African Connections

Spain made the next full-scale attempt to employ maroon warriors -- in Jamaica from 1655-1660. When England ousted Spain from the island in 1655, the Spanish recruited Jamaica's free blacks as military allies. For five years the plan worked. The maroons harassed the British, successfully staging guerilla raids and then retreating to their mountain strongholds. The black warriors were so effective that the Spanish discharged their own military early in the conflict. Unfortunately for Spain, however, the maroons had their own interests at heart. When the British gave them a better offer in 1660, the maroons joined with England and drove Spain permanently off the island.*