cimarrones: maroons

Cimarrones were historically freedom seekers - that is to say, fugitives from slavery. Notice the difference between framing it this way and the old term of 'escaped slaves.' They were people who were enslaved. This emphasizes their humanity, over calling them slaves. I got to thinking about these changes in terminology thanks an article by Zavala Guillen. As she puts it:

“In recent decades, Maroonness has been reclaimed by communities of descendants of fugitives from slavery and other Afro-descendant groups, primarily in rural settings, to obtain land rights, for example, in Brazil (Bledsoe, 2017; De La Torre, 2013). Black activists have also identified as Maroons when they have performed ideological escapes from oppression, such as capitalism, patriarchy and European knowledge systems” (Zavala Guillen, p. 1)

Zavala Guillen, Ana Laura. “Feeling/Thinking the Archive: Participatory Mapping Marronage.” Area Accessed June 12, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12869.  [online early]