Tuesday, September 11, 2007

 

Book Launching

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at PhotobucketEarlier this evening I was part of the audience that turned up for the launching of Slavery,Law and Society in the British Windward Islands (1763-1823) by the late Dr Bernard Marshall. Hosted by the University of the West Indies in collaboration with the Marshall family the gathering heard addresses from the Resident Tutor Dr Fraser,Oscar Allen who reviewed the book and a brief bio data from a family member. Here in St Vincent,unlike the larger islands there is not a huge amount of printed material put out by our citizens. So, although he spent most of his adult years in his adopted homeland of Jamaica his work was lauded as being critical in the showcasing of Vincentian authors as well as its subject matter.

I have not had an opportunity to go through the book as yet but from tonight's review I learnt that outside of Jamaica the largest Maroon group could be found in Dominica. For some reason I just felt that Maroons were uniquely Jamaican so am wondering if Dominicans are aware of that part of their history. Anyway, I quite enjoyed the launch although it was a bit sad that the author passed away before he could see the fruit of his labours. Nevertheless, he has left his legacy.


# posted by Abeni @ 9:52 PM
Comments:
Great bit of information, that. I goin' see if I can track down a copy.
# posted by Blogger Mighty Afroditee : 6:42 AM
 
I may be able to help since the author is family
# posted by Blogger Abeni : 10:00 AM
 
Howdy. Let me know when it's generally available. I know that bit of history is of serious interest to my uncle.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 11:27 AM
 
That's shocking! I thought Maroons were unique to Jamaica too!
# posted by Blogger Unknown : 12:24 PM
 
Yes I had previously heard that other islands also had Maroon communities come and go during the slave era. Apparently it was a lot easier to root them out on the smaller islands.
Do descendants of the Dominican maroons still exist?
# posted by Blogger De Immigrant : 8:12 PM
 
Yes most Dominicans know about the Maroons. But the most popular of them are Jaco, Bala and Congoree ( there are several spellings of their names). There is a section in the Dominican rain forest called Jaco Flats... it was there Jaco held out and existed for 40 something years:

Jaco Flats is an old maroon camp named after the famous runaway African slave and camp leader Jaco; who escaped into the rain forest soon after his arrival from Africa in the 1760s. Jaco, the aging rebel maroon, was killed some forty years later at Jaco Flats. Jaco Plats is now one of the eco-tourism spots in Dominica.

I think the mountainous terrain of Dominica provided superb protection for maroons and their camps. Some of the flatter islands had no such place to hide.

We do not know of any decendants of the maroons.

Some the Maroon Chiefs and Jaco Flats details: scroll down once u have accessed the third link you will find a tourist's trip to Jaco Flats there.... it is a bit dramatic but a detailed recount nonetheless...if you wish.

http://www.lennoxhonychurch.com/article.cfm?Id=394
[look for 1785-1786,1814-1815 in link 1]

http://www.avirtualdominica.com/hiking.cfm#medium

http://paulcrask.wordpress.com/2007/05/
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 11:05 PM
 
Had no idea there were Maroons in Dominica. Don't know of that Dr. Marshall fellow, but it's still good to see Caribbean natives publish things.
# posted by Blogger Unknown : 12:18 PM
 
thats cool. figured there had to be excaped slave communities elsewhere in the caribbean.
# posted by Blogger Jdid : 9:22 AM
 
IS THERE ANY REVIEW OF THIS BOOK, WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 8:25 AM
 
Post a Comment

<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?