The Maroon Queen
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Vital statistics | |
Title | Queen of Maroon Island |
Gender | Female |
Status | Alive |
Ships | None |
Relationships | Mr. Scott (Husband, deceased) Madi (Daughter) |
Appearances | First: XXII. Last: XXXVIII. |
Portrayed by | Moshidi Motshegwa |
The Maroon Queen is the leader of the Maroon Island community of former slaves.
Biography[]
Background[]
The Maroon Queen was originally from Africa, before becoming a slave in Nassau, and the wife of Mr. Scott, with whom she had a daughter, Madi. During the War of the Spanish Succession the town of Nassau became a haven for English privateers, and under threat from Spain. So her husband secured her and her daughter passage to a remote escaped slave community on the Maroon Island. Meanwhile, Eleanor Guthrie believed them both dead. She eventually became the leader of the community, while her husband stayed in Nassau to provide the community with supplies[1].
Season Three[]
When James Flint and his crew are captured on the island, the Maroon Queen is wary of the untrustworthy pirates. When the pirates are brought before her, she asks who their captain is, and Flint steps forward, and introduces himself at her command. She then asks who their quartermaster is, and John Silver steps forward. She asks him if he speaks for his men, and when he answers that he does, she says she will speak with him. She asks how the pirates arrived at the island and Silver tells her that they were defeated in battle and thrown by a storm onto her shores, promising her that there was no design in it. The Queen then asks if he were in her position, if he would wager the lives of all those in his care on the word of a pirate. She then orders the pirates imprisoned, but chooses one for interrogation.
When the pirates are put in cages, they are introduced to Ben Gunn, the last of 13 crew members of a slave trader. He explains that the Maroon Queen rules over the Maroon Camp, while her husband salvages items that can't be produced on the island but are necessary for survival for them abroad. He also says that from the deference Madi is shown, he assumes that she is the Queen's daughter and next in line to the throne. However, her daughter, Madi, is intrigued by the pirates knowing that many of them would know her often estranged father. At night, Madi has John Silver brought to speak to her. He tries to convince her that they have similar hatred toward England. It seems to be to no avail, but afterwards she goes to her mother and voices her concerns. saying the Maroons and the pirates share a common enemy.
The Queen rebuffs her, saying the pirates simply cannot be trusted.
She explains to her daughter that she and her father built the Camp as a refuge from the world of the pirates. Madi retorts that they rely on the things her father sends back from the world of the pirates, and they aren't as separated as the Queen thinks. The Queen insists that they are separate enough that have no need to see, steal from them, fight them or wear their chains again. She tells Madi that she has never had to see the horrors of slavery, for the Queen has worked hard to ensure that. But the Queen remembers those things well, and intends to hold those horrors at bay for as long as she is able. She tells Madi that every day they keep that separation, children are born in the camp and families exist. The separation ensures that and their secrecy ensures the separation. Madi asks once again to consult her father, but the Queen puts her foot down. She says that he aids them from his position in Nassau, and he may have called some of those men friends, but when it comes to the safety of the Camp, her word governs[2].
Soon the escaped fort slaves and the wounded “away” King, Mr. Scott, arrive from Nassau. Flint is granted a private audience with the gravely injured Mr. Scott. He is in favour of a partnership with Flint, now that they cannot be supplied from Nassau. However, the Maroon Queen has the final say. Flint explains to his crew that he will offer the deal of a partnership to the Queen. If she refuses, he will hold her hostage with a small knife he discreetly pocketed during his meeting with Scott. He will demand that his crew be escorted safely to the beach, or the Queen will die within days of the King. The Queen speaks with her husband, who tells her that she thinks she can ignore this, but she can't. The Queen responds that she promised to hear what Flint had to say, and asks how that is ignoring anything. Scott responds that he needs her to listen. She says she knows that he believes that Flint is the answer to their problems, and she would like to agree if only to give Scott peace of mind so he can rest, but she says she refuses to lie to him.
Flint is called before the Maroon Queen to discuss the proposed partnership. With Silver’s help, Flint polishes up his sliver tongue, and speaks honestly. He tells her about his past, and how England has taken much from both of them. He tells her that they can take things back together, starting with Nassau. Together, with Nassau as a launching point, they can begin a slave rebellion that will spread across the West Indies. The Queen has her doubts, reminding Flint that Woodes Rogers holds the street with his pardons, and has a full company of British Regulars and a small navy to defend the town. Flint responds that Rogers is responsible for an administrative nightmare, an inoperative fort and a town full of hunters who may be placated for the moment, but Flint can rally them to his cause. Flint says he will reclaim the Pirate Fleet, and when united with the Maroons, they will have the strength to retake Nassau. A partnership is agreed, and the pirates freed[1].
While Flint is away, trying to reclaim the Pirate Fleet, Silver remains in the camp to continue solidifying the alliance. The Maroon Queen and Madi attend a healing ceremony for Mr. Scott, which Madi notices Silver is absent from[3].
After Flint returns from Ocracoke Island, having failed to secure Blackbeard’s fleet, Flint plans to go to Nassau to find Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny, and their cache of pearls. Whilst there, John Silver will try and recruit new men. Charles Vane reveals that he came across a trove of Spanish intelligence, which said that if Rogers does not return all of the Spanish gold, including the caches of gems, Spain will burn Nassau to the ground. They plan on finding the cache and Jack and using it to force Rogers to commit all his forces to an undesireable battlefield that would play to the outnumbered pirates and Maroons advantage. Kofi then asks what battlefield they had in mind, and Flint responds the Maroon Island. The Queen then asks everyone else to clear the room. insists that Madi will accompany them to retrieve a store of guns hidden by her husband. Furthermore, she says that while it is customary for the pirates to allow the captain complete authority when in battle, her word and Flint's word will govern together or not at all. In the Queen's absence, Madi will take up that role[4].
When they return, the Queen meets them at the shores of the Camp. Flint informs the Queen that they now have a week to prepare for Governor Rogers' attack on the island. The Queen acknowledges that they have much preparation to do and little time to do it. She then notices the bruised Chidi, and asks what happened to him. Madi replies that it was all a misunderstanding that has since been sorted. Scott lingers on his deathbed, and the entire community awaits the news. When her husband soon passes away peacefully, Kofi announces it by blowing his horn. The entire community mourns his death, and a funeral ceremony is held[5].
The night before the battle, Flint convinces the Queen that they need to bury the cache of gems in a secret place that way Rogers' forces will be unable to retrieve it. However, her condition is that Silver is among those who know of the cache's location, along with Flint and Jack Rackham. As overwhelming English forces converge on the island, the Maroon Queen takes refuge with the women and children in a cave under the encampment. As the soldiers approach the camp, Madi arrives at the cave with a boy who had been hiding by the river. Madi then informs her mother that everyone is accounted for and where they need to be. The Queen says everyone but Madi, saying she knows Madi feels like she isn't where she belongs. Madi explains that she feels that she should fight alongside the pirates and her people, to show them that not only are they leading them into the war, but are willing to lead them through it. Despite her objections, the Queen relents and Madi helps lead the defenders with Silver. In doing so, Madi affirms her role as the community’s new leader.
When Madi joins Silver on the ramparts, he asks her if the Queen objected to Madi's presence on the front lines. Madi says that she believes that her mother wanted to, and that it went against her nature to allow it. But the Queen allowed it because she understands that if they survive the battle, she will likely have to step aside to let Madi lead them through the war. Silver remarks that it is a hard thing to look your successor in the eye, but the Queen could do far worse than Madi. After the battle is won, Madi sits at the table during the meeting between Captains Flint, Teach, Rackham, and John Silver over how to proceed in their war to reclaim Nassau and from there begin a slave rebellion in the New World. The Queen stands to the side, allowing her daughter to take up the mantle of leadership[6].
Season Four[]
The Maroon Queen remains on theMaroon Island, while Madi joins Silver and Flint in prosecuting the war to retake Nassau. After the Invasion of Nassau ends in complete failure, Madi asks Flint if the war he promised the Queen is over. She reminds Flint that he promised her mother that they would unite pirates and slaves to fight against the British Empire, but now their fleet is destroyed and their army weakened and Silver, the only pirate Madi trusted, is dead[7].
Kofi is sent to retrieve the cache of gems from the island by Silver after Flint agrees to Eleanor's proposal to trade the gems for Fort Nassau and Rogers' forces leaving the island. Silver believes that the Queen will agree if it is someone she trusts like Kofi bearing the message. Billy Bones later confronts Silver over the deal, and Silver reminds him that they promised, Madi, her mother and the Maroons that they were all committed to the war, but Billy says this was Flint's promise and not his[8].
When Flint and Silver return to the island with their remaining men after barely escaping the devastating Spanish sack of Nassau incited by Rogers, they find it full of pirates and ex-slaves from all over the New World who want to join the revolution to join the war against the British Empire. The Queen informs Flint and Silver that once they heard Nassau had fallen, they flocked to the Camp to join the war[9].
The Queen is informed of her daughter's death, and grieves privately, sitting in Madi's room and looking at a necklace that had belonged to her. John Silver enters the room. He says that he wasn't able to say goodbye to Madi, so he doesn't know what she would have wanted him to say in this moment. Silver says that he and Madi had grown close so he might have some insight. Silver says that Madi was curious and strong, not made for being hidden from the world, which she was able to see before she died. Silver adds that she was fighting for something she believed in when she died. The Queen remarks that Silver knew her daughter well. Silver answers that he loved her, and she would have wanted her mother to know that too. Silver then leaves for the war meeting. When he arrives, Flint asks how the queen is holding up, and Silver replies that she is grieving. At the meeting, the only dissenting voice among them is Julius, the leader of the plantation slaves. When things grow heated between him and Silver, the Queen steps in and asks to speak with Julius privately, and Ruth goes with them.
The Queen explains that she once thought like Julius, that because she had reason to mistrust the pirates, it meant that she had to. She says that she was wrong, and they can find common interest with them, and that she has fought alongside them. Julius says he has also fought alongside them, but he did so to find security, but what they want does not sound like security to him. The Queen says that there is no lasting security to be had at the island, and they are fighting to change that. Julius replies that nothing is lasting, but to him, the Maroon community is everything he’d dreamed of; a place to be free and safe for months, even years. He adds that he has heard that there is treasure buried on the island that could purchase whatever is needed to survive. The Queen says that no one has been this close to changing the world before. Julius replies that no one changes the world all at once like they are trying, the world is too strong for that.
A message is sent from Nassau, revealing that Madi is alive and is Rogers' captive. Rogers demands the cache in exchange for Madi's life. The Queen meets privately with Flint and Silver to discuss the message. Flint asks her who else knows about it and she tells them no one. The Queen explains that while her daughter is everything to her, as she is to Silver too, the cache is critical to the war they are trying to lead. If they were to dig it out under the cover of night, it would destroy the fragile alliance. Silver argues that they should be open about it, and convince the pirates and Maroons that Madi is critical to the war effort. Silver says that some of them might agree, but Flint replies that it doesn't matter if some of them agree. Silver is aghast at the idea of letting Rogers kill her, but Flint responds by saying it will divide the men to even suggest this idea. Flint and Silver continue arguing about whether or not the war is more important than Madi's life, but Flint is able to convince Silver that they will return to Nassau to rescue Madi by force[10].
In the end, Rackham make the deal with Eleanor's grandmother to revitalise Nassau as a legitimate port under new Governor Augustus Featherstone, while keeping the Maroon Island community safe. Julius, Silver, as well as Madi choose to remain in the community[11].
Personality[]
The Maroon Queen is the undisputed leader of the ex-slave community; even her husband must bow to her decisions. Her people follow her orders without question. Unlike her daughter, who is curious about the pirates as a link to her somewhat estranged father, the Maroon Queen is naturally distrustful of them. She is quite astute and has a good sense of Flint, insisting that her word and his word must govern as equals, or not at all. Her natural caution, and the community’s increasingly precarious situation, seems to inevitably mean she will eventually step aside for her daughter.
Memorable Quotes[]
"The men in that cage are deceitful men. They will say things that will sound appealing to you, especially to you. But you must not let them sway you" The Maroon Queen.
Trivia[]
- She may be inspired by the real life Queen Nanny, the leader of a community of escaped slaves in the mountainous interior of Jamaica.
Appearances[]
XIX. | XX. | XXI. | XXII. | XXIII. |
XXIV. | XXV. | XXVI. | XXVII. | XXVIII. |
XXIX. | XXX. | XXXI. | XXXII. | XXXIII. |
XXXIV. | XXXV. | XXXVI. | XXXVII. | XXXVIII. |