Whither Flagstaff?

On August 1 and August 6, Jamaica observed Emancipation Day and Independence Day, respectively. Slavery was abolished on August 1, 1838, and, on August 6, 1962, the country became a politically independent nation.

But, long before those dates, the Maroons of Jamaica had received their official stamps of Emancipation and Independence through the March 1, 1738 treaty of peace and friendship between the Leeward Maroons of western Jamaica and the 1739 treaty between the Windward Maroons of eastern Jamaica with the British.

This was significant as the Maroons became the very first group of formerly enslaved Africans in the Western Hemisphere to officially get their freedom, and, for over five decades, the colonists, the Maroons and the still enslaved Africans coexisted in relative peace.

In the west, the Maroons were mainly centred in what was called Cudjoe Town in St James. It is not known why, but it was eventually named Trelawny Town, after Governor William Trelawny. It is also called Flagstaff. The entire region was populated by Maroons. But, about 1795, a second Maroon war against the British ensued. It, too, did not go well for the British.

This, the Second Maroon War, ended in February 1796 when the Maroons agreed to lay down their arms without any repercussion in return. The British did not keep their end of the bargain. It is said the Maroons were invited to Montego Bay to celebrate by way of a party. When the celebration was in full swing, the structures that they were in started to move.

They were trapped on three ships that took them to Halifax, Nova Scotia in Canada. Whether it is the true story or not of how they got into the ships, about 600 Maroons, men, women and children, were taken without their consent. The colonisers were weary and wary of them. They landed in July 1796.

The Maroons in exile were put to hard work in Canada. Some succumbed to the brutal Canadian cold weather. Many were repatriated to Sierra Leone, Africa in August 1800. Some of their descendants are still living in Canada and Sierra Leone, where there is a big Krio community of people whose ancestors were exiled from Jamaica.

ECO-TOURISM PROJECT

The 1796 exile of the nearly 600 Trelawny Town Maroons depleted the population of this St James settlement and, for decades, nothing of significance was done to preserve and promote the history and heritage of Jamaica’s first pre-August 1838 free village.

Yet, on Thursday, October 15, 2009, the Flagstaff Maroon Village Heritage Tour and Trails was officially opened to reignite interest in a place that once embodied the struggle for freedom from slavery. Conceived as an eco-tourism project which would expose visitors and locals to Maroon history and heritage, the Flagstaff Heritage Tour and Trails was spearheaded by many local government and non-government agencies. That project has long come to a controversial halt. There were serious claims of misappropriation of the funds from the first tranche, and, as such, the second tranche was never disbursed.

In a 2022 Gleaner article, Robert Pearson, a trained tour guide whom The Gleaner chanced upon, says, “I would like to see this community grow because this community can offer a sustainable livelihood for everybody in this community, and so we would love to see more funding agencies come in and lift this community … . We have a little hiccup in the past because of lack of experience, but now we have a better experience. We have learnt from our mistakes and now we are ready again to move up.”

In another Gleaner article headlined, ‘Maroons to be recognised by Parks Canada on Emancipation Day’, published on Saturday, July 27, 2024, the lead paragraph says, “ The federal government will recognise the Trelawny Town Maroons in a ceremony at the Citadel Fortress in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on August 1, Emancipation Day.”

“ Although they stayed only four years, the Maroons left an enduring legacy in Nova Scotia. Maroon men worked on the defences of the third Citadel, for which it is believed a part of the fortifications was called ‘Maroon Bastion’ in their honour. They helped erect Government House, were part of a militia unit, cleared woods for roads, and were employed as general labourers,” Dr Afua Cooper, historian, poet and professor is quoted as saying.

Yet, Halifax, Nova Scotia was not where it all began. Cudjoe Town, Trelawny Town, Maroon Town and Flagstaff are one and the same place with one significant story, the story of the beginning of the evolution of the black Jamaican nation. This is where Jamaica’s Emancipation and Independence stories started. It is a place replete with historical spots and steeped in mystique and memories, stories of resistance and redemption.

It is a rocky place existing in a stifling power vacuum for years, leaving it without direct and purposeful stewardship. Because of its place in Jamaica’s history, it is crying out for national recognition, such as national monument status, and international designations such as what the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park, Port Royal and the Revival Pilgrimage to Watt Town in St Ann have got. It deserves to be part of the Emancipation and Independence narratives. It should have been the first chapter but, right now, it is not even a footnote.