Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 198 views

    Juan de Serras - Wikipedia

    Uploaded by

    Alex Moore-Minott
    Juan de Serras was a 17th century Maroon chief in Jamaica who led a community that fought against English rule and remained loyal to the Spanish. De Serras and his group, the Karmahaly Maroons, launched frequent attacks on English settlements from their bases in the mountainous interior of Jamaica. Despite attempts by English governors to defeat de Serras, he was able to evade capture and continued guerrilla operations against the colonial authorities. De Serras and the Karmahaly Maroons may have eventually withdrawn further into the inaccessible Blue Mountains, living independently from the English.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Juan de Serras - Wikipedia

    Uploaded by

    Alex Moore-Minott
    198 views9 pages
    Juan de Serras was a 17th century Maroon chief in Jamaica who led a community that fought against English rule and remained loyal to the Spanish. De Serras and his group, the Karmahaly Maroons, launched frequent attacks on English settlements from their bases in the mountainous interior of Jamaica. Despite attempts by English governors to defeat de Serras, he was able to evade capture and continued guerrilla operations against the colonial authorities. De Serras and the Karmahaly Maroons may have eventually withdrawn further into the inaccessible Blue Mountains, living independently from the English.

    Original Description:

    A description of the great chief Juan Dr Serras

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Juan de Serras was a 17th century Maroon chief in Jamaica who led a community that fought against English rule and remained loyal to the Spanish. De Serras and his group, the Karmahaly Maroons, launched frequent attacks on English settlements from their bases in the mountainous interior of Jamaica. Despite attempts by English governors to defeat de Serras, he was able to evade capture and continued guerrilla operations against the colonial authorities. De Serras and the Karmahaly Maroons may have eventually withdrawn further into the inaccessible Blue Mountains, living independently from the English.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    198 views9 pages

    Juan de Serras - Wikipedia

    Uploaded by

    Alex Moore-Minott
    Juan de Serras was a 17th century Maroon chief in Jamaica who led a community that fought against English rule and remained loyal to the Spanish. De Serras and his group, the Karmahaly Maroons, launched frequent attacks on English settlements from their bases in the mountainous interior of Jamaica. Despite attempts by English governors to defeat de Serras, he was able to evade capture and continued guerrilla operations against the colonial authorities. De Serras and the Karmahaly Maroons may have eventually withdrawn further into the inaccessible Blue Mountains, living independently from the English.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 9

    Juan de Serras

    Juan de Serras was one of the first


    Jamaican Maroon chiefs in the
    seventeenth century. His community was
    based primarily around Los Vermajales,
    and as a result the English called his group
    of Maroons the Karmahaly Maroons.

    Fighting for the Spanish


    When the English captured Jamaica from
    the Spanish in 1655 Invasion of Jamaica,
    the latter freed their slaves, who then
    escaped into the forested mountains of
    the interior, and established independent
    free black communities. These groups
    fought on the side of the Spanish in their
    attempts to recapture Jamaica from the
    English. When one group, led by Juan de
    Bolas, switched sides and joined the
    English, the Spanish gave up on their
    attempts to recapture the island.[1]

    In contrast to de Bolas, de Serras and his


    men stayed loyal to the Spanish, and
    refused to come to terms with the English.
    Based in the mountains of central
    Jamaica, de Serras and his men mounted
    a number of attacks on English
    settlements, burning plantations and
    houses, as well as killing English soldiers
    and settlers. The English used de Bolas
    and his men to attack de Serras and his
    Maroon community. In 1664, Maroons
    belonging to de Serras ambushed and
    killed de Bolas. Eventually, the black militia
    belonging to de Bolas faded from
    historical records, while the Maroons of de
    Serras continued to trouble the English.[2]

    Guerrilla war against the


    English
    After 1664, de Serras and his Maroons
    continued to mount attacks on English
    settlements, such as the capital, Spanish
    Town, where they burnt houses, captured
    food and livestock, and freed slaves. The
    community of de Serras acted as a
    magnet for slaves seeking to run away
    from English owners.[3]

    The first English governor of the Colony of


    Jamaica, Edward D'Oyley, was unable to
    defeat de Serras, and the job of taking on
    the Karmahaly Maroons fell to Thomas
    Modyford, who became governor in 1664.
    The following year, Modyford declared war
    on the Karmahaly Maroons, and offered
    rewards for capturing and killing members
    of de Serras' group.[4]

    In the mid-1660s, de Serras sent one of his


    Maroon warriors, Domingo, to discuss
    peace overtures. Modyford accepted
    Domingo, because he believed that while
    the English could not defeat the Maroons,
    he felt they could absorb them into society
    the way D'Oyley did with de Bolas.
    However, de Serras used the lull in the
    fighting to relocate to a more secure
    environment, probably the Blue Mountains
    in eastern Jamaica, from which they soon
    resumed attacks on the English colonial
    authorities.[5]
    In the 1670s, the former buccaneer Henry
    Morgan, who later became lieutenant-
    governor of Jamaica, and owner of a slave
    plantation in Guanaboa Vale, led a
    campaign against de Serras and the
    Karmahaly Maroons. Morgan was unable
    to rout the Maroons, but following that
    encounter the colonial authorities no
    longer filed reports about de Serras and
    the Karmahaly Maroons.[6]

    Legacy
    It is possible that de Serras and the
    Karmahaly Maroons withdrew further into
    the Blue Mountains, which were
    inaccessible to the English colonial
    authorities, where they lived off the land
    and avoided further contact with white
    planters.[7]

    The Karmahaly Maroons may have been


    the ancestors of the 18th century
    Windward Maroons of Moore Town and
    Crawford's Town.

    References
    1. Mavis Campbell, The Maroons of
    Jamaica 1655-1796: a History of
    Resistance, Collaboration & Betrayal
    (Massachusetts: Bergin & Garvey,
    1988), pp. 14-17.
    2. Campbell, The Maroons of Jamaica,
    pp. 17-25.
    3. Campbell, The Maroons of Jamaica,
    pp. 20-27.
    4. Campbell, The Maroons of Jamaica,
    pp. 25-27.
    5. Campbell, The Maroons of Jamaica,
    pp. 28-32.
    6. Campbell, The Maroons of Jamaica,
    pp. 32-35.
    7. Campbell, The Maroons of Jamaica,
    pp. 32-35.
    Retrieved from
    "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
    title=Juan_de_Serras&oldid=909037467"

    Last edited 3 months ago by Mikesiva

    Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless


    otherwise noted.

    You might also like