Me-no-Sen-You-no-Come

Me-no-Sen-You-no-Come is a village in the Cockpit Country of western Jamaica. It is now a part of a district called Aberdeen, Jamaica in the north-east section of Saint Elizabeth Parish, and is not extinct, as was originally believed.

Located at 430 metres above sea level, it was founded by runaway slaves escaping from estates in Trelawny Parish at the start of the nineteenth century.[1][2]

Origins

In 1812, a community of runaways started when a dozen men and some women escaped from the sugar plantations of Trelawny into the Cockpit Country, and they created a village named Me-no-Sen-You-no-Come. It is located near some cliffs and boasted fertile soils in its valleys. The unofficial maroon community grew from its start of less than 20 runaway slaves to a large village that supported 14 buildings with shingle roofs and wood floors, raised poultry, hogs and nearly two hundred acres of cultivated land, thickly planted with provisions.[3][4]

It is believed that runaway slaves who secured their freedom during the Second Maroon War, and had been a part of the community of Cuffee, joined Me-no-Sen-You-no-Come in succeeding years.

Conflict with colonial authorities

By the 1820s, Me-no-Sen-You-no-Come housed between 50 and 60 runaways. The headmen of the community were escaped slaves named Warren and Forbes. Me-no-Sen-You-no-Come also conducted a thriving trade with slaves from the north coast, who exchanged their salt provisions with the runaways for their ground provisions.[5][6]

In October 1824, the colonial militias tried to destroy this maroon community.[7] Some historians believe that the Maroons of Accompong Town successfully crushed this runaway community.[8][9]

However, recent research shows that these Maroons had limited success, because after they left Me-no-Sen-You-no-Come to return to Accompong Town, a number of the runaways returned to the village and rebuilt huts. The Accompong Maroons succeeded only in killing one man, and capturing two women and three children.[10]

Legacy

The community of Me-no-Sen-You-no-Come continued to thrive in the Cockpit Country until Emancipation in the 1830s. It is located in the southwest corner of the Cockpit Country, which is called "The District of Look Behind," now a part of the Upper Aberdeen community, because the redcoats rode two to a horse, one man facing the rear and nervously scanning the trees.[11]

Today, Me-no-Sen-You-no-Come is called Upper Aberdeen.

Jamaican poet Kei Miller wrote a poem about Me-no-Sen-You-no-Come.[12]

References
  1. "Me No Sen You No Come locality, Trelawny, Jamaica". Jm.geoview.info.
  2. Michael Siva, After the Treaties: A Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739-1842, PhD Dissertation (Southampton: Southampton University, 2018), p. 191.
  3. Siva, After the Treaties, pp. 191-2.
  4. Mavis Campbell, The Maroons of Jamaica 1655-1796: a History of Resistance, Collaboration & Betrayal (Massachusetts: Bergin & Garvey, 1988), p.159.
  5. Siva, After the Treaties, pp. 191-2.
  6. Mavis Campbell, The Maroons of Jamaica 1655-1796: a History of Resistance, Collaboration & Betrayal (Massachusetts: Bergin & Garvey, 1988), p.159.
  7. Cynric Williams, A Tour through the island of Jamaica, from the Western to the Eastern End, in the Year 1823 (London: Thomas Hurst, 1827), p. 244.
  8. Campbell, Maroons of Jamaica, p. 159.
  9. Orlando Patterson, Sociology of Slavery, p. 264.
  10. Siva, After The Treaties, pp. 192-3. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/423482/1/LIBRARY_COPY_After_The_Treaties_Final.pdf
  11. Shoumatoff, Alex (1978-12-31). "The Proud People Of Jamaica's Untracked Cockpit Country". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-01-06.
  12. Duff, Valerie (2015-01-19). "Mapping Kei Miller's Zion". The Critical Flame. Retrieved 2019-01-06.

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