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THE  FIRST  MAROON  WAR

Parrot
First Maroon War

The First Maroon War was a series of skirmishes starting in 1730 near Cave River, in the east, and finishing in 1738 at Petty River Bottom, near Cudjoe Town. Though Kojo/Cudjoe was originally based at Cave River, the destruction of Nanny Town in 1734 persuaded him to move further westwards, where Accompong Town and Kojo/Cudjoe Town (Flagstaff) were established.

The Maroons had always moved freely through Cockpit Country and many place names remain to remind us of this: Cuffie Ridge, Quashie River, Quaws Pond, Quickstep, Land of Look Behind. Less obvious is Mahogany Hall, which was a Taino dwelling (amongst the roots of a mahogany tree) and was also used by Maroons – as late as 1804, Robertson’s map showed a “Maroon Path to Mahogany Hall”.

The Maroon Wars in Jamaica were the only significant British colonial wars to be fought in a humid tropical environment. The heat, humidity and daily downpours of the rainy season were a constant irritation to the heavily clothed British soldiers.