Rt. Excellent Nanny of the MaroonsNanny of the Maroons stands out in history as the only female among Jamaica’snational heroes. She possessed that fierce fighting spirit generally associated with thecourage of men.In fact, Nanny is described as a fearless Asante warrior who used militarist techniquesto fool and beguile the English.Nanny was a leader of the Maroons at the beginning of the 18th. Century. She wasknown by both the Maroons and the British settlers as an outstanding military leaderwho became, in her lifetime and after, a symbol of unity and strength for her peopleduring times of crisis.She was particularly important to them in the fierce fight with the British during theFirst Maroon War from 1720 to 1739. Although she has been immortalized in songsand legends, certain facts about Nanny (or "Granny Nanny", as she was affectionatelyknown) have also been documented.Both legends and documents refer to her as having exceptional leadership qualities.She was a small wiry woman with piercing eyes. Her influence over the Maroons wasso strong that it seemed to be supernatural and was said to be connected to her powersof obeah. She was particularly skilled in organising the guerrilla warfare carried out bythe Eastern Maroons to keep away the British troops who attempted to penetrate themountains to overpower them.Her cleverness in planning guerrilla warfare confused the British and their accounts ofthe fights reflect the surprise and fears which the Maroon traps caused among them.Beside inspiring her people to ward off troops, Nanny was also a type of chieftainessor wise woman of the village, who passed down legends and encouraged thecontinuation of customs, music and songs that had come with the people from Africa,and that instilled in them confidence and pride.Her spirit of freedom was so great that in 1739, when Quao signed the second Treaty(The first was signed by Cudjoe for the Leeward Maroons a few months earlier) withthe British, it is reported that Nanny was very angry and in disagreement with theprinciple of peace with the British which she knew meant another form of subjugation.There are many legends about Nanny among the Maroons. Some even claim thatthere were several women who were leaders of the Maroons during this period ofhistory. But all the legends and documents refer to Nanny of the First Maroon War asthe most outstanding of them all, leading her people with courage and inspiring them tostruggle to maintain that spirit of freedom, that life of independence, which was theirrightful inheritance.Like the heroes of the pre Independence era, Nanny too met her untimely death at theinstigation of the English sometime around 1734.Yet, the spirit of Nanny of the Maroons remains today as a symbol of that indomitabledesire that will never yield to captivity.