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| Portrait of Queen Nanny |
Nanny, who also is known as Granny
Nanny and Queen Nanny, was a Maroon leader and Obeah woman in Jamaica during
the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Maroons were slaves who escaped and
formed settlements in Jamaica, and Nanny was also a slave who escaped. It is
widely believed that she came from the Ashanti tribe in present-day Ghana.[1]
Nanny and her four brothers had all been sold into slavery and then later escaped
into the mountains and jungles that make up Jamaica. Nanny and her brother Quao
founded a village in the Eastern side of Jamaica called the Blue Mountains. The
town was called Nanny Town. The town and the Maroons thrived and made raids on plantations.
It has been known that her efforts led to the escape of roughly 1,000 slaves[1].
She
is described in both legends and documents to have exceptional leadership
qualities. She organized the guerilla warfare executed by the Eastern Maroons
to fight off the British troops who tried to overpower them through the mountains.
Nanny fiercely stood for freedom, and when Quao signed the second treaty with the
British in 1739 it is said that Nanny was furious and in disagreement with the
idea of peace with the British. She knew this meant as another form of
subjugation[2]. Her death happened in 1733, by Captain William
Cuffee, during one of the numerous and vicious engagements of the First Maroon
War. Nanny’s life and accomplishments are recognized by the Government of Jamaica.
She is honored as a National Hero and awarded a title of “Right Excellent”.
There are currently seven recognized as National Heroes and Nanny is the only
woman with this title[1].
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| Nanny wth Maroons at Nanny Town |
Nanny
rightfully deserves all the recognition and titles given to her for all she had
accomplished and what she stood for. She escaped slavery and created Nanny
Town, but she didn’t stop there. She continued to help other slaves escape and
attacked the plantations the enslaved them. She was so fierce and efficient in
these escapes and attacks that the British colonial administration had become
embarrassed and threatened by the Maroons[1]. Nanny’s efforts were
causing them to lose slaves, as well as having their equipment and crops burned.
Nanny was a passionate woman who would not rest until freedom was won for the
Maroons and continued to fervently fight for that throughout the First Maroon
War until her death.
Works Cited:
- Bernard, Ian. “Queen Nanny of the Maroons (? - 1733) • BlackPast.” BlackPast, 30 June 2019, https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/queen-nanny-maroons-1733/.
- “Nanny of the Maroons - Jamaican National Hero.” Jamaica Information Service, https://jis.gov.jm/information/heroes/nanny-of-the-maroons/.
Pictures:
Unknown.
“Black History Month- Jamaica’s Queen Nanny of the Maroons.” Found,
Funtimes Magazine, 24 October 2019. https://images.app.goo.gl/EN3SbWMY1aq9GXQ6A
Unknown.
“Nanny of the Maroons.” Found, Theoretical Psychologist & Humanist,
18 January 2016. https://images.app.goo.gl/M5jXVD9E42Bw6hv16
It is so amazing and impressive for anyone in that time period to be able to escape slavery, that alone deserves recognition. I am shocked to have never heard about her and I feel that her name should be more known to all of us.
ReplyDeleteBefore I talk about any of my serious points, I feel the need to point out that it’s a true shame that the name “Granny Nanny of Nanny Town” is not more well known. Though I poke fun at such an alliterative name/title, she was an astounding individual, or so I can infer from what you wrote. The fact that this woman was able to take charge of a difficult situation and drive her people in a desperate time is more than enough to garner intrigue. I am completely honest when I say she seems like a figure you have made me more invested in. She even gives me a very different outlook on the word “maroon,” which I had associated with the act of abandonment done by ship-goers to certain individuals. She gives the term a more brave and choice-driven image, something I wonder may have been altered deliberately by history.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that it is quite a shame that this is not someone that is learned in most history books, when she rightfully deserves to be recognized for her accomplishments by the masses. In her position where most of humanity is after her and her race, all to be sold to slavery and/or likely killed. The fact that she took her tribe under her belt and led them to survival is something that needs to be added to more textbooks. This is a true representation of strength and humility.
ReplyDeleteWhy have i never heard of this phenomenal woman? I find Nanny to be so empowering and it is so unfortunate that she has never been brought to my attention because she is a powerful, resilient woman of color. At a time where everyone she knows is being killed and enslaved for the color of their skin, Nanny is so important because she still fought knowing she was risking everything for her people. Nanny is in fact heroic for her courage, perseverance and overall power that she had to create for herself.
ReplyDelete