by Marcus Goffe

Introduction

In 1739, after over 80 years of successfully resisting the English Government , the English concluded two peace treaties with the Maroons in Jamaica guaranteeing freedom and lands to the Maroons in perpetuity. The treaties, like many other aspects of indigenous and traditional culture and peoples, are seen by many as relics of the past, good for folklore and tourism, but not legally enforceable. However, ever since their signing, the Treaties have been respected and relied upon continuously to this day by the Maroons and their descendants, as a basis for the definition of the relationship between Maroons and the Government of Jamaica, and the apportioning of mutual rights and responsibilities between the respective parties.
As legally concluded documents, which certainly once upon a time were performed by both parties, the question naturally arises as to whether the Treaties are enforceable by the Maroons today and if so how, to what extent, where, and against whom – the British Government and/or the Government of Jamaica. The enforceability of the treaties has implications, not just for some basic assumptions of the common law system of land ownership which Jamaica received from the English, but also for the cultural identity, as well as the economic and political autonomy of the Maroon communities that have traditionally lived on lands the subject of the treaties.