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80 Flight to Freedom
did not end when they were introduced to colonial situations and enslavement
in the Americas. There were, for instance, ethnic conflicts between
Akan (Minas) and Creole Maroons in Cartagena in the late seventeenth century;
Akan and Madagascan in Jamaica in the early eighteenth century; and
Akan and Congolese (“Bantu”) in Berbice in the mid-eighteenth century. 14
Ethnic conflicts were sharp at times, and the arena for conflict was enlarged
through the juxtaposition of European, African and Indian cultures in the
Americas. Nevertheless, as a rule Maroon societies placed less emphasis on
ethnicity and more on such imperatives for success as fidelity, hard work and
ability. The fact that most Maroon societies displayed a strong Black/African
element was incidental rather than deliberate.
African societies in the homeland were accustomed to incorporating various
ethnic groups into a particular polity. For instance, the Asante forbade
anyone to speak of the ethnic origins of enslaved persons introduced into
their empire (Rattray 1923, 43–44). In the nineteenth century groups from as
far afield as South Africa (for example, Zulu, Basotho and Swazi), and West
Africa (for example, Ibadan and the Delta states) were incorporating other
groups into their polities and allowing for political elevation based to a great
extent on abilities rather than ethnicity (Davenport 1997; Akintoye 1971;
Jones 1963). In all these cases, the instinct for survival took precedence over
the desire to maintain ethnic purity. Maroon communities seemed to have
been forged on a similar instinct.
Relatively few White people joined Maroon societies because they were
already free, they held pejorative notions about Blacks, and it was anathema
to most of them to submit to Black rule. 15 But there were always White fugitives,
outlaws and others who, for one reason or another, fell out with the
authoritarian rulers and found it politic to have Blacks as their bedfellows.
The most obvious examples are military deserters and indentured servants
(especially in the early days), along with buccaneers, corsairs, freebooters and
pirates, as they are variously termed in the contemporary literature. 16 There
were also anti-slavers (especially in the last days of slavery) who rejected the
slavery system; and poor Whites who were not slaveholders, particularly in
the sprawling rural areas of the United States, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
These groups often joined or assisted Maroons for economic, political, religious,
moral, humanitarian, ideological or other reasons. Again, the slavery
system in the Americas was filled with contradictions, and there were upholders
and opponents of the system on both sides of the racial and colour divide.