Contested Landscape
The Cockpit Country
The Cockpit Country is about 500 square miles of forested land in the west central region of Jamaica rich in biodiversity. The name Cockpit Country was given to the region by the British, the name came about due to the natural features of the region, the soil is predominantly made of limestone which does not retain water allowing rainwater to seep down into ground through cracks which gets wider over thousands of years creating a series of pits and valleys, and because of this numerous rivers and streams as well as caves can be found in the region. The region has been the center of a long ongoing conflict between the maroons and the Government of Jamaica.
The Cockpit Country is the home of numerous endemic species flora and fauna such as the Jamaican Boa and the yellow Beak Parrot. The region is also the home of the maroons, the maroons are African and Indigenous west indies slaves who escaped slavery and found refuge in the region when the British conquered the island from the Spanish. After the British gained control of the island there was constant warfare them and the maroons who over many years the maroons raided many slave plantations and freed thousands of slaves who then joined them. One of the most famous maroons in Jamaican history is ‘Nanny of the maroons’ who is today recognized as Jamaica’s only female national hero, she is believed to be from the Akan community which can be found in present day Ghana and was captured and sent to Jamaica where she was sold into slavery in the 18th Century. Nanny was a fierce military leader she orchestrated numerous attacks on the British who was trying to capture them and sell them back into slavery. She was also believed to have supernatural powers (witchcraft), and she was apart of the eastern maroons.
The British was unsuccessful I trying to defeat the maroons in the cockpit country leading the to them signing a peace treaty with the maroons 1793 after the first maroon war which made them free people and the land that they occupied officially became theirs. There are still people living in the cockpit country today who are the descendants of the people who fought for the land, they enjoy a great measure of freedom from government interference, and they pay no taxes.
Today there the Cockpit country is a contested landscape as the Jamaican Government does not see the maroons as owners of the entire cockpit country and this conflict has intensified over the years due to the discovery of bauxite in the region. Bauxite is the key mineral in the production of aluminum and due to this discovery, the government have been under pressure to exploit the resources which they see as a key asset to economic development, but the maroons alongside environmental activists continue to protest that the land does not belong the government of Jamaica and must be protected as a national heritage site. They also argue that mining in the region would be detrimental to the endemic flora and fauna in the region and the watershed which is the source of water for many regions in the island.
The government have spent years trying to resolve the issue of whether they should leave the area and consider it has a national heritage site or exploit the resources which could be crucial to the development of the country. The government have since came up with a plan where they would commence mining in the region, but a shield would be placed around the biodiverse areas, and ever since the Accompong maroon and their chief Richard Currie has tried to resist this by filing lawsuits against the government. Today contested landscapes are common around the world as governments believes land belongs them and not the people, and because of this conflict over land will be an ongoing issue for years to come.
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