maroons

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Maroons were runaway slaves in the

West Indies, Central America, South

America, and North America, who

formed independent settlements

together. Maroon is a corruption of

the Spanish word "cimarrona" which

loosely translates to "deserter" or

runaway.

In the New World, as early as 1512,

black slaves had escaped from Spanish

and Portuguese owners and either

joined indigenous peoples or eked out

a living on their own. Sir Francis

Drake enlisted several 'cimaroons'

during his raids on the Spanish. As

early as 1655, runaway slaves had

formed their own communities. On

the Caribbean islands, runaway slaves

formed bands and in some cases

formed armed camps.

No one knows how many maroon

communities there actually were in

the New World; some bands were

small and lasted only a few months,

while others survived for generations.

By the seventeenth century maroons

had become a significant force in the

New World, forming alliances with

Indians and pirates, playing one

colonial power against another, and in

some cases actually controlling the

flow of goods through strategic areas.

Some maroon communities grew large

enough to defeat European armies

and take over islands like Jamaica and

Haiti.

Runaway African slaves becoming part

of a pirate crew were considered as

daring seamen with nothing to lose.

Jamaican Maroon

One can easily understand the

attraction that the pirate world could

exert to black sailors, with its promise

of freedom, equality, fraternity such

as no nation state would then

consider. The most known maroon

pirate was Black Caesar (died 1718).

Black Caesar raided shipping from

the Florida Keys for more than a

decade and later served as one of

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Captain Blackbeard's chief lieutenants

aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. He

was one of the surviving members of

Blackbeard's crew following his death

at the hands of Lieutenant Robert

Maynard in 1718.

The relationship between pirates and

Africans did not stop with acceptance

of the latter on pirate ships.

Cosmopolitan pirate crews would

often come in contact with maroon

communities, where sailors would find

food and rest in the palenques. Pirates

also relied on maroons to obtain

information on the transportation of

precious metals, a task the maroons

had performed as slaves.

Pacification with the Maroons

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HHeerrooeess

1 Chief(30 doubloons to recruit)

S F St D A W C Fa Ft

4+ 3 4 4 1 2 4 1 1

Special Rules:

Leader, Archetype

Starting Experience:The Maroon Chief starts with 8 experience points.

0-2 Hunter (17 doubloons to recruit)


4+ 3 3 3 1 1 3 1 0

Special Rules:

Scout

0-1 Houngan (21 doubloons to recruit)


5+ 2 3 3 1 1 3 1 1

Special Rules:

Voodoo Priest: A warband containing a Houngan, may reroll d3

dice results throughout the game on behalf of any member of the

Maroon warband. Even a random dice, like initiative may be

rerolled, however the second throw of the dice always stands,

regardless of the remaining rerolls.

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HHeenncchhmmeenn

0-5Warriors (12 doubloons to recruit)

S F St D A W C

5+ 4 3 3 1 1 3

.

Renegade (8 doubloons to recruit)

S F St D A W C

5+ 4 3 3 1 1 2

Maroon Equipment Lists

The following lists may be used by Maroon warbands to choose their starting equipment.

Heroes Equipment

Knife or Dagger 1 doubloon

Hand Weapon 2 doubloons

Sword 3 doubloons

Bow 4 doubloons

Pistol* 8 doubloons

Flintlock Musket 14 doubloons

* Maximum of two pistols for Heroes

Henchmen Equipment

Knife or Dagger 1 doubloon

Hand Weapon 2 doubloons

Two-handed Weapon 3 doubloons

Spear 3 doubloons

Sword 3 doubloons

Bow 4 doubloons

Musket (Warriors only) 14 doubloons

maroons

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