Maroon Claims to Sovereignty in Jamaican Territory

This book is concerned with the Maroons of Accompong Town in Jamaica. Especially within the last five years, these Maroons, who constitute in some measure a distinct cultural group living in the defined area of Accompong Town, have presented reinvigorated claims that they comprise, in law and in fact, an independent state within Jamaica. Under the guidance of their energetic leader, Chief Richard Currie, they have claimed all the rights and duties of a sovereign state, maintaining that they are fully entitled to enjoy these rights under the name “The Sovereign State of Accompong.” Against this background, there is scope for a review of the bases, in national and international law, of the core Maroon claim to statehood, and for the responses that may validly be offered to that claim. This publication addresses the relevant arguments, reviews the historical position of Maroons in Jamaican society and offers conclusions about the status of the Maroon claim. Most existing literature on the Maroons concentrates on Maroon status in history. This book adds to the literature by exploring the legal arguments about Maroon sovereignty in Accompong in national and international law, a topic that is yet to be fully canvassed. Stephen Vasciannie is Professor of International Law at the University of the West Indies, Jamaica.