaves fled to various parts of the island.

The British were now faced with great problems. These Africans who were slaves to the Spaniards, fought continuously against them. These former Spanish slaves became the Maroons. The Maroons were made up of more than one African tribe.

When the Spaniards fled, the slave trade grew under the British. Many slaves now entering Jamaica came from the Gold Coast area in West Africa. The Gold Coast is now known as Ghana. They were shipped through a slave port called Koromanti. At that time the port was controlled by the British. Most of the slaves who came down to Koromanti were from the Ashanti tribe. These slaves were called Koromantees (and Koroniantyns by some). They were very brave, strong and proud people.

The Maroons encouraged slaves to run away. They also raided plantations and set slaves free. Those who escaped from slavery often joined the Maroons.

The British tried to conquer the Maroons. They failed to conquer them. The British Government saw that it was costing too much money and too many lives to fight them. They saw it best to make peace with them.

In 1739 the British signed a treaty with some of the Maroons. In 1740 they signed a second treaty with another Maroon group. The Maroons were given land and rights as free men. But in return they were to stop fighting the British. They were to help recapture new run-away slaves.

Some Maroons refused to sign any treaty with the British. Nanny was among those who refused to sign.

Nanny Part II

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