Queen Nanny, Granny Nanny or Nanny (c. 1686 – c. 1755), was an 18th-century… Read Full Bio ↴Queen Nanny, Granny Nanny or Nanny (c. 1686 – c. 1755), was an 18th-century leader of the Jamaican Maroons. Much of what is known about her comes from oral history, as little textual evidence exists. She led a community of formerly enslaved Africans called the Windward Maroons. In the early 18th century, they fought a guerrilla war over many years against British authorities in the Colony of Jamaica. According to Maroon legend, Queen Nanny was born in what is today Ghana of the Akan or Ashanti people. According to the oral tradition and at least one documentary source, she was never enslaved. Although widely assumed that she arrived in Jamaica as a slave, how she arrived in Jamaica is not certain.

In 1976 Jamaica declared Nanny as their only female national hero celebrating her success as a leader, military tactician and strategist. During the years of warfare, the British suffered significant losses in their encounters with the Windward Maroons of eastern Jamaica. Maroons attributed their mastery over the British to the successful use of supernatural powers by Nanny. Having failed to defeat them on the battle field, the British sued for peace signing a treaty with them on April 20, 1740. The treaty stopped the hostilities, provided for state sanctioned freedom for the Maroons, and granted 500 acres of land to Nanny and her followers. The village built on the land grant still stands and today is called Moore Town. It is also known as the New Nanny Town. Modern members of the Moore Town celebrate April 20, 1740 as a holiday. Her image is also on the Jamaican $500 bill which is called a Nanny.