Culture

Culture, History

Why Jamaica’s Most Hated Bird Might Just Save the Island

The story of the John Crow is as old as Jamaica itself, a tale that soars across the island’s skies, circles the mountain peaks, and hovers over both fear and fascination. To some, it’s a harbinger of death. To others, a cleaner of the land. Either way, there’s no denying that the John Crow has earned its place as one of the most recognized and misunderstood birds in Jamaican history.

Culture, History

The Maroons of Jamaica: Freedom Fighters in the Mountains

The story of the Jamaican Maroons begins in the mountains, where freedom was carved from resistance. The Maroons were Africans who escaped slavery and established independent communities in Jamaica’s rugged interior. Their roots trace back to the island’s earliest colonial period, when Spain controlled Jamaica from 1493 to 1655. Enslaved Africans brought by the Spanish often fled to the hills, forming some of the first “refugee” communities of free blacks.