60199616-flight-to-freedom-african-runaways-and-maroons-in-the-americas

200 Flight to Freedom
some of the men to ferry the women, children and belongings across the
river, while the warriors, in alliance with a few Indians, remained behind to
safeguard their retreat. In the battle that took place, the Maroons were at a
great disadvantage because the glare of the sunset was in their faces, and the
enemy were much more numerous and possessed far superior weapons.
However, they won precious time, which allowed the women and children to
reach the nearby swamp. Some of the men were killed or captured, but most
of them managed to reach the opposite shore in safety (Mulroy 1993, 16).
When more time was available to evacuate their families, they were able
to take them farther away to more secure hideouts. The Todos Tenemos settlement
in Cuba had one of the best plans; it entailed retreating to another
settlement specially prepared for protecting the women. The settlement,
known as Guardamujeres (Protect Women), was strong enough to resist the
only attack so far found by historians against it. It was surrounded by ditches
filled with pointed stakes and in an area that allowed for superb defence.
Several members of the expeditionary force that attempted to capture it were
injured by the stakes and they eventually gave up the effort (La Rosa Corzo
2003, 182).
The development of fraternal relations across settlements allowed some
room for manoeuvrability and succour in times of distress. Many autonomous
communities remained in frequent communication with each other. They
realized that guarding their freedom was a task that they could perform better
jointly. They shared important information, acted as hosts to the members
of other communities on hunting and raiding expeditions, perhaps
combined their strength in such expeditions, and offered a place of retreat
when enemy sorties forced Maroon occupants to flee their homes temporarily
or permanently. This structure of relationships gave the Maroon communities
a greater chance of survival than when they existed as isolated polities.
They drew strength from each other, shared their resources, acted as each
other’s eyes and ears, and helped to ensure that they would not all be wiped
out at once. La Rosa Corzo (2003, 231–35) has convincingly demonstrated the
existence of such links in eastern Cuba.
It is said, probably incorrectly, that the captain of the allegedly exclusively
Creole San Miguel palenque in the Sierra de Maria, Cartagena, in the late
seventeenth century, did not admit runaways from other palenques or places
in that province, in order to ensure the integrity of his people and himself as
leader (Borrego Plá 1973, 78–79, 84). 20 This statement obviously cannot be