Page 10 - The Maroon- Patricia Reid

Of the 541 slaves murdered during the Sam Sharpe Rebellion of 1831/32, a significant number were killed by the

Maroons. The killing of “Three Finger Jack” at Mount Lebanus Eastern Jamaica and Plato of the Moreland

Mountains — western Jamaica; King “Ebo” in the 1815 slave rebellion in St Elizabeth; the capture of Paul Bogle in

1865. the putting down of the mutiny at Fort Augusta in 1808. A and in the 1795 Second Maroon War, the

Accompong, Charles Town, Moore Town Crawford Town, Maroons murdered their fellow Maroons in Trelawny

Town, Upper St James and crushed that rebellion.

To speak honestly and truthfully about our past social and political history, despite how ugly and embarrassing,

creates the pathway, I believe, for cathartic healing. And the apologists for the Maroons' past misdeeds and cruelities

must wise up to that fact instead of holding on to a bunch of stale tale and local legends about Maroon heroism, and

how it helped the rest of the black non-Maroon population, those who know much better among Maroon

sympathisers, if there are, should stop this nonsense that has gone on for close to over 150 years.

Instead, they should encourage the Maroons to publicly apologise to the rest of the Negro population so that we all

can move on. A demonstration of honesty and sincerity regarding the Maroon story in Jamaica is it in my view, the

best balm in Gilead, figuratively speaking.