Accompong Town
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Accompong (from the Asante name '' Acheampong'') is a historical
Maroon Maroon ( , ) is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word , meaning chestnut. ''Marron'' is also one of the French translations for "brown". Terms describing interchangeable shades, with overlapping RGB ranges, inc ...
village located in the hills of St. Elizabeth Parish on the island of
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
. It is located in
Cockpit Country Cockpit Country is an area in Trelawny and Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Ann, Manchester and the northern tip of Clarendon parishes, mostly within the west-central side, of Jamaica. The land is marked by lush, montane forests and ste ...
, where
Jamaican Maroons Jamaican Maroons descend from Africans who freed themselves from slavery in the Colony of Jamaica and established communities of Free black people in Jamaica, free black people in the island's mountainous interior, primarily in the eastern Pari ...
and Indigenous
Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...
established a fortified stronghold in the hilly terrain in the 17th century. They defended it and maintained independence from the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
and then later the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
, after the colony changed hands. Accompong is reportedly named after the son of Miguel Reid, the first African Maroon leader in western Jamaica originally from
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
and allegedly the first leader of
Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town) Cudjoe's Town was located in the mountains in the southern extremities of the parish of St James, close to the border of Westmoreland, Jamaica. In 1690, a large number of Akan freedom fighters already living in the mountains launched an assault ...
. This would make Accompong brother to Kojo or
Cudjoe Cudjoe, Codjoe or Captain Cudjoe (c. 1659 – 1744),Michael Sivapragasam''After the Treaties: A Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739–1842'' PhD Dissertation, African-Caribbean Institute of Jamaica libra ...
, and possibly Cuffee, Quaco and Nanny of the Maroons. Accompong Town was reportedly built by Kojo who assigned his Brother Accompong to watch over it. Accompong is run by a chief who is elected by voting. The current chief is Chief Richard Currie.


Accompong Town under Accompong

In the 18th century, Maroon leader
Cudjoe Cudjoe, Codjoe or Captain Cudjoe (c. 1659 – 1744),Michael Sivapragasam''After the Treaties: A Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739–1842'' PhD Dissertation, African-Caribbean Institute of Jamaica libra ...
Wright, M. L
"The Accompong Town Maroons: Past and Present"
, ''1992 Festival of American Folklife catalogue'', Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage of the Smithsonian Institution, 1992.
is said to have united his people under the Kindah Tree, as they struggled for autonomy. This was the site for signing the 1739 treaty with the British, according to this Maroon town's oral history. This legendary, ancient mango tree is still standing (2009).Myers, Garfield

, ''African Axis'', 8 January 2006.
The tree symbolizes the common kinship of the community on its common land.Jean Besson (1999)
"Folk Law and Legal Pluralism in Jamaica"
, ''Journal of Legal Pluralism'', No. 43.
However, the Returned Maroons of Flagstaff believe that the treaty was signed at Petty River Bottom, near the village of Flagstaff. During the
First Maroon War The First Maroon War was a conflict between the Jamaican Maroons and the colonial British authorities that started around 1728 and continued until the peace treaties of 1739 and 1740. It was led by Indigenous Jamaicans who helped Africans to set ...
, rebel slaves and their descendants fought a guerrilla war to secure the independence of
Free Black people in Jamaica Free black people in Jamaica fell into two categories. Some secured their freedom officially, and lived within the slave communities of the Colony of Jamaica. Others ran away from slavery, and formed independent communities in the forested mountain ...
against the British. Hostilities were finally ended by a treaty between the two groups in 1739, signed under British governor Edward Trelawny. It granted Cudjoe's Maroons 1500 acres of land between their strongholds of
Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town) Cudjoe's Town was located in the mountains in the southern extremities of the parish of St James, close to the border of Westmoreland, Jamaica. In 1690, a large number of Akan freedom fighters already living in the mountains launched an assault ...
and Accompong in the Cockpits. While the treaty granted this land to Trelawny Town, it did not recognize Accompong Town. In 1756, following a land dispute between Maroons from Accompong Town and neighbouring planters, the Assembly specifically granted Accompong Town an additional 1,000 acres of land. The treaty also granted the Maroons a certain amount of political autonomy and economic freedoms, in return for their providing military support in case of invasion or rebellion. They also had to agree to return runaway slaves, for which they were paid a bounty of two dollars each. This last clause in the treaty caused tension between the Maroons and the enslaved Black population. From time to time refugees from the plantations continued to find their way to Maroon settlements and were sometimes allowed to stay. However, Accompong Maroons earned an income from hunting runaways on behalf of neighbouring planters.Craton, Michael. ''Testing the Chains''. Cornell University Press, 1982, pp. 89–90. After the treaty, Cudjoe ruled Trelawny Town, while his brother-in-arms, Accompong, ruled Accompong Town. In 1751, planter
Thomas Thistlewood Thomas Thistlewood (16 March 1721 – 30 November 1786) was an English-born slave-owner, serial rapist, planter and diarist who spent the majority of his life in the British colony of Jamaica. Born in Tupholme, Lincolnshire, Thistlewood migrate ...
recorded meeting Accompong, whom he called 'Capt. Compoon'. The planter described the Maroon leader as "about my size, in a Ruffled Shirt, Blue Broad Cloth Coat, Scarlet Cuffs to his Sleeves, gold buttons...and Black Hatt, White linen Breeches puff’d at the knee, no stockings or shoes on". In 1755, Zacharias Caries wrote in his diary that when he met Accompong, the Maroon leader wore "an embroidered waistcoat, gold lace around his hat, a silver chain about his neck to which was hung a silver medal wherein." Accompong also had "ear rings, and on each of his fingers...rings of silver," but that he still went barefoot.


Accompong tries to take over Trelawny Town

In the 1760s, the Maroons of Accompong Town played a significant role in suppressing rebellions inspired by Tacky's War in western Jamaica. Captain Quashee, reporting to superintendent John Kelly, and his Maroon warriors captured a number of rebel slaves. Some historians believe that there were no official records of Accompong after the 1750s. However, there is evidence that Accompong tried to take over Trelawny Town in the mid-1760s. The treaty of 1739 named Accompong as Cudjoe's successor. When Cudjoe died in 1764, Accompong tried to take control of Trelawny Town. The governor, Roger Hope Elletson, asserted authority over the Leeward Maroons. Elletson instructed Superintendent John James to take the Trelawny Town badge of authority away from Accompong, and to give it to a Trelawny Town Maroon officer named Lewis. James instructed Accompong that he had authority only over Accompong Town. Accompong seems to have died in the decade that followed. After Cudjoe and Accompong died, control of the Leeward Maroon towns passed to white superintendents, who were appointed by the governor to supervise the Maroon towns. In 1773 it was reported that the white superintendent had appointed Maroon captains Crankey and Muncko as the officers reporting to him in Accompong Town.


Accompong Town after Accompong

Accompong Town's population grew from 85 in 1740 to 119 in 1770, to 159 in 1788. When the
Second Maroon War The Second Maroon War of 1795–1796 was an eight-month conflict between the Maroons of Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town), a Maroon settlement later renamed after Governor Edward Trelawny at the end of First Maroon War, located near Trelawny ...
broke out in 1795, the Maroons of Trelawny Town took up arms against the British colonial authorities, but the Accompong Maroons under the nominal leadership of Maroon Captain John Foster swore allegiance to the British. The Maroons of Accompong Town fought on behalf of the British colonial authorities against Trelawny Town. During this period, the de facto leadership of Accompong Town was held by its white superintendent, Alexander Forbes, who ensured that the Accompong Maroons remained loyal to the British colonial administration. Accompong Town suffered losses in the Second Maroon War. When Maroon Captain Chambers was sent to Trelawny Town to secure their surrender, Captain James Palmer of Trelawny Town shot him and cut off the Accompong captain's head. Militia colonel William Fitch, newly arrived in Jamaica, ignored the advice of his experienced Maroon trackers. He led his forces into a Trelawny Town ambush; their warriors killed Fitch, many members of the white militia, and a number of Accompong warriors. During the course of the Second Maroon War, the Maroons of Accompong broke up a longstanding settlement of runaway slaves in the Cockpit Country called the Congo Settlement, which had been formed in the 1770s. Many of the survivors of this community went on to fight on the side of Trelawny Town in the Second Maroon War.


After the deportation of Trelawny Town

Accompong Town backed the winning side. After the Maroons of Trelawny Town were deported to
Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...
, the colonial authorities granted Accompong the sole rights to hunt runaway slaves. But the Accompong Maroons were unsuccessful in attempts to disperse or capture the runaway community of
Cuffee Cuffee, Cuffey, or Coffey is a first name and surname recorded in African-American culture, believed to be derived from the Akan language name Kofi, meaning "born on a Friday". This was noted as one of the most common male names of West Africa, ...
. Soon the colonial authorities reinstated slave hunting rights to the Windward Maroons. When Cuffee's group faded from the colonial records, other refugee slaves established a Maroon community in Cockpit Country in 1812. The community of Me-no-Sen-You-no-Come also resisted attempts by the Accompong Maroons and the colonial militias to disperse them in the 1820s. In 1808, the population of Accompong Town was 238, but it almost doubled to 436 in 1841. The Accompong Maroons played a significant role in helping the colonial militia of Sir
Willoughby Cotton Lieutenant-General Sir Willoughby Cotton (1783 – 4 May 1860) was an English soldier in the British Army. Family Willoughby Cotton was born in 1783, to Vice-Admiral Rowland Cotton and Elizabeth Aston. They also had a daughter, Sydney Arabe ...
to put down the Christmas Rebellion of 1831–2, also known as the
Baptist War The Baptist War, also known as the Sam Sharp Rebellion, the Christmas Rebellion, the Christmas Uprising and the Great Jamaican Slave Revolt of 1831–32, was an eleven-day rebellion that started on 25 December 1831 and involved up to 60,000 of t ...
, led by
Samuel Sharpe Samuel Sharpe, or Sharp (1801 – 23 May 1832), also known as Sam Sharpe, was an enslaved Jamaican who was the leader of the widespread 1831–32 Baptist War slave rebellion (also known as the Christmas Rebellion) in Jamaica. He was procla ...
.


Government

In two settlements, they set up a traditional form of village government drawn from their Akan ( Asante) culture, based on men popularly recognized as leaders. The executive is now called "Colonel-in-Chief", who leads the Maroon Council. These men share executive responsibilities for the community.


Maroon officers


White superintendents


Late 20th century to present

Since Jamaica gained independence in 1962, it has recognised the political and cultural rights of Maroons. In the early 21st century, the government has acknowledged these rights in terms of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007), including the "right to maintain and strengthen their distinct political, legal, economic, social and cultural institutions." It also acknowledges the "right for self-government in matters relating to local affairs," as well as "ways and means for financing autonomous functions". In 2009 Ferron Williams was elected as Colonel-in-Chief of Accompong. Williams was elected to a second six-year term in 2015. He appointed Timothy E. McPherson Jr. from
Nanny Town Nanny Town was a village in the Blue Mountains of Portland Parish, northeastern Jamaica, used as a stronghold of Jamaican Maroons (escapee slaves). During the early 18th century, the region was led by an Ashanti escapee slave known as Queen Na ...
, now
Moore Town Moore Town is a Maroon settlement located in the Blue Mountains and John Crow Mountains of Portland, Jamaica, accessible by road from Port Antonio. The easternmost Maroon town, Moore Town is located in the eastern end of the parish. Formerly ...
, to consolidate relations across the Maroon communities as part of a collective effort to protect the environment and promote climate change awareness. In February 2021 Richard Currie was elected Colonel-in-Chief.


Culture

The inhabitants of Accompong share practices and traditions drawn from their
Akan Akan may refer to: People and languages *Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire *Akan languages, a language group within the wider Central Tano languages *Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan *Central Tano language ...
( Asante) ancestors of 200–300 years ago, and combined with Taino. These practices have evolved as the Maroons adapted to local conditions. Accompong Town converted to Christianity during the Second Maroon War, before eventually embracing Presbyterianism. However, by the 1850s, the traditions of Revival and Pentecostalism grew out of the merging of West African religions with Christianity. pp. 221–3. Descendants of the Maroons and friends celebrate annually on 6 January both the birthday of Cudjoe, leader in 1739, and the treaty that granted their autonomy.Myers, Garfield
"Maroons unite in defence of Cockpit Country"
, ''Jamaica Observer'', 8 January 2007.
In 2007, attendees at the festival protested increased
bauxite Bauxite () is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)), and diaspore (α-AlO(OH) ...
mining, in an effort to protect the environment of their region.


See also

*
First Maroon War The First Maroon War was a conflict between the Jamaican Maroons and the colonial British authorities that started around 1728 and continued until the peace treaties of 1739 and 1740. It was led by Indigenous Jamaicans who helped Africans to set ...
*
Second Maroon War The Second Maroon War of 1795–1796 was an eight-month conflict between the Maroons of Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town), a Maroon settlement later renamed after Governor Edward Trelawny at the end of First Maroon War, located near Trelawny ...


References

{{Settlements in Jamaica Jamaican Maroon leaders Jamaican Maroon establishments Populated places in Saint Elizabeth Parish 1739 establishments in the British Empire Taíno in Jamaica