History
Sparking from the traumatizing and damaging slavery experience, individuals, known as maroons, escape their plantation, seeking out a better life. Although the exact date is not clear, the early 1600’s is believed to be the start of slavery. As a result of the awful conditions the enslaved persons endured, they escaped from their plantations ultimately as a form of resistance. In this, came the term marronage which was a “myriad way to struggle against the imposition of a condition of not being” (Bledsoe 1) and was also a creative method for building a life. These Maroon communities are made up of runaway enslaved persons that attempt to break free from their conditions. This time-consuming process was very detailed and thought out. The enslaved persons overall goal was to escape the life they had been living and to break free from the chains held by their holders. At the same time, they were also passionate about and took pride in wanting to “recognize, promote and defend the humanity of everyone” (Bledsoe 1). In achieving these, they formed tight knit communities, known as Maroons, where they all bonded from their past experiences, shared knowledge and used that to create relationships, a culture, and a better life.
The Caribbean
The Caribbean Islands are a main port for slavery on the plantations, resulting in a high rate of resistance, creating Maroon societies in and throughout the land. In the 1520’s the Caribbean Colonies gradually shifted from mining to gardening and tobacco cultivation. As a result of this switch, the enslaved persons became the majority of the individuals doing the labor and became a huge part of the intricate culture there. Further on, in the mid seventeenth century, there was a mass concentration on the function and importance of the plantations, especially when it came to sugar, cotton and coffee production. In this, the enslaved faced horrid and brutal conditions and were dehumanized and tortured. As a part of the uproar in response to these horrible conditions, the enslaved persons attempted to resist, not always in the same form, but always with the same intent and goal. Some attempted to destroy their plantation land or commit suicide, but one of the most common methods was escaping. This idea now claiming the term Maroonage, resisting this slavery was something that built communities with the hope for a better life. This step led to the formation of various Maroon societies, where individuals were able to move away from their plantations and attempt to create a new life. The enslaved persons goal being to “escape to a sufficiently remote and defensible destination” (de Groot 1) but still remote enough to maintain their proper social and economic status.
Texaco
Spread throughout the book Texaco, by Patrick Chamoiseau, maroons are gloomy individuals, who have a clear reminiscence of their previous “life” and the harsh situations and conditions they were put through. The narrator Marie-Sophie describes them as “absent from the world, different,” highlighting the reality of their life after slavery in the plantations (Chamoiseau 125). Maroons are also known as being passionate in agriculture and hunting. As found out when Marie-Sophie encountered them, they often took pride in the cultural aspect of their agriculture as they were described as “exhibit[ing] all kinds of bracelets sculpted in bamboo” (Chamoiseau 125). This passion for agriculture was something that brought the members within these communities together and gave them a sense of home and pride. Doing this, allowed these individuals to survive, as well as trading and being knowledgeable of what’s going on within their communities but also the world outside.
Works Cited
Bledsoe, Adam. “Maroonage as a Past and Present Geography in the Americas.” Southeastern Geographer, vol 57 no. 1, 2017, p. 30-50. doi:10.1353/sgo.2017.0004.
Chamoiseau, Patrick. Texaco. Trans. Rose-Myriam Réjouis & Val Vinokurov. NY: Vintage, 1997.
De Groot, Silvia W., et al. “Maroon Communities in the Circum-Caribbean.” Palgrave Macmillan, 1970.
Editorial Collective
Julia Nimmer, Megan Haug, Dominik Kayser
