Before Emancipation: The Merikins who won their freedom

This is a story carried through generations by the descendants of the Merikins. They are formerly enslaved Africans who escaped plantations in the USA to answer the call to fight alongside the British during the War of 1812, eventually making Trinidad their new home. As drums rolled and ancestral chants rose across Trinidad and Tobago for Emancipation Day, many honored the momentous end of African slavery. But there is another freedom story—one that began nearly two decades before August 1, 1834. For Akilah Jaramogi, a sixth-generation Merikin descendant, Emancipation is not just a date on the calendar, but a living history of generational resilience. “We were always told that we are Merikins. We are a group of Africans that came, you know, long before plantation life was over. Long before Africans were emancipated in Trinidad and across the Caribbean and the Americas. So, that is something we held on to,” Jaramogi told Guardian Media

During the War of 1812, the British offered freedom to enslaved Africans who escaped plantations and joined their military efforts. “The British army was very weak, and they needed support. So they put that notice out there for all to join the British army, whoever it is. It wasn’t just Africans or enslaved Africans who wanted to run away and fight on the side of the British to strengthen their army,” she said. For many Africans who were forced to endure the brutality of slavery, this was their pathway to claiming freedom – a right they had long been denied for centuries. Those who were victorious in their escape became part of the British naval service as Colonial Marines. When the war ended, Britain honored its promise and eventually settled the soldiers and their families in Trinidad between 1815 and 1816. They arrived free, ready to start their new lives.

According to historical records, the six Merikin Company Settlements were established in southern Trinidad. These included First Company (present-day Hindustan area), Second Company (the Matilda area), Third Company (along the Indian Walk Road, formerly known as Indian Trail), Fourth Company (Hardbargain/Williamsville), and the Fifth and Sixth Company Villages, which remain known by their original names today. In their new homes, Merikins wished to develop new identities and separate themselves from the label attached to their former oppressors, the Americans. “We did not want to be called Americans, so we just took off the ‘A’ and called ourselves Merikins.” With them, the Merikins brought traditions, skills and cultural practices, many of which have become woven into this country’s national identity, such as the Baptist religion, stick fighting and agricultural practices.

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And while there are reported to be 781 settlers who arrived in Trinidad, Jaramogi estimates that today there are roughly 200,000 Merikin descendants. She believes many descendants may not even realize their connection to this piece of history. Yet before all of that, she says, there is something else that must be protected – their ancestral lands. This, Jaramogi says, has gotten ‘smaller and smaller’, particularly with the destruction of burial grounds.

“Each Merikin got 16 acres of land. Other people deem us as ‘oh yeah, those Merikins feel that they are privileged.’ But yes, we were privileged when we came. We were free while plantation life was still going on. Other cultures came in. The indentured workers and others came in and encroached on our spaces,” Jaramogi expressed. “We can’t sit by and let what our ancestors fought for, just you know, be taken away…but this is what we have to do in order to preserve our legacy for the next generation.” But she encourages people from all walks of life, including State officials, to visit the Company Villages and the Merikin Heritage Foundation to learn more about Merikin culture and traditions. Most importantly, she wants them to learn about the ancestors who fought for their freedom.

And for Jaramogi, this connection should extend beyond Emancipation Day celebrations. “This is a wake-up call for all Africans in T&T, all African descendants to wake up and find yourself and understand who you are and understand your true identity,” she said. “It’s just about being proud of your African ancestry. It’s about being proud about your ancestors and to pay homage. Never stop paying homage to your African ancestors, because that’s all they’re waiting for. For us to appease them, celebrate them, and to just be of them. Asé.

Note: Jaramogi, who is the president of the Merikin Heritage Foundation, said that this story of ‘freedom’ was not taught to her in school or introduced through her textbooks. Instead, it was told through the voices of her elders as she grew up in Sixth Company Village, one of the historic Merikin settlements in south Trinidad.