At different houses I have heard about people who have escaped from the plantations and live free in the mountains. No one seems to know where these people are although others think they have been captured and killed by the white men. I don't know what to do or think. I shall try to stay hopeful.
An 18th century newspaper cutting seeking Rose, a runaway slave. From the Royal St Vincent Gazette & General Advertiser, Saturday 10th Oct 1789. N1994.0186, S2003-00134
Some slaves managed to escape from the plantations and lived free in large communities, particularly in mountainous areas where it was easier to hide. By the early 18th century Argentina, Brazil, Surinam, Guyana, Venezuela and Colombia had fugitive slave colonies.
In Jamaica this group was called the Maroons. From 1655 slaves escaped to the mountains where they settled down, farmed and later mounted raids against plantations. In 1739 a treaty was drawn up between the Maroons and the British authorities on the island. It was agreed that the Maroons would be given land of their own on the understanding that they helped catch runaway slaves.