N A N N Y of the M A R O O N S

Grandy Nanny (also known as Nanny of the Maroons and Granny Nanny), a National Hero of Jamaica, was a well-known leader of the Maroons of Jamaica. As a revolt leader, she aided in the defeat of the British army in several battles.

Grandy Nanny was originally born in Ghana, West Africa as a member of the Ashanti Empire and was then taken to Jamaica supposedly as a slave, but there are also reports that she was deliberately sent by her people to aid slave rebels. Upon her arrival, Jamaica was already in the midst of slave rebellions. The largest, most organized rebellion groups were those of Maroons which were also very well defended due to their organization.

Contrary to popular belief, the Maroons were originally free Africans who were not sold into slavery, but came over to the America's without charge. However, under British rule, many slaves were able to escape and join the Maroons because of their highly organized nature. Eventually, the newly run away slaves were also known as Maroons.

Due to the cruel treatment of female slaves by plantation owners, Nanny made her decision to escape along with her five brothers. The most famous of her brothers, Cudjoe, went on to lead many more slave rebellions in Jamaica with the aid of her other brothers Accompong, Johnny, Cuffy and Quao.

The family then made the decision to split up in order to be able to organize more Maroons than was possible if they stuck together. Therefore, Cudjoe went to St.James and organized a village, which was later named Cudjoe Town. Accompong went to St. Elizabeth, while Nanny and Quao made their way to Portland.