Nanny was born c. 1686 in Ghana, a member of the Ashanti tribe and brought to Jamaica as a slave. She was sold to a sugar plantation in Saint Thomas Parish. As a young girl, Nanny and her brothers, Accompong, Cudjoe, Johnny and Quao fled the plantations and hid in Blue Mountains. Eventually they split up to form Maroon communities across Jamaica.
The Maroons were a group of former Jamaican slaves who fled their oppressive existence to resist European colonialism, a lot of the former slaves were from West Africa, similar to Nanny. They were often very skilled and adept fighters who used their knowledge of the land to their advantage. Oftentimes, the Maroons were intermarry with native Islanders, the Arawak peoples.
In 1720, Nanny and Quao settled and controlled a parcel of land (500 acres), that gave them strategic advantage over the invading Brits. It was named Nanny Town. The members of the community raised cattle, crops, and invade and burn plantations for weapons and other goods. They'd rescue other slaves and bring them back to their community. Many raids by the British were done on this town to no avail.
In over 30 years, Nanny believed to have freed over 800 slaves. She would also serve as one of the community's healers and it would increase her esteem.
It is uncertain about what year Nanny died, some believe it was as early as 1734 others as late as 1755. Either way, she is the only "Queen Nanny".
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