Figure 1.--Here we see two French Guiana children in a Maroon village they do not seem to have integrated in the karger Creole(mulatto) community. We do not know where this photograph was taken, but it looks to be somewhere in the interior.

The Maroons are the descendants of escaped African slaves. Maroon is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word marron or chestnut. It was the basis for calling escaped slves who set up communities Masroons. The term was also used in English colonies. The Maroons of SurinameJamaica where Maroon communities flourished and led to the Great Slave Revolt (1831-32) that whoile failed sealed the send of slavery in the British Empire. Almost immediately after the French began founding sugar plantations along the coast, slaves began escaping into the densly forested interior. The same dynmic occurred in neigboring Suurinm where an even larger maroon population developed. The slaves often escaped in small groups. They coalesed in small groups which developed into independent communities. The challenge of adapting to a new enviriment was made all the more difficult by French and Dutch efforts to destroy what theu preceived was a threat to the emnsly profitsblre sugar plantations. It enfuriated the planters who devised brutal punishments for escapees including horific tortures to disuade further escapes. Some Maroon communities were seized, but mosly the Maroons just disappeared into the trackless forest--using the same tactic as the Zmaziojizn Aner-Indians. There were numerous military expeditions which were very expensive undertakings. Most at best returned with a handful of recaptured Africans captives which did not begin to payh for the cost of the expedityions. Over times the Maroons organized resistance, but even without military resistance, campaigning in the interior resulted in casualties due to the ruggd interior and disease. The last major campaign was a dismal failure (1760s). [Price] Peace treaties were negotiated. This did not prevent slave revolts and the need to hire European mercinaries. Over time the planters just decided to live with the escapes as a cost of doing business. French Guiana Maroons lived primarily along the Maroni River. The French finally abolished slvery (1848). Most of the plabtation slaves adopted a French life style and are today known as Creoles. Maroon communities continue to survive in the interior and have life styles much more akin to the Amer-Indins. The main Maroon groups today are the Paramacca, Aucan (both of whom also live in Suriname) and the Boni (Aluku).

French Guiana

French Guiana was a fairly small French colony in terms of the nunmbers of Frenh settlers. Thus the number of plantations slaves were limited. This often weighs aginst Maroon communities as small numbers of slaves are more easily controlled. The area of the colony, however, was substantial compared to many of the Caribbean sugar islands. The French settlement was restricted to the coast and the lower reaches of a few rivers. Thus ecaped slaves had the vast unsetlled interior to escape into.

Origins

The Maroons are the descendants of escaped African slaves. Maroon is a brownish crimson color that takes its name from the French word marron or chestnut. It was the basis for calling escaped slaves who set up communities Masroons. The term was also used in English colonies. The Maroons of Suriname

Slavery

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was dominated by the Portuguese and British, but France was an important participant. The vast majority of the captued Africans were dlivered to Haiti, with lesser numbers to Martinique, and other colonies. In comparison smaller numbers were delivered to the relatively small number of plantations on Guadeloupe and French Guiana. The Caribbean islands becme emensely valuable with the development of sugar as cash crop. Sugar was produced on extrodinarly brutal plantations using slave labor. Gaudaloupe, Haiti (Saint-Domingue), and Marinique were the source of emense wealth--especially Haiti. The Dutch played a key role in the Brazilian/Caribbean sugar industry. The Dutch briefly seized the area from the Frnch. And it was the Dutch wjo brought the first slaves to what is now French Guiana (1654). The French rgained control if Guiana (1674). It is at this time that the serious agricultural development begans. The French when they returned also established plantations, but development was fairky limited compared to their main sugar island--Haiti. The Native americans an the easy of running away into the interio both complicated plantation agriculture in French Guiana. This was the situation just before the French Revolution (late-18th century). The French sugar as well as Cayenne pepper and other spices. As in the Caribbean islands, they They brought in several thousands captured Africans to work the plantations because the Native Americans could not be ucessfully enslaved. As in the Caribbean, the plantation/ slave system was very brutal. Small numbers of African slavees escaped into the interior and became known as maroons. Unlike the Caribbean, the French had no way of controlling this. Maroons could be hunted down on small islands with relative ease having no place to hide, but not in the vast South American intrior. The French Revolution resulted in abolotion of slavery, but not for several years (1794). France did not lose control of French Guinea as it did in Haiti. We are not sure about the security situation in French Guiana or to what extent abolition was actually implemented. But we believe that many slaves durung this period escaped their brutal oppressors fled from the plantations into the interior. We do not have any data about the numbers that did so. Those that did attempted to set up villages similar to the ones they had come from in Africa. Napoleon reintroduced slavery to revive the highly profitable sugar industry. This led to disaster in Haiti which had been the major producer. An entire French Army was virtually destroyed by the Haitian slave army and disease. Ominously Napoleon was planning to use the army to restablish the French presence in North America which could have fundamentally altered american history. French Guiana was of lesser importance. And unlike Haiti and the two smaller Frenh islands, many of the former slaves had disappeared into the interior and were essentually irrretrievable. It was easier to import new slaves from Africa. Plantations surrounded Caynee and up some of the more disease free rivers. This was the only real period of prosperity for the colony.

Escape

Almost immediately after the French began founding sugar plantations along the coast, slaves began escaping into the densly forested interior. Because the French were so concentrated along the coast, the Maroons in French Guinaa did not need to go deep into the interior, although the deeper they went, the safer they were. The same dynmic occurred in neigboring Suurinm where an even larger maroon population developed. Escaped slaves in both French Guina and Surinme used rivers to escapre into the interior. The sugar plantations were all located in a narrow band close to the coast. The sparsely populated interior was thus a powerful lure to slaves seaking freedom. French Guiana and Surimame offered an opportunity for slaves to escape that was not available on the small Caribbn islnds, except for Jamaica where Maroon communities flourished and led to the Great Slave Revolt (1831-32) that whoile failed sealed the send of slavery in the British Empire.

Communities Form

Mamy small Maroon villages formed in the interior. The slaves often escaped in small groups. They coalesed in small groups which developed into independent communities. Some joined Ameri-Indian tribes, but most appear to have developed their own separate communities. They appear to have developed a basically Amer-Indian life style. Many were recently arrived captives and their Afriacn culture was eaily adapted to the tropical French Guiana interior. They are more purely African than the much larger Creole (mulatto) popultion sand make up the minority of the population living in the largely ininhbited countryside. French Guiana Maroons lived primarily along the Maroni River whuich would bedcome the border between Guyana and Surimame. The source rivers, include the Lawa and Litani

Maroon Wars (17th-18th centuries)

The challenge of adapting to a new enviriment was made all the more difficult by French and Dutch efforts to destroy what theu preceived was a threat to the emnsly profitsblre sugar plantations. It enfuriated the planters who devised brutal punishments for escapees incliding horific tortures to disuade further escapes. Some Maroon communities were seized, but mosly the Maroons just disappeared into the trackless forest--using the same tactic as the Zmaziojizn Aner-Indians. There were nimerous military expeditions which were very expensive undertakings. Most at best returned with a handful of recaptured Africans captives which did not begin to payh for the cost of the expeditions. Over times the Maroons organized resistance, but even without military resistance, campaigning in the interior resulted in casualties due to the ruggd interior and disease. The last major campaign was a dismal failure (1760s). [Price] Peace treaties were negotiated. This did not prevent slave revolts and the need to hire European mercinaries.

Amer-Indians

We know little about the relations betweem the Maroons and Amer-Indian tribes. Given the huge areas and small numbers they seem to have been largeky amicable. The few available images do not suggest extensuve intermingling.

Intra-Maroon Relations

The Aluku and Ndyuka from the lower Tapanahoni established friendly relations (late-18th century), but relations deteriorated (1790s). As a result, the Aluku move further upstream the Lawa. Overtime, marital connectiins the between Aluku and Ndyuka tended to heal old wounds, but there is still a degree of distrust. [Bellardie and Heemskerk] Eventually the Lawa River became seen as Aluku territory abnd the Tapanahoni became Ndyuka territory. This settlement was somewhat disrupted by the first gold rush in the Maroni area (late-10th century). With the new century, Saamaka, Ndyuka and Paamana increasingly move into French Guiana, both to work in the coastal area and to engafe in subsistince agriculture in the innterior. .

Abolition (1848)

Over time the planters just decided to live with the escapes as a cost of doing business. The French Revolution disrupted French society. Revolutionary authories actually ended slavery (1794). We are not sure, however, just how this affected French Guiana. There was notyhing like the skave revolot on Haiti. It seems likely that a substantial number of slaves from the plntations around Caynne could have disappeared into the interior during this period. Napoleon reimposed slavery because of the value of sugar. And for a time the French plantations achieved some success. The French finally abolished slvery (1848).

Modern Situation

The main Maroon groups today are the Paramacca, Aucan (both of whom also live in Suriname) and the Boni (Aluku). The Aluku are the only Maroon group established traditional villages in French Guiana, and that mostly live in French Guiana. All Maroon groups in French Guiana are descendants of Maroon groups who formed earlier in Suriname where the colony and sugar plantations were founded earlier than French Guiana. Most of the freed plantation slaves in French Guiana over time adopted a French life style and are today a largely mulatto group known as Creoles. Maroon communities continue to survive in the interior and have life styles much more akin to the Amer-Indians, although it is dufficukt to know to what extent African culkture played a role. And adapting to their new forrest enviroment must have been a major factor. There still are maroon communities in French Guiana and unlike the Creole population are not urban communities. One source suggests that the Maroons/bushinenge constitute over 20 percent of the French Guiana population. [Bellardie and Heemskerk] This is higher thn other estimates we have noted. We suspect that there may hasve been an influx from Surimane. The French Goverment largely left the Maroon oeople in the interior alone. t wsas not until reaktively recentkly that the Goverment extended the French administrative system upon the traditional communitiesto the traditional Maroon communities in the interior. Aluku communities now have government schools, clinics and gendarmeries as wll as a range of generous French social subsidies. Suriname Maroons negan ,igrating toi French Guiana because the Suriname Govermebnt began cancelling traditional rights as wella as generraous French social welfare benefits (1970s). The poor Syriname economy as ethnic violence against the Maroons in Suriname resulyed in massive movement into French Guiana (1980s). [Bellardie and Heemskerk] Large scale commercial mining has become an issue among the Maroons in French Guiana among both traditionally groups and the increasingly well educated younger people.

Modern Challenges

Since the independence of Suriname (1975), the maroon people have been heavily under assault. The Maroons in French Guina have had their rights better protected by French law.

Sources

Bellardie, Tristan and Marieke Heemskerk. "Maroons in Frebch Guiana: History, culture, demographics, and socioeconomic development along the Maroni and Lawa Rivers," (Report Produced for Triple R Alliance, May 2019).

Price, R. To Slay the Hydra: Dutch Colonial Perspectives on the Saramaka Wars (Ann Arbor MI: Karoma, 1983). .

Created: 1:05 PM 11/20/2021
Last updated: 1:06 PM 11/20/2021