JAMAICAN MAROONS IN NOVA SCOTIA 1796-1800

JAMAICAN MAROONS IN NOVA SCOTIA 1796-1800 

 Murphy Browne © July 7-2024

 

Halifax, Nova Scotia, l0th July 1797.

My Lord Duke,

In the dispatch (No. 45,) I had the honour to represent to your Grace, that I had arranged with Mr. Ouchterlony, Deputy Commissary of Maroons, to remain with them another year; but finding that the benefits contemplated towards encouraging industry and other interior regulations among them have not been produced, nor now reasonably expected from his alliance; I have prevailed on Mr. Quarrell to postpone his intended voyage to Jamaica for some time, and to continue his good offices among

these people which he has benevolently consented to, as he is humanely interested for the welfare and happy settlement of the Maroons in this province. Other views and objects having been evidently entertained since Christmas last by Mr. Ouchterlony, has in some measure retarded the progress that might otherwise be obtained, and which we concur in opinion will proceed better when Mr. Ouchterlony is removed from them. They will continue to be quiet and orderly.

 

I have, &c.

(Signed) J. WENTWORTH.

 

Excerpt from a July 10-1797 letter from Sir John Wentworth to the Duke of Portland (dispatch 45) Halifax

 

On July 10, 1797, Sir John Wentworth wrote to the Duke of Portland requesting that Mr. Ouchterlony be removed and replaced by Mr. Quarrell to keep the Maroons “quiet and orderly.” The Maroons who were discussed in the letter were the Trelawney Maroons who had been taken to Halifax. On 21 and 22 July 1796, the ships Ann, Dover and Mary landed in Halifax Harbour, carrying approximately 600 Maroon men, women and children. They were accompanied/supervised by Commissary General William Dawes Quarrell and Deputy Alexander Ouchterlony. The Commissary ensured that food was provided for the people he supervised.

 

The passengers on the three ships had been forced to leave their homes in Jamaica, by the colonizing British. They were the descendants of enslaved Africans who had seized their freedom when the British ousted the Spanish from Jamaica in 1655. In 1796, this group of freedom fighters whose ancestors had fled slavery when the Spanish were forced to flee Jamaica had been fighting to remain free of enslavement attempts by the British, for more than 100 years. The group repeatedly defeated the British attempts to capture and enslave them.

 

On May 10-1655, during the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604,) the British invaded the Spanish colonized island and the Spaniards fled leaving behind the Africans they had enslaved, who seized the opportunity to head for the mountains and freedom. The Africans established free communities in the mountainous interior. 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. The Maroons were very skilled in guerrilla warfare. The Maroon leadership during this conflict included Nanny of the Maroons, who was known for her expertise in guerrilla warfare, Quao from the Windward Maroons, and Cudjoe and Accompong from the Leeward Maroons. The name "Maroon" was given to these Africans, and for many years they fought the British colonial Government of Jamaica to remain free from enslavement. 

 

The second “Maroon War” which began in July 1795, lasted 8 months until March 1796. The British with 5,000 troops and militia outnumbered the Cudjoe's Town/Trelawny Town Maroons ten to one. The British also had 100 bloodhounds and their handlers imported from Cuba which gave the British a distinct advantage. The Cudjoe's Town/Trelawny Town Maroons who were not supported by other Maroon communities in this war, decided to surrender rather than suffer defeat.

 

In March 1796 the Maroons agreed to have discussions with the British. The British colonial governor in Jamaica had promised leniency if the Maroons surrendered. He reneged and instead, captured and deported (to Nova Scotia) the entire Cudjoe's Town/Trelawny Town Maroon community. These proud freedom fighters who had managed to evade enslavement were forced to board three ships which sailed from Port Royal Harbour, Jamaica on June 26-1796, and arrived in Canada almost one month later, on July 21 and 22-1796. The deported Maroons were unhappy with conditions in Canada, and in 1800, the majority left to travel to the British colony of Sierra Leone in West Africa.

 

The British abolished slavery on August 1, 1834 and in 1839, the first Maroons made their way from Sierra Leone back to Jamaica. Mary Brown and her family, which included her daughter Sarah McGale and a Spanish son-in-law, sold off their property in Sierra Leone, bought a schooner, and set sail for Jamaica. They were joined by two other Sierra Leone Maroons, Mary Ricketts and her daughter Jane Bryan. Some of the Maroons returned to Jamaica to work on sugar plantations, where workers were desperately needed following the abolition of slavery. Many formerly enslaved Africans in Jamaica wanted to cultivate their own land rather than work on plantations. This resulted in a shortage of workers on the sugar plantations. The plantation owners turned to Sierra Leone for workers.

 

In 1841, the first ship to arrive in Sierra Leone looking for African workers was the Hector. In September 1841 an agent in Jamaica noted: “The ship Hector and Brig Commissioner Barclay from Sierra Leone brought Africans and Maroons.” In total, 64 Maroons left Sierra Leone for Jamaica on the Hector. Most Maroons lived in Freetown, and by 1844, Freetown's Maroon population shrank from 650 to 454, approximately 200 Maroons returned to Jamaica.

 

Despite the return of some Maroons to Jamaica, others remained in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone where their descendants still live.

 

Murphy Browne © July 7-2024

FATHERS DAY JUNE 16-2024 HERI YA SIKU YA KINA BABA

 Murphy Browne © June 14-2024

 FATHERS DAY JUNE 16-2024  HERI YA SIKU YA KINA BABA

 

Sunday, June 16 is Fathers Day. On that day fathers, grand fathers and father figures will receive cards, ties, shirts, jewelry, artwork from class projects etc., as their children and grandchildren honour them. When I was a child I thought the sun rose and set in my father. One of my earliest and fondest memories of my father comes from when I was six years old and attended Kitty Methodist School. We had moved from Stanleytown in Berbice because my father was stationed at Eve Leary (police headquarters in Georgetown) and we lived on William Street, Kitty next to the school. There had been a massive amount of rain that day and not surprisingly the school yard was flooded (Guyana’s coastland is 2.4 metres below sea level.) My mother was at home with my three younger siblings and could not leave home to rescue me (the water was too high) although I could see her at a window anxiously looking over at the school. Then my father came home from work, came striding over to the school, lifted me up onto his shoulders while several other children looked on enviously (they did not have tall, handsome fathers!) and took me home. This memory always makes me think of Folami Abiade’s poem “In Daddy’s arms I am tall” from the book “In Daddy’s arms I am tall: African Americans celebrating fathers” published in 1997. As a small child I thought my father was the best artist, the best singer, the most handsome man in the world. When I was older, I realised that although he had a great voice my father never knew the words of any song and was always adlibbing but I loved him anyway even though I would be embarrassed if other people were listening. I still think that my father was way better looking than Sidney Poitier who was considered the epitome of handsome African American men (that was before the arrival of Denzel Washington.) When Poitier appeared in the movie “To Sir with love” and there were comments about his good looks I would let people know that my Papa was better looking. I think I should have had a t-shirt that read: “If you think Sidney Poitier is handsome you should see my Papa” but alas nobody in Guyana wore such t-shirts at that time.

Unfortunately, African American men, African Canadian men and African Caribbean men are often labelled absent fathers. This began during the Maafa (great disaster/great tragedy 1400s-1800s) of chattel slavery. African men, women and children were enslaved during the Maafa and the role of the enslaved African father was invalidated. The enslaved African man lived in a society where men were “the head” of their homes, wives and children. The enslaved African man could not easily be a father to his children. Edward E. Baptist, a White history professor at Cornell University wrote: “the denial of black manhood became central to white manhood.” The myth of the absent African American father came from the period of enslavement. Libra Rose Hilde, a White American history professor at San José State University published “Slavery, Fatherhood, and Paternal Duty in African American Communities over the Long Nineteenth Century,” and debunked the myth. She wrote: “African Americans were not considered men because they lacked the essential attributes of American masculinity.” Despite the risks, some enslaved men who had access to their children did play a father’s role in their children’s lives. Some African American men served as surrogate fathers to the community as well as providing tools “to teach their children self-respect and survival and to navigate the dilemmas of authority within the institution of slavery.” The experience was the same for enslaved fathers in Central America, South America, North America and the Caribbean islands. Following the abolition of slavery some fathers traveled the US in search of their children, some who had fled to Canada returned to search for their children.

During the Maafa, the enslavement and upheaval of African people, the family structure was fractured; mothers and fathers were robbed of the ability to parent their children. Despite these circumstances African men persisted against all odds in their fathering roles.

These men were loving, nurturing and protective fathers. There are several written resources by enslaved African men and women as well as a collection of voice recorded interviews with formerly enslaved Africans documenting the positive parenting roles of African fathers during slavery. In her 2005 published book “Black Fatherhood: Reconnecting With Our Legacy” African American author Dana Ross writes: “Black men during this era were dehumanized, humiliated and oppressed; however it did not deter them from being nurturing, loving, fathers, caretakers and entrepreneurs. They were able to rise above the social system set against them by pulling on their inner strength and love for their families. Even though some inevitably fell prey to the institution of slavery, there are more than enough documented stories and recorded family histories which evidence the significant and prominent role of Black fathers. These men were able to overcome the adversities of the institution of slavery on the strength of their family; leaving us a legacy to reconnect with.” https://www.streetdirectory.com/etoday/print_article.php?articleId=ejuffl

Many enslaved African men took great pride in their ability to care for their families and sacrificed their lives for their children. Some of these men refused to run to freedom when the opportunity presented itself because it would have meant leaving their children in slavery. There were enslaved men who bought their freedom as well as the freedom of their wives and children.

As we honour fathers and father figures on Sunday, June 16 we need to remember the legacy of those who went before us and set the example as excellent role models. The Ashanti proverb: “When you follow in the path of your father, you learn to walk like him,” is an apt reminder. Today we read about African men who despite the odds; having to deal with racial profiling, the racialization of poverty, lack of job opportunities etc., continue to make sacrifices as they lovingly guide and nurture their children’s physical, spiritual and emotional growth as they also contribute to their community. The lives of these men are documented in books like “Pop: A Celebration of Black Fatherhood,” by Carol Ross published in 2007 which offers a fascinating look at a group of loving and nurturing African fathers interacting with their children.” In “Be A Father to Your Child,” edited by April R. Silver published 2008 which begins with the African proverb “We come here so we may learn to be better ancestors.” Roberta L. Coles documents the struggles and triumphs of single African American men raising their children in “The best kept secret: single black fathers.” The beautifully illustrated book “In Daddy’s Arms I Am Tall: African Americans Celebrating Fathers,” is a special tribute to fathers in our community. These words from the book encapsulates my memories of my father: “In my Daddy’s arms I am tall and close to the sun

and warm in my Daddy’s arms

In my Daddy’s arms I am strong and dark like him and laughing.”

 

Murphy Browne © June 14-2024

COUNTRY MUSIC WAS INFLUENCED BY AFRICAN MUSIC

COUNTRY MUSIC WAS INFLUENCED BY AFRICAN MUSIC

Murphy Browne © May 10-2024 

“I was wondering about our yesterdays,

and starting digging through the rubble

and to say, at least somebody went

through a hell of a lot of trouble

to make sure that when we looked things up

we wouldn't fare too well

and that we would come up with totally unreliable

portraits of ourselves.

But I compiled what few facts I could,

I mean, such as they are

to see if we could shed a little bit of light

and this is what I got so far:

First, white folks discovered Africa

and they claimed it fair and square.

Cecil Rhodes couldn't  have been robbing nobody

'cause he said there was nobody there.”

Excerpt from Black History/The World

by Gil Scott-Heron

In 1980, African American jazz poet, singer, musician,

author and spoken-word artist Gilbert Scott-Heron

released “Black History/The World” on the album:

“Moving Target.” Gil Scott-Heron deconstructed

colonialism, racism, and African history as told and

documented by people who were not African. Those

“historians” told their version of our story. In “Black

History/The World,” Gil Scot Heron illuminated the

African proverb: “Until the lions have their historians,

tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter.”

Similarly, until the Africans from the African continent

and in the Diaspora began documenting their own stories,

everyone else told and wrote their version of African

stories. Gilbert Scott-Heron wrote and performed “Black

History/The World” in 1980. In 2024, several decades

later some people who do not know the African stories are

telling their version. 

I was reminded of Gil Scott-Heron’s “Black History/The World,” when I read about Asa Blanton, a white Indiana State University nursing student who said Beyoncé is "not country" because Beyoncé is not white. Blanton said in a video shared on TikTok: “I’m sorry, but if you’re Black, you’re not country. I don’t care, I wish I meant that in the nicest way, but babe, I know you were raised in the country or your grandparents were… but they was picking, OK? They wasn’t planting. Just keep that in mind. They wasn’t making money. They were getting sold for money. You ain’t country.”

Asa Blanton and many others like her do not know of the

historical African influence on country music, even

during the enslavement of Africans. "In reality, just like

most popular music genres, country music in the U.S.

began with Black People.” The story of country music

begins with the banjo. The modern-day banjo is a

descendant of a West African instrument, made from

gourds, called the Akonting. When Africans were taken

from Africa and enslaved in America, the knowledge of

making their instruments were with them. Enslaved

Africans created their own music, hymns, spirituals, and

field songs—all with roots in African music. The banjo

was seen as an exclusively African American instrument.

White people did not play the banjo during that time.

In the 1850s, minstrel shows became popular with the

racist satirical form of entertainment where white

performers in Blackface mockingly used the banjo as a

musical instrument as they imitated the music and dance

of enslaved Africans. The minstrel shows brought the

banjo to white audiences and gave rise to hillbilly music

during the 1920s.

Hillbilly music was renamed country and was claimed as

the music of the south. The performers drew inspiration

from slave spirituals, field songs, hymns, and the blues,

which were African American music. In the 1920s and

30s, despite segregation, some white hillbilly performers

collaborated with African American artists to record

music. Patrick Huber, a White history professor at

Missouri University of Science and Technology

acknowledges, “Nearly 50 African-American singers and

musicians appeared on commercial hillbilly records

between those years — because the music was not a white

agrarian tradition, but a fluid phenomenon passed back

and forth between the races.”

In 1778, James A. Bland, an African American from New

York wrote “Carry Me Back to Old Virginny” which

became the official state song of Virginia in 1940. An

African American minister wrote a hymn “When the

World is On Fire.” That hymn became a 1928 hit “Little

Darling, Pal of Mine” by “The Carter Family,” a White

family of musicians. That song inspired “This Land is

Your Land” sung by White performer, Woody Guthrie.

In Nova Scotia Canada on May 12, 1785, under the heading "Negro Frolicks" Prohibited: “Officials in Nova Scotia ordered "50 Handbills [to] be immediately printed forbidding Negro Dances & Negro Frolicks in [the] town of Shelburne."

“Libya and Egypt used to be in Africa,

but they've been moved to the 'middle east'.

There are examples galore I assure you,

but if interpreting was left up to me

I'd be sure every time folks knew this version wasn't mine

which is why it is called 'His story.'”

Excerpt from Black History/The World

by Gil Scott-Heron

COUNTRY MUSIC WAS INFLUENCED BY AFRICAN MUSIC

Murphy Browne © May 10-2024

ALDWYN ROBERTS LORD KITCHENER APRIL 18-1922

 ALDWYN ROBERTS LORD KITCHENER APRIL 18-1922

Murphy Browne © April 16-2024

“I can’t stand the cold in winter

I want to buy an incubator.” 

From the calypso “The Cold In Winter” by Aldwyn Roberts, the Lord Kitchener.

Aldwyn Roberts, the Lord Kitchener, was born on April 18, 1922, in Arima, Trinidad and Tobago. Aldwyn Roberts, better known as Lord Kitchener or “Kitch”, is regarded as the “Grandmaster” of calypso music. Calypso originated on the plantations of Trinidad in the 17th century at a time when social interaction of enslaved Africans was banned. Calypso became an important means of communication to share news and to protest. Enslaved Africans sang about their desire for freedom and to warn other enslaved Africans of impending danger. They covertly and overtly protested their enslavement.     

Calypsonians with their evocative and witty singing style, and sometimes satirical, scathing, and provocative lyrics, have educated and entertained for centuries. Music was an avenue for enslaved Africans to express their feelings. The calypso was used even after slavery was abolished, to voice grievances against colonial overlords and even government after independence.

Calypsos were also used to criticize and mock those in political power. Calypsonians risked much to speak out for working class citizens as they criticized the powerful. African Trinidadian historian Errol Gaston Hill, thought that “Calypso originated in West African griots and developed alongside other traditional Caribbean songs to incorporate ‘elements of digging songs changed by people at work; belair and calinda songs when they play; shango and shouter baptist revival songs when they worship; and insurrectionary songs such as were sung by slaves in revolt.’” As Hill pointed out "The one great leveller was the calypsonian. He sang with courage and wit, debunking and defending the small." 

Music has sustained Africans dealing with myriad oppressions. Enslaved Africans used various means, including music, to protest and resist their enslavement. They sang songs to arrange secret meetings and songs which encouraged escape and sabotage. Oral history passed from generation to generation was always part of sustaining culture which included storytelling and songs. From this history of storytelling, music and dance as a way to sustain the African culture, came various forms of music including calypso. Calypso is one of several musical genres with roots on the African continent. Calypso is a popular Caribbean genre of music that was created by Africans enslaved in the Caribbean. Calypso is resistance music. African Caribbean scholars have opined that “The calypso, which has attained its highest form of expression in Trinidad, is recognized as a re-interpretation of a traditional African topical song.” 

On June 21, 1948, the 26-year-old calypsonian Aldwyn Roberts/Lord Kitchener introduced calypso to the British Isles when he arrived at Tilbury Docks on HMT Empire Windrush. Kitch was featured on the documentary of the arrival of the ship Empire Windrush. He introduced himself to British audiences by singing “London is the Place for Me” a calypso that expressed the hopes and dreams that many of the excited Windrush passengers likely felt as they landed in the UK. 

During the 14 years that Kitch lived in the UK, his original hopefulness/optimism faded. From “London is the Place for Me” in 1948, he was soon singing “If You Brown,”

It’s a shame it’s unfair but what can you do

The colour of your skin makes it hard for you…

If you brown they say you can stick around

If you white well everything’s all right

If your skin is dark, no use, you try

You got to suffer until you die.”

Kitch also entertained his fans with his adventures in London. The calypso ‘Underground Train’ is about his adventure on the London Underground in the 1950s:

“A ha my first misery, is when I embark at Piccadilly,

I went down below, I stand up in the crowd don’t know where to go.

I decided to follow a young lady, well I nearly met with my destiny,

That night was bad luck for Kitchener, I fall down on the escalator.”

Perhaps by 1957 Kitch had embraced Pan-Africanism after living in London for almost a decade in a racist culture. He released “Africa, my home” in 1957, acknowledging/embracing his African ancestry. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LXKWYrKYcA 

In 1957 when Ghana became an independent nation Kitch sang:

“The national flag is a lovely scene, with beautiful colours red, gold and green,

And a black star in the centre, representing the freedom of Africa.

Ghana, Ghana is the name Ghana we wish to proclaim,

We will be jolly, merry and gay, The sixth day of March, Independence Day.”

In 1962, Lord Kitchener returned to independent Trinidad and Tobago. Kitch lived the rest of his life in Trinidad and Tobago, where he was very influential in the world of calypso. He transitioned to the ancestral realm on February 11, 2000, Trinidad and Tobago. The Lord Kitchener of calypso has been honoured in the UK and in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been honoured with two statues in his home country: one in Arima and another in Port of Spain. His former home, Rainorama Palace, is a museum, an auditorium is named after him in the National Academy for Performing Arts in Trinidad and a street in Arima named Lord Kitchener Avenue. In 2023 he was honoured in the UK with a plaque placed at his former UK home site. The calypso legend Aldwyn Roberts/Lord Kitchener would have been 102 years old on April 18-2024.

Murphy Browne © April 16-2024