Nanny of the Maroons

aka Queen Nanny, Granny Nanny

KS2

• Nanny of the Maroons was a citizen of West Africa in the 17th century from the Ashanti or Akan peoples.
• The West Africans communities fought against British invasion in their country for over a century.
• Nanny of the Maroons was kidnapped and sold into slavery by the British Empire.
• Nanny of the Maroons escaped from slavery in Jamaica and became a freedom fighter.
• Nanny was also known as Queen Nanny of the Maroons and Granny Nanny of the Maroons.

KS3

• Nanny of the Maroons was born in West Africa in mid 17th century.

• Nanny of the Maroons was also known as Queen Nanny and Granny Nanny.

• Queen Nanny was kidnapped and sold into slavery, then transported by their British captors from West Africa to the Caribbean.

• When Queen Nanny and other captives arrived in Jamaica in the Caribbean, they immediately escaped from the British and fled to the Blue Mountains to live in freedom.

• Queen Nanny continued fighting the British to retain her freedom until her death in mid 18th century.

• Nanny of the Maroons was the leader of the Windward Maroons in Jamaica. Nanny of the Maroons was assisted in her leadership and activism against the British by her brothers Cudjoe, who led the Leeward Maroons in Jamaica, and Accompong of the Maroons, Johnny of the Maroons, and Quao of the Maroons.

Characteristics Courageous, clever, confident, proud, independent, fearless, iconic, influential.

KS4

Born
c.1686

Died
c. 1755

Time Period
17th Century + 18th Century

Geographic Location
West Coast of Africa known as the Gold Coast (modern day Ghana)
Blue Mountains, Jamaica

Nationality
African, probably Ghanaian from the Ashanti or Akan communities

Activity Highlights

• Nanny of the Maroons was the Windward Maroons leader in the activist fight for freedom in Jamaica; she was from the enforced trafficking and chattel slavery of the British Empire.

• Transported to Jamaica as part of the Transatlantic slave trade, upon arrival she escaped capture and fled to the Blue Mountains with other Maroons.

• The British fought wars against the Ashanti Kingdom in Africa over a period of almost a century: resistance against oppressors is the Ashanti way that Queen Nanny was used to. Queen Nanny was a woman warrior versed in guerrilla warfare tactics who led the freed trafficked Africans and defeated the British Army. As well as being an activist, she has also become a symbolic figure for the oppressed.
  While Queen Nanny of the Maroons was leading her people to fight for continued freedom and resist enslavement slavery, the British continued to dispatched ships to Africa with orders to transport Africans to Jamaica and other Caribbean Islands.

• An anti-slavery activist.

• A woman who encouraged the continuation of her traditional Ashanti and Akan traditions and rituals, including religion, music and songs.

• Jamaica’s first and only female heroine. Celebrated every October on Jamaican National Heroes Day (third Monday of the month).

• A woman warrior versed in guerrilla warfare tactics who led the freed trafficked Africans and defeated the British Army. It is reported that Nanny of the Maroons used an Abeng, a cow horn, to communicate with and rally the Maroon warriors for battle against the English.

• Nanny of the Maroons, also known as Queen Nanny, is the only woman to be bestowed the Order of National Hero, granted posthumously on March 31, 1982.

• A statue of Queen Nanny was erected in Kingston, Jamaica in her honour.

• Queen Nanny’s image is on the Jamaican $500 note, one of five banknotes in circulation.

• Nanny of the Maroons is a symbol of resistance and power.

• The active resistance of the Maroons played an important role in winning the freedom of enslaved Africans in Jamaica.

• The Maroons were the leaders of the biggest enslaved peoples rebellions in Jamaica. Nanny of the Maroons is accredited with having freed more than 1,000 enslaved people in Jamaica.

• Nanny of the Maroons led the freed Maroon people in the Blue Mountains as resistance fighters, and eventually brought about a treaty with the British to ensure her people gained their own lands.

• Some freed Maroon warriors worked with the British colonialist to recapture and enslave other Africans in Jamaica.

• In 1740 Nanny of the Maroons signed a Treaty and Land Agreement with the British Assembly in Jamaica for the ownership of 500 acres in Portland. The Maroon Settlement that was established was named Nanny Town. Nanny Town was later renamed Moore Town. In 1781 the Assembly agreed to the addition of 500 acres of land purchased from Charles Douglas, planter, increasing size of Moore town to 1,000 acres.

• Nanny’s remains are buried at “Bump Grave” in Moore Town, in the Portland Parish.

Family (in Jamaica)

Brothers

• Cudjoe - Leeward Maroons leader 17th Century + 18th Century
• Quao of the Maroons - successor to Nanny of the Maroons in Windward Maroons
• Accompong of the Maroons
• Johnny of the Maroons

Husband

• Adou of the Maroons

Other Key People Involved

• Captain William Cuffee aka Captain Sambo

Characteristics

• A Queen
• Chieftaness
• Freedom fighter
• Resistance leader
• Military leader
• Strategist
• Community leader
• Herbalist
• Liberator
• Guerrilla warfare specialist.