| “ | The inner voice is your ancestors whispering in your ear!
— Nanny of the Maroons
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Nanny of the Maroons, also known as Queen Nanny or Granny Nanny, was an 18th-century leader of the Jamaican Maroons. She led a community of formerly enslaved Africans called the Windward Maroons. In the early 18th century, under the leadership of Nanny, the Windward Maroons fought a guerrilla war over many years against British authorities in the Colony of Jamaica in what became known as the First Maroon War. Much of what is known about her comes from oral history, as little textual evidence exists. According to Maroon legend, Queen Nanny was born in Jamaica, and was the daughter of Prince Naquan, who was taken into slavery by the Spaniards from what is today Ghana of the Asante in 1640.
During the years of warfare, the British suffered significant losses in their encounters with the Windward Maroons of eastern Jamaica. Maroons attributed their success against the British to the successful use of supernatural powers by Nanny, but historians argue that the Maroon mastery of guerrilla warfare played a significant role in their success. The British tried to negotiate, even making an agreement with the rival Leeward Maroons for cooperation in exchange for independence. Nanny's settlements were the only ones to continue resisting the British and giving refuge to runaway slaves, even after continued efforts by the British which resulted in the loss of many of their holdings. Having failed to defeat them on the battlefield, the British sued for peace, signing a treaty with them on 20 April 1740. The treaty stopped the hostilities, provided for state-sanctioned freedom for the Maroons, and granted 500 acres of land to Nanny and her followers. The village built on the land grant still stands and today is called Moore Town. It is also known as the New Nanny Town. Modern members of the Moore Town celebrate 20 April 1740 as a holiday.
Battle vs. Toussaint Louverture (by Jon memeing)[]
Toussaint Louverture:
Nanny of the Maroons:
Nothing good ever came from a cold morning. Sure, petrichor permeated in the air and gave a soothing heavenly scent, and the cold breeze gave out a healthy chill that energized people. But comforting hours like this was what people should look out for. It was in this time where everyone relaxed and dozed off, just defenseless enough for evil to crept from behind and slit their throats.
Louverture, on his white horse, guarded his five whole battalions as they hauled their load through the jungle. The horses complained, the cannons got stuck, and the men tripped and cried and begged. The drizzle was a bigger hell and the mud even more so. However, this was what Louverture wanted. He needed a little bit of hell to keep his men alert. After all, they were former slaves. Suffering was a part of their life; they were no strangers to it.
Suddenly, a bang rang throughout the jungle, followed by a consistent melody of pops and crackle. His men scrambled and panicked -- some ducked behind supplies and others ducked into the mud. Thankfully, there were many brave souls who stood their ground and gave a response. This, however, was all but futile. The jungle hid the enemy well and their shots flew towards enigma and oblivion. The enemy's firing, unfortunately, hit their marks. Louverture desperately ordered his army to move quickly and get far away from this killzone. The rearguard, those poor brave souls, covered their retreat. In a matter of half-an-hour they were decimated to the last man.
Wounded, beaten, and weary, the Haitians continued their march deeper into the dark jungle. They knew not their enemies or their objectives even; now only fully dependent on the great Louverture and his guidance. "We'll get them soon, boys. That we will," Louverture proclaimed to his men who fretted in their long johns.
Then, the scout came bearing information. Up ahead was a mysterious village full of fellow blacks. The Haitians knew not who these people were. Yet, they acknowledged that they had no friends here; no one but them could have killed their fellow soldiers. The Haitians' anxiety dissipated and now they itched for a taste of old vengeance. With blood in his eyes, Louverture ordered his men to make haste. They had a village they needed to visit.
Maroons of the loving Nanny inhabited said community. Most of the people here were women, children, and old folks. Many of the men had gone into the jungle to investigate strangers who had landed on their shores. Whoever these people were, they were still a detriment and a danger for the Maroons and their secret town. For now, Nanny watched her people, and eagerly awaited for good news that her warriors had killed every one of these interlopers.
But her day was greeted with only cannonballs, and they rained down like Armageddon unto these poor Maroons. These large metal bringers of death smashed through houses, toppling them down. They crushed the heads and torsos of every age and gender. Nanny and her Maroons could do nothing but scramble and panic and hope not to get hit. Soon, the Haitians poured out of the woods. They lined up in four ranks and fired unto the Maroons. Nanny ordered a battalion of horsemen to sally out and offer their invaders hell as she escorted her people out of this town.
"Buy us time!" she pleaded. And her cavalry obliged.
As the Maroons retreated into the jungle, Nanny's cavalry charged with their lances in a brave but futile attempt at showing defiance. The cannons and the muskets of Louverture all but shredded the Maroons before they could get close. It was an awful massacre. In turn, Louverture sent forth his own cavalry battalion to pursue the Nanny and her Maroons. She must not get away. Many of the Maroons, especially the old and the young, could not get away in time. The Haitians kicked them all back into their huts. They were now their hostages.
So far, Louverture had conquered this accursed blood-soaked town. His officers asked him if they should pursue their enemies further, but he disagreed. He knew of the same tricks these people used, and he was having none of it anymore. "These bastards are sly. No more going into the jungle. If they still want their town and people back, they'll have to go through us. Now set up those cannons and form lines and trenches!"
Nanny and her Maroons frantically ran through the dense vegetation. The Haitian cavalry was at their backs, now seemingly trotting, and confident of another easy victory. The officer was calling out to her, possibly to try to persuade her to surrender. However, Nanny's only reply was to turn around and shoot the pig in the face with her musket. Before the Haitians could avenge their leader, boulders rolled over them, killing a few. Then, they were greeted by four battalions of Maroons, who all poured fire unto them. Nanny and her people cheered; their men had just arrived in the nick of time. The Maroon warriors may be absent during the loss of their settlement, but they weren't going to let their people die.
The situation took a turn over. It was a devastating situation for those dying Haitians. But as a testament to a people that had nothing to lose, the remaining horseman charged into where the enemy were at their thickest. Many more fell, but many also got close enough to swing and hack wildly with their sabers. The charge destroyed a Maroon battalion before the last Haitians finally went down dead. Nanny then took her people farther away and into a hill.
A week passed as Nanny and her Maroons licked their wounds and hid from the Haitians. Louverture's men gave no chase, and all the Maroons could do was kill a few foragers, which was not enough. And even this proved hazardous -- in an equally neutral land, many of the Maroons also fell from a few skirmishes with the Haitian soldiers. It was a bloody stalemate, but Nanny knew that it wouldn't last long. Soon, the war would tip, and they'd be on the losing side.
But damn those bastards and their dandy uniforms. To hell with this place as well. Nanny and her soldiers could hear the cries of their loved ones echoing through the green inferno. It pained them that all they could do was sit idly, listen, and wait for some imaginary opportunity, as their family and friends were ravaged, tortured, starved and killed. Even Nanny was on her limits. And on that day, she snapped.
"Get up and gather, all of you," she commanded. "Let's get our town back!"
Louverture smiled as he saw the screaming Maroons burst out of the jungle. They were happy to give their visitors a traditional Haitian hospitality of lead and steel.
Men after men fell as Nanny sent forth her warriors in a desperate attempt to save their families. Chaos sprouted and the Maroons died in the hundreds. Musket and cannon fire eradicated much of the Maroons, easily killing off one whole battalion. Even with a deadly combination of faith, bravery, and stupidity, the Haitian arms were just too much. The fog of war appeared and choked all combatants. It was a horrifying sight to see.
Another Maroon battalion got massacred as they reached a few meters from their enemies. It was hopeless. A tearful Nanny tried to rally and inspire her men with all her might. A Haitian sniper took aim with his musket, and he scored an accurate bullseye. Nanny took a clean shot right between the eyes. She fell down deader than the saints themselves.
The loss of their leader put anguish in the hearts of the Maroon warriors. They took out their machetes and went into a frenzy. With blood in their eyes, combined with a thirst unquenchable by nothing more than pure annihilation, the remaining Maroons charged on foot and on horseback. This time, they powered through and penetrated the lines of the Haitians. They hacked and chopped passionately as the surprised Haitians tried to fight back with their bayonets. The Maroon's courageous effort cost Louverture deeply -- one battalion was gone and another scattered away running. Louverture himself was not safe. A dying Maroon swung at his horse, nearly decapitating it. Louverture's leg was crushed below the beast as his men tried to help him.
"Damn these people!" he screamed. "Get the cavalry and destroy them!"
The Haitian horseman arrived and slammed into the Maroons. The tired and dying wildmen gave it their all as their numbers finally thinned out. The Haitians slashed and gutted any Maroons still standing. It was an awful fight, but soon it was over. Haitian officers assisted Louverture onto a new horse. The Haitian soldiers took Nanny's corpse and chopped off the head. They put her head on a pike and tossed her body into the ocean. The Maroon civilians were not so lucky. Their end came grueling and slow at the hands of the vengeful Haitians.
Expert's Opinion[]
Toussaint Louverture won because experts believed that Nanny's guerrilla warfare was ineffective in a neutral battlefield. Louverture also had the better trained and experienced men. The Haitians themselves were also probably knowledgeable of Nanny's guerrilla warfare, which nullified her advantages.