Maroon Slaves
The term "Maroon" means brown in the common language but during the times of slavery, "Maroon" was used to describe the "run-away-slaves". According to the Collins Dictionary; "Marronage is the process of extricating oneself from slavery". In other words, it is when a slave decides to be free. However, the path to freedom was never easy. The maroon had to hide because if caught, they would be tortured and killed in the most inhumane way. Most of the maroon slaves would escape to undeveloped areas such as forests or mountainous regions. They had to organize their escape well, and sometimes it took days to come up with a good plan. It was usually done in groups. Few dared to run off alone, they were more vulnerable that way and easier to capture.
Marronage gave rise to a new type of hunt: The Maroon Hunt. The masters would train their hounds to track down the slaves. 1 out of 2 of those who try to flee got caught. Many have died trying to escape and many chose death rather than to be captured again.
The first marronage in Mauritius
Apart from the rat invasion, tropical cyclones, and attacks from pirates, marronage also played a part in the V.O.C's decision to leave.
Out of the 105 slaves brought by Adriaan Van der Stel in 1642, 52 ran away into the forest. The Dutch had only been able to catch 18 of those who have escaped. Think about it, we are in the early days of settlement and the Dutch have yet to discover all the parts of the island. Mauritius may only have an area of 1,865 km2 (almost the size of the city of Milan, Italy) but at that time there was thick vegetation on its lands which made movement and expeditions difficult. It took them days to reach another region and years to create a suitable map for the island. Trying to catch and contain newly acquires slaves must have been difficult.
Time for a revolution
In 1692, Mauritius had yet another governor; Roelof Diodati. He was a clever man of Italian origin. He governed with excellence and did not tolerate any misconduct. His punishment was most cruel.
By that time, numerous slaves had escaped. These “clandestine” slaves had come to know the island better than the colonists. When they were tired of hunting for food, the maroon slaves started stealing supplies from their ex-masters.
Amongst the runaways was a group of people planning a revolution. Their names were Aaron, Bamboes, Esperance and Anna of Bengal. They wanted the Dutch gone and wanted to make Mauritius theirs and theirs alone. When Paul, a new slave from Batavia, arrived in Mauritius, the group plotted together a plan that would change the fate of the island or, so they thought.
Burning Flames
The year was 1695. It was probably the worst year for the Dutch. A strong Cyclone hit them destroying almost everything. Many settlers decided to leave then, having had enough of this cursed place already. Those who stayed hoped it would get better. Little did they know, it was only the beginning.
After the cyclone, the colony was left vulnerable, and the maroon decided to attack. On the early morning of June 18, the "revolutionist", as I like to call them, set fire to Fort Frederik Hendrik. They were caught hours later by the soldiers and brought in front of the public to be tortured to death. The crowd had watched this scene with so much delight it was disturbing. This only made things worse for the Dutch. The angry maroon slaves soon started attacking people, damaging their properties, and stealing from them. Violence was at its peak in Mauritius then.
The Dutchmen and women thought it would not last, the soldiers would find a way to deal with them. When a deadly plague spread and killed their animals, they felt their hope starting to crumble. When a swarm of insects devoured all their crops, they were desperate. But when another deadly cyclone hit the island, the people rioted. They no longer wanted to be here, money is damned. Overwhelmed with all the tension and crisis, Diodati had to retire in 1703.
Fun Facts; South Africa
Now what is interesting is that while the V.O.C was failing in Mauritius, they had succeeded elsewhere. In 1652, ships accosted the shores of South Africa and took possession of the Cape of Good Hope. There, they built an outpost which purpose was to supply V.O.C ships on their way to the East with fresh fruits, vegetables, meat and to enable sailors to rest, just like they did in Mauritius. A new city was being born; Kaapstad
While Mauritius was unoccupied from 1658 to 1664, the development was at its peak in Kaapstad. The settlement was gradually growing into South Africa that we know today. The natives who lived in the region were captured and enslaved by the new masters of the land. The Dutch had found a new way of practicing agriculture, and it was a real success. They made a lot of profit out of it. It was way better than Mauritius.
Comments