Accompong

Accompong
Accompong, Jamaica, early 20th century
Nickname(s): Acheampong
Accompong
Coordinates: 18°14′N 77°45′W / 18.233°N 77.750°W / 18.233; -77.750
Country	Jamaica
Parish	St. Elizabeth Parish

Coordinates: 18°14′N 77°45′W / 18.233°N 77.750°W / 18.233; -77.750

Accompong (from the Akan name Acheampong) is a historical Maroon village located in the hills of St. Elizabeth Parish on the Island of Jamaica. It is located in Cockpit Country, where the local terrain enabled Maroons and indigenous Taíno to establish a fortified stronghold in the 17th century. They defended it to maintain independence from the Spanish and then later against British forces, after the colony changed hands.

The people named their community Accompong after an early Maroon leader. Their autonomy with certain rights for limited self government was established by a peace treaty with the British in 1739. Since independence in 1962, the government of Jamaica has continued to recognize Maroon indigenous rights in this area.

In the 18th century, Maroon leader Cudjoe is said to have united his people under the Kindah Tree in their fight for autonomy. This was the site for signing the 1739 treaty with the British. This legendary, ancient mango tree is still standing (2009). The tree symbolizes the common kinship of the community on its common land.

Accompong was founded in 1739 after rebel slaves and their descendants fought a protracted war with the British that was finally settled by a treaty between the two groups. The treaty signed under British governor Edward Trelawny granted Cudjoe’s Maroons 1500 acres of land between their strongholds of Trelawny Town and Accompong in the Cockpits . It also granted a certain amount of political autonomy and economic freedoms for the Maroons, in return for which they were obligated to provide military support in case of invasion or rebellion, and to return runaway slaves in exchange for a bounty of two dollars each. This last clause in the treaty caused tension between the Maroons and the enslaved black population. From time to time refugees from the plantations still found their way into maroon settlements and were allowed to stay.