Granny Nanny

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Grandy Nanny (also known as Nanny of the Maroons, Queen Nanny 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.

By 1720, Nanny and Quao had organized and gained control of this town of Maroons located in the Blue Mountains. It was around this time that the town was given the title of Nanny Town. Nanny town encompased more than 600 acres (2.4 km²) of land for the run away slaves to live as well as raise animals and grow crops. Due to the town being led by Nanny and Quao, it was organized very similar to a typical Ashanti tribe in Africa.

The Maroons were able to survive on the mountains by sending traders to the cities to exchange food for weapons and cloth. The Maroons were also known for raiding plantations for weapons and food, burning the plantation, and leading the slaves back to Nanny Town.

Nanny Town was an excellent location for a stronghold due to it overlooking Stony River via a 900 foot (270 m) ridge making a surprise attack by the British virtually impossible. The Maroons at Nanny town also organized look-outs for such an attack as well as designated warriors who could be summoned by the sound of a horn called an Abeng.

Grandy Nanny was very adept at organizing plans to free slaves. Over the span of 50 years, Nanny has been credited with freeing over 800 slaves. Nanny also helped these slaves remain free and healthy due to her vast knowledge of herbs and her role as a spiritual leader. However, freeing slaves upset the British very much. Between 1728 and 1734, Nanny town was attacked by the British time and time again, but not once was it harmed. This was accomplished due to the Maroons being much more skilled in fighting in an area of high rainfall as well as disguising themselves as bushes and trees. The Maroons also utilized decoys to trick the British into a surprise attack. This was done by having non disguised Maroons run out into view of the British and then run in the direction of the fellow Maroons who were disguised, thus crushing the British time and time again.

The government of Jamaica declared Queen Nanny a National Heroine in 1975 and her portrait is on the 500 Jamaican dollar bill.