Queen Nanny of the Maroons (c.1685-1755) was a Jamaican slave born in Ghana.
She was captured as a child, and sold into slavery where she worked at a sugar cane plantation, until she and some close friends decided to escape further inland, into an area known as the Blue Mountains. There already existed Marion communities in Jamaica, the Maroons being the descendants of escaped slaves mixed with native Jamaican tribes.
Once Nanny and her friends escaped, they separated, each one taking leadership of a small Maroon community. She founded Nanny Town, and successfully defended the community from several British raids, despite being in numerical inferiority. The Maroon community under her leadership prospered, her people living off farming, hunting, trading at local markets, and raiding plantations. She also organized and led many raids, freeing slaves and allowing them to join her community. After her death, the colonial authorities recognized the Maroon’s sovereignty over their 5 main towns, including Nanny Town. He has since become a Jamaican Heroine.