Maroon
4 facts
c. 1609
Yanga Establishes Free Black Settlement in Mexico
Gaspar Yanga, a formerly enslaved African, led a community of escaped slaves in Veracruz, Mexico, establishing one of the first free Black settlements in the Americas.
c. 1605
Quilombo dos Palmares Founded in Brazil
Escaped enslaved Africans established Quilombo dos Palmares, the largest and longest-lasting maroon settlement in the Americas, in northeastern Brazil.
March 1, 1739
Jamaican Maroons Sign Peace Treaty with British
The Jamaican Maroons, communities of escaped enslaved Africans, signed a peace treaty with the British after decades of guerrilla warfare in the Blue Mountains.
c. 1686
Queen Nanny of the Maroons Born
Queen Nanny, the legendary Ashanti warrior-leader of the Jamaican Maroons, was born in what is now Ghana. She is Jamaica's only female National Hero.