Great Dismal Swamp maroons

in ''Harper's New Monthly Magazine'', 1856. The first Africans brought to the English colony of Virginia arrived in 1619 on the White Lion, an English privateer operating under a letter of marque from the Dutch Republic. These Africans, numbering roughly 20-strong, had been seized from the Portuguese slave ship São João Bautista by the crew of White Lion as the slaver was transporting them from Portuguese Angola to the Americas. The Africans were legally deemed to be indentured servants, since slave codes were not passed in Virginia until 1661. As indentured servants, they were automatically entitled to freedom after the passage of a certain period of time, and were also allowed to purchase freedom as well. Other indentured servants gained freedom by converting to Christianity, since the English colonists of Virginia were opposed to the enslavement of Christians. At the beginning of the 18th century, maroons came to live in the Great Dismal Swamp. The presence of hunting bolas indicates that the area may have served as a hunting ground as far back as 5,000 years ago. Some maroon communities were set up near the Dismal Swamp Canal, built between 1793 and 1805, which is still in operation. These maroons interacted more with the outside world than those who lived in the swamp's interior, and had more contact with outsiders once canal construction began. Some took jobs on the canal, and with increased contact with the outside world, some people living in the swamp eventually moved away. This allowed for many of these communities to live in peace and to live freely. Maroon communities would also use only natural resources they found in the Great Dismal Swamp to build structures, tools, and other resources. Other more settled communities in this time period would have left behind mass-produced goods, but because of the natural resources maroon communities used, everything marking establishment has eroded away. These communities disbanded for a number of reasons. When the American Civil War began, many people living in these communities left to fight for the Union. Researchers have criticized the lack of acknowledgment of these communities, due to both the racial makeup of the community and because they left few artifacts for archaeologists to recover and study. According to American University researcher Daniel Sayers: "There were hardships and deprivations, for sure ... But no overseer was going to whip them here. No one was going to work them in a cotton field from sunup to sundown, or sell their spouses and children. They were free. They had emancipated themselves." == Location ==

The Great Dismal Swamp spans an area of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina between the James River near Norfolk, Virginia, and the Albemarle Sound near Edenton, North Carolina. The swamp is estimated to have originally been over , but human encroachment has destroyed up to 90% of the swampland. Today, the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge is just over . The swamp also includes Lake Drummond, which is about 3,100 acres (13 square km). The Great Dismal Swamp is now preserved and protected from further destruction by the Dismal Swamp Act of 1974 which included Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, and North Carolina's declaration of the Dismal Swamp State Park. ==References in literature and art==

In 1842, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the poem "The Slave in Dismal Swamp" In 2023, the historical fiction novel won the Newbery Medal as well as the Coretta Scott King Award. == Research ==

The Great Dismal Swamp Landscape Study began in 2002 and was led by Dan Sayers, a historical archaeologist at American University's Department of Anthropology. In 2003, he conducted the first excavation in the swamp, and in 2009, in partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (which manages the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge) and American University, initiated the annual research program titled the Great Dismal Swamp Archaeology Field School. This effort continues the work of the landscape study. It examines the impact of colonialism, slavery, and development on the swamp, especially on the self-sustaining maroon settlements in the swamp's interior. It also studies native lifestyles before European contact. Prior to Sayers' efforts, no field research had been done on the Great Dismal Swamp maroons. Even today, the swamp is impenetrable in places; a research group gave up in 2003 because it lost its way so many times. Sites deep in the swamp's interior are still so remote that a guide is needed to find them. The National Endowment for the Humanities gave the "We The People Award" of $200,000 to the project in 2010. In fall 2011, a permanent exhibit was opened by the National Park Service to commemorate those who lived in the swamp during pre-Civil War times. Sayers summarizes: "These groups are very inspirational. As details unfold, we are increasingly able to show how people have the ability, as individuals and communities, to take control of their lives, even under oppressive conditions." ==See also==