The First Free People of the Americas (except indigenous peoples duh) | The Life & Times of Nanny

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Michael Sivapragasam's thesis on the history of the Maroons following the First Maroon War: www.google.com/url?q=...
Hey, so remember that video about the real life Captain Morgan? How a pirate blew up one of the largest trading hubs in the Americas and the king responded by making him a governor? You may recall I mentioned he was later fired and “by then Morgan was around 50, so rather than return to the sea and embark on more raids to force nuns to do his dirty work at the point of a gun, he embraced the life of an English gentleman and raided the hills of Jamaica to capture the descendants of escaped slaves and force them to do his dirty work at the point of a gun”. Well I looked into those people living in the hills of Jamaica, and what I found was one of the first independence movements in the New World, a mostly successful revolt by a whole society of people that freed themselves from slavery, that had built up over the course of a century, and was led by a fearsome commander called Nanny
Music (in order of appearance):
Kevin Macleod - Thief in the night
I don't remember, whatever was playing in that part of the Henry Morgan video
Kevin Macleod - Hidden Past
Kevin Macleod covering Gynt - In the Hall of the Mountain King
Kevin Macleod - Nothing Broken
Kevin Macleod - Obliteration
Kevin Macleod - Danse of Questionable Tuning

[@JackRackam]

Head to keeps.com/jackrackam to get 50% off your first order of hair loss treatment! But seriously, powdered wigs, it’s kinda nice to see unnatural hairstyles make an appearance in formal wear, just imagine if you were expected to dye your hair green at every black tie event, that would be fun. I really can't think of another time in history when you had people wearing wigs this regularly, or presenting themselves in a way that changes their natural looks like that, unless you count like footbinding, but that uh... yikes, no, I'm glad that isn't a thing anymore

[@moruxuss8313]

Ratio

[@holstorrsceadus1990]

@@moruxuss8313 yes you will be

[@holstorrsceadus1990]

Greeks, Romans and Egyptians all wore wigs pretty frequently. The Egyptians because they were preferable to louse ridden hair and sun burnt bald pates. The Romans considered baldness an impairment so men wore the Galerus.

[@JackRackam]

@@holstorrsceadus1990 You know, I was going to say that's the first I've heard of Roman wigs and it sounds like they were only to cover up baldness, but then there are those instances of Roman women with incredibly complicated super tall hairdos that I think were probably wigs

[@wankershankster]

Hey jack My grandfather is from a town in mexico called Yanga Veracruz, I think the story of the founder Gaspar Yanga would make a great episode, Its known as the first free afro population on the continent, they used similar tactics and teamed up with indigenous communities to resist and defeat the Spanish for years. Eventually the Spanish gave up and granted the population autonomy. This is around 1610

[@SMBeech]

This was fun, nice to hear someone talk about the person my mom told me about as a kid. And my mom's generation they call her granny nanny.

[@JackRackam]

Granny Nanny is even better!

[@mildlyinfuriatedbird2557]

Are you Jamaican? Cuz I've heard ppl call Nanny granny nanny a lot

[@SMBeech]

@@mildlyinfuriatedbird2557 yes, my parents, I'm first generation born in the US.

[@major_kukri2430]

@@mildlyinfuriatedbird2557 I'm from Jamaica. We just call her Nanny of the Maroons.

[@BooksInTheVoid]

We called her Nanny nanny

[@aztecgoldmontizuma]

That montage of a pirate leading a bunch of British soldiers on a wild goose chase was pure gold

[@JackRackam]

The man the British hired for the job was actually a pirate! Henry Morgan, I found out about Nanny through making a video about him

[@likaon3662]

Hey you should also look up about Yanga story, he lead another slave revolt against the Spanish in Mexico and founded the first free and independent black community in the Américas by 1609

[@gabrielrussell5531]

Apparently the origin of things like the powdered wig and white face paint were nobles covering up the side-effects of syphilis, but since the nobles were doing it, it became fashionable.

[@CollinBuckman]

Not sure about white face paint but the popularity of wigs actually began as a way to prevent head lice and a way for men to cover up hair loss.

[@KBzDvSt]

@@CollinBuckman so covering up embarrassing hair loss and embarrassing venereal disease

[@qwellen7521]

Nanny deserves her own Assassins Creed Game.

[@traegibbs7494]

Long time Jamaican fan of yours and was really excited when i saw this video come up. That story about her catching bullets also including one where she caught them with her butt cheeks which was a fun story for us in school. One of my highschool history trips was to one of their towns and they still have a thriving independent culture that is rooted in the original African traditions as well as Jamaican culture. Nanny is one of our national heroes and one of the most highly regarded, wish we had more solid stories on her life but most of our national heroes have a bit of looseness to their historical records.

[@ernstschmidt4725]

Nanny was so dummy thicc that the clap of her ass cheeks keep catching the bullets of guards.

[@joshuaevans6295]

7:48 L'ouverture really deserves his own video. Also, I assume this came up in your research Jack but there were maroon communities all over the new world. Even before the Haitian Revolution, there were communities of escaped slaves living in the mountains of Hispaniola, and there was a famous community in the Great Dismal Swamp on the Virigina-North Carolina border.

[@thebohemian814]

Hope he does a video on those communities

[@charley2714]

Here’s a fun fact ! The first Emperor of Haiti was a drummer boy in the American revolution, and fought in the city I live in. There’s even a statue for him here in Savannah

[@stephenjenkins7971]

As always with these kinds of stories, there were a lot of complications and morally dubious actions taken in these heroic tales. Where the Americans had the fact that they "fought for freedom" while having slavery and crushing Native tribes in their expansion west, the Maroons of Jamaica had the fact that they often eagerly engaged in crushing slave revolts in Jamaica, becoming proficient slave hunters after their pseudo-independence. Doesn't go against the righteousness of fighting for your independence from oppression, but its best not to idealize groups either in general.

[@Fordo007]

Goes to show you that if there is every a group of people who are 100% in the right in their actions and deeds... they must be very good liars for being able to hide all the bad stuff they do.

[@jidk6565]

This level of nuance needs to be applied to everything I rarely ever see it applied to European history

[@thibautnarme6402]

@@jidk6565 What?? You clearly haven't followed any historical analysis in this last 50 years. All those point to the morally dubious decisions of people and government more interested by profit or self preservation that grand ideals. Most of the national histories that are still broadcasted today were fabricated before this period with the only goal of supporting a national identity through a common myth. Problem is ofc those shade a rather dark light on national history and question the "essential goodness of the nation", a thing many people are not comfortable with, especially to be taught to young people. But nuanced takes on history are definitely out there.

[@gladonos3384]

@@jidk6565 "I rarely ever see it applied to European history" What do you mean by that?

[@lafox2833]

Goes to show that there is no black and white in history, just because you are fighting for the righteous cause and are the good guy doesn't mean you aren't capable of doing bad or even horrific things. Its about time people accept that instead of demonizing or idolizing anyone or place.

[@tyberfen5009]

I really like the idea of not only watching individuals, but also groups and/or organisations. Really interesting stuff out there

[@stayout9]

As a person with Jamaican heritage, it's always warming to hear Nanny and the maroons' story being continued on to the youth. It's such a important story. I thank you for spreading it on...blessings

[@user-db7vy8sf2h]

Amazing video about Afro-American history, still do more of this, I would suggest to do next the Brazilian revolt of Zumbi dos Palmares, who was a afro-kingdom in Americas who survived almost 100 years.

[@mariodangelo9768]

It's afro Jamaican History African-American specifically refers to Africans from the USA not the entire American continent

[@TheSci-fiAnarchist42]

This was so cool. As a suggestion you should think about doing a video on Tupac Amaru and his revolt against the Spanish. The opportunity to make Tupac jokes would be amazing. 🤣🤣

[@agonzalez7095]

I would love to see that

[@starsixseven9259]

"Plucky and adventury... beginning of the century" Yes yes, [Jack Rackam] is a major general

[@Anverse-14]

I would like to see you try to make Dol Said or Tok Janggut, Malaysia's rebel leaders against British forces. I heard legends about them from time to time

[@sargecad3t]

The Maroon communities are so cool. I never learned about how enslaved peoples resisted their oppressors in school. What a horrible oversight by the American school system.

[@wee3ist]

Well in some cases their opressors were the United States so I can understand why a state tries to hide history that supports revolt against it

[@sargecad3t]

@@wee3ist Yeah, absolutely. American history education frames the history of chattel slavery in the Americas as "There was slavery for specific economic reasons, and that was bad, so abolitionists did a bunch of protesting and then the American Civil War happened so now it's all fixed." It completely ignores the resistance of enslaved peoples themselves, and when it does mention it it downplays its importance.

[@LopanTheLemming]

Oversight? “Deliberate omission” is probably the words you’re looking for friend.

[@sargecad3t]

@@LopanTheLemming yeah, you right

[@stephenjenkins7971]

@@LopanTheLemming That's your ego talking. If the US wanted to frame itself in a better light, then it would have mentioned a bunch of small actions it made in its history that we'd consider just today. Like how the early US backed Toussaint in his independent black state initially until he was betrayed and his successor then kinda genocided French whites. Fact is that enslaved people rebelling against the British and "kinda" winning had very little effects in either American or world history. Ditto with the Haitian Revolution...though Americans do sometimes learn that for some reason. Basically, your politics is informing your braindead conclusion. Use your common sense.

[@warlordofbritannia]

Huh, I never would have expected there was a Queen Nanny of a Jamaican maroon community in the early 18th century. Specifically the bit about a Queen Nanny, anyways. Everything else could have been expected.

[@BooksInTheVoid]

Yes! Nanny nanny and Paul Bogle! 🇯🇲 yay! Hehe Paul Bogle comes later XP.

[@TammyJerkChicken]

Man I’m glad you made this! I remember really enjoying the previous Morgan video and feeling that the there was a story to tell there! Well it’s interesting to feel a personal connection to history! I’m glad. I can’t imagine how it was but My Grandma passed on that pride.❤

[@norata7400]

For he was a major-general!

[@JackRackam]

He was! Hoorah for the major general!

[@luanfonseca5179]

9:04 now i cant not imagine the sceme Redcoat:Mrs nanny, i am afraid your time has come *fire 2 flintlock pistol* Nanny:Maroon help me **nanny dodges the bullets** Maroon: dodge this *shoots red coat in the head*

[@kitcutting]

Captain Morgan in a Keeps segment in not one, but TWO videos?! That’s a new world record.

[@Ye-Hu]

>Gets independence >Immediately allow a Bri'ish supervisor in charge Nanny didn't raise no quitter, but she did raise a fool or two.

[@sjappiyah4071]

They weren’t directly under Nanny’s control, good joke though

[@tevinrobinson4871]

First off, I love the Jamaican tie 🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲 also, the maroons hold semi autonomy within Jamaica, They have their own currency and their own government.

[@baneofbanes]

That’s pretty cool.

[@vegancannibal1839]

It’s always an amazing day when Jack posts

[@davidheitzenrater9027]

Awesome video, and one that gives me hope we'll be seeing L'ouverture in the future.

[@baliyae]

Up until now, I never heard of her. Thanks for sharing, Jack! 😎👍🏻

[@BTScriviner]

Another brilliant video. 👍

[@zandaroos553]

As someone with a mother from Jamaican hill country (Mandeville represent!) this is a awesome vid!

[@Indy-qm4ev]

Thank you for the upload, I just made dinner

[@wrongsalvation8904]

This was great. I had not heard about Nanny until this video. I'm spreading this all over the place 🤣

[@merrymerry2906]

I spy Jack wearing a tie dedicated to the Jamaican flag

[@BacchaeOphanim]

I need that 'this might be rum' mug, like, yesterday.

[@nivekian]

I liked how they incorporated them into Starz Black Sails.

[@strikeforce1500]

It's always interesting learning about other rebellious groups of the neighbors countries

[@xnixxxonx]

4:38 you absolute mad man, I choked on my salad. I almost DIED

[@vazak11]

Glad this is getting some attention.

[@DaniG._.German]

Great video. Did you make a video on Haïti?

[@filipschweiner1989]

4:38 Love the Gilbert and Sullivan reference

[@user-xp8nq5mf9y]

man i need to see some movie about this.

[@limose9507]

Yo, I love your videos man. But you gotta turn down the volume on that intro. Every time it plays it's like a turbo blast from Medieval Europe spraying itself all over my face and ears before it suddenly shifts to your comparatively quiet voice. Keep up the good work. Love you.

[@Artur_M.]

Definitely one of the coolest figures covered here (even though we don't know much about her for sure, and this video was arguably more a story of a people than a person).

[@kaisiegfried425]

Can you maybe do an episode about the Khmer Rouge? I mean there hole mixed up ideological would be a crazy ride even if it would be a sad one

[@major_kukri2430]

This would actually be cool to see.

[@kontractkilla]

It's so awesome seeing one of my favorite channels doing a video about one of my countries national heroes 😅and your research on nanny is spot on,even we don't know much about her tbh, mainly she was shot in the ass and "died" from illness..and practiced black magic..as to where she came from, well the claim is she (her tribes) were here as a native before slavery but that's just word of mouth,like most we know of her

[@shanestevens5352]

I have to start work but you just uploaded the video so my making money can wait

[@oshaughnessyrof5201]

My grandma always told me about nanny of the maroons when I was a kid

[@scottgrey3337]

"A man claimed to kill Nanny but legend says she's bulletproof." Well then he obviously didn't. Duh!

[@zintosion]

Ah Nanny! The fiercest name for a revolutionary!

[@mildlyinfuriatedbird2557]

I'd love to see more episodes on Jamaican history, maybe one for the British invasion in 1655 and maybe one Sam Samuel or Paul Bogle

[@scrollcaps]

You know we like to make fun of politicians for the stupid ways they get caught being stupid but we have cameras and information coming at us faster than ever. This is at least the third time i've heard of an old timey dude personally, using his OWN money, writing and printing a pamphlet that makes him look terrible. #printing press? I guess?

[@tomasgirardi1569]

this kinda reminds me of the history of quilombo dos palmares in brazil, very similar story with a similarly legendary leader

[@ethancash8870]

Never mess with Nanny

[@BrunoSantos-sb6vh]

lol imagine when you learn about Quilombo dos Palmares in Brazil, just imagine that

[@basicpigeonbee]

Funny that I learnt about this originally from a civ 5 mod that was completely over powered Jamaica nation

[@ItsAweeb]

Almost 1st fear me

[@JackRackam]

You are, in fact, the first to comment - consider yourself feared

[@ItsAweeb]

@@JackRackam Yes! Tremble before me mortals!

[@ajithsidhu7183]

@@JackRackam sikh empire please

[@steffanyschwartz7801]

@@JackRackam kaloyan third tsar of Bulgaria (Ivan Asen). The latins and Byzantines stopped there fighting after the 4th crusade just to stop him. Kings and Generals did a great series (the video about him is the battle of adrianople)

[@TruthbyMean]

Could you do South Africa please🙏

[@Ian-nl9yd]

Can you do a video on the Kongsi republics?

[@ochoahighs98]

Good video, but actually the first free town of the americas is San Basilio de Palenque, founded in 1603 in modern day Colombia by slaves that escaped the spanish autorities, and still exists to this day

[@itjustjuan5148]

YAY!

[@JonatasAdoM]

Maybe Nany was a Matrix program that helped the maroons that were living in the survival server of Jamaica.

[@henriquecable]

Bernardo Vieira de Melo declared independence from Portugal in Olinda in 1710

[@TransSappho]

4:40 is that a pirates of penzance reference?

[@siyacer]

Interesting

[@s11121sx]

Dude, do about Guillen De Lampart, an Irish guy who hated so much the british that went from spanish pirate to try to be crowned king of Mexico just to mess with the brits

[@aleksandarvil5718]

Queen Nanny's Jamaica = Island Version of Vietnam

[@one-re2ub]

*the proverbial office*

[@madambutterfly1997]

Queen Nanny is THE ONE

[@iacobibrasiliensium2139]

Do Zombi next plz, plz, pretty plz

[@teteteteta2548]

Fear ya nannies, some be packing heat

[@TorturedMongoose2003]

This the guy on the beer bottle right.

[@shinjinobrave]

N-nani? She- she's fast!

[@PHILTente]

4:38 but u gotta give it to the man. in matters vegetable, animal and mineral he was the very modell of a 18th century major general.

[@johneddiecox741]

Could you make a video on the life of emperor Constantine? Or maybe a video covering the life of Joan of Arc?

[@GallowglassVT]

He did a video on Constantine the 11th, but if you mean Constantine the Great, I don't think he's done one yet.

[@johneddiecox741]

@@GallowglassVT i’ve seen that one. But I believe you are correct, he has not done one on Constantine the great. But I really think it would be entertaining to see. What do you think?

[@gypseytails9053]

nanny merely head back to her home planet when she wasnt needed

[@miketacos9034]

Steve Harvey, when he sees who this video is about: "NANI."

[@nikolakocic1523]

Serbian Freedom Fighter and Great Vozd Black George was also said to be impervious to bullets. This was the reason why he was murdered with an axe as the Serbs believed no gun could kill him.

[@emypetcu]

I didn't knew Hulk Hogan was such a here for the Jamaican people

[@Alec11_43]

The fate of the maroons after winning is not too surprising, since the British(among other empires) have a long history of almost completely independent states that are technically a part of the empire and/or under its influence for one reason or another.

[@thesailormercury2]

queen nanny talk about a nanny state .

[@goodlookingcorpse]

Wasn't Henry Morgan Welsh?

[@dontgivamonkeyz]

And not all the slaves were owned by the English but people seem to just use English alot of the time instead of British.

[@ZapQuacc]

Nanny, the queen of Jamaican hillbillies

[@dr.nosborn6330]

Then not really independence, just some nice autonomy like Yanga and the free run town in Mexico

[@julianshepherd2038]

Can the originals owners sue and get their land back?

[@GallowglassVT]

The original owners, the Taino, were destroyed as a homogeneous group. If you mean the descendants of the Maroons, they could, but... well, let's just say there are barriers.

[@cheydinal5401]

Cathy Morganforman

[@rickypoon6406]

Jack are you a Gilbert & Sullivan fan?

[@JackRackam]

I *adore* Pirates of Penzance, never could get into Pinafore though

[@malegria9641]

I know that you referring to her as the mighty nanny is meant to be comedic, but I’m legit kinda scared of nanny lmfao

[@aluminiumsandworm]

thats pretty fuckin badass

[@nowhereman6019]

And that's why you don't take half measures and compromises when doing a revolution.

[@rejvaik00]

"Free" was always subjective in Haiti because once it gained independence they quickly fell into disunity and they gained an endless string of authoritarians and despots as their leaders The island even got split into 3 separate nations at one point To showcase how bad that it was, 100 black families in the 1820s from the US moved to Haiti and in less than a year most of them moved back to the US and this was still DURING the period the US had slavery Meaning it was so chaotic that despite being a "free black republic" the former emigrating black families were still preferential to living in a nation who was still engaging in domestic slave market Versus the chaos of the Haitian government Now all that said yes there's a large fault of both France and other surrounding nations for setting Haiti on that course of failure, Especially as in the case of France forcing them to pay reparations for winning their own war of independence like the sore looser Napoleonic led France was But those emigrating families didn't know that nor of the politics the world was undertaking at the time They simply thought a free nation of black people living in the Americas was a good idea when contrasted to their current living situation in the US.... until they saw the state of it

[@enkiimuto1041]

Oh boy, if you loved this you'll love the "quilombos" of Brazil

[@fedoramaster6035]

5:10 can’t help but wonder if maybe nanny is a butchering of the city of Niani in west Africa. Don’t know how involved it was in the slave trade though, it was at the base of the Niger, not exactly coastal.

[@notusneo]

I really like your content just for you, just for you i will whitelist you from the adblock

[@hinguspingus9773]

William Covfefe

[@RIlianP]

And couple of hundred years later the Jamaicans start worshiping Haile Selassie for some reason.

[@barnsleyman32]

2:45 wrong flag for the english

[@beepbop6542]

I don't think it is

[@dontgivamonkeyz]

@@beepbop6542 Union Flag of Great Britain so technically he is correct. The Scottish used the same flag as the English in this period but its never called a Scottish flag. Before 1707 when James VI became King of Scotland/England Scotland had a slightly different (Scottish/English) highbred flag to this but after 1707 this became the flag of the whole Union.

[@ownerofastolengun]

Didn’t the indigenous ppl have to be conquered before the land became America?

[@sjappiyah4071]

The terms used was “Americas” which does not refer to the modern state of USA, but all the lands of the Western Hemisphere. So the indigenous people were indeed free and native to the Americas prior to European conquest

[@ownerofastolengun]

@@sjappiyah4071 America is a Latin word

[@sjappiyah4071]

@@ownerofastolengun Correct, and it’s the word we use in English to describe the Western Hemisphere. The indigenous natives prior to European arrival had their own terms for the regions in the Hemisphere….

[@donaldluke22]

You should do The Life & Times of Jesus next for Easter (Disclaimer:Jesus was a real historical person)

[@helloiamenergyman]

:)

[@compatriot852]

Native Americans whenever Africans start talking about freedom and reclaiming stuff: *Bruh*

[@stephenjenkins7971]

As usual with freedom and reclamation, there's an asterisk there saying "current inhabitants freedom only, defeated predecessors can go f*** off" or some such.

[@zandaroos553]

Idk why you’re pitting us against each other.

[@stephenjenkins7971]

@@zandaroos553 Is mentioning slavery pitting whites and blacks against each other? Should I mention the Native groups that continued slavery even after it was abolished post-Civil War? Instead of treating entire ethnic/racial groups as allies/rivals or whatever, you should first treat them as they are; varied groups with varying opinions and varying histories. Blacks and Native Americans can still work together for improving their livelihoods, these aren't mutually exclusive.

[@zandaroos553]

@@stephenjenkins7971 I agree, my comment was directed to the person above