Many former Spanish slaves used Anglo-Spanish war as a chance to free themselves and fled into the mountainous and forested regions of the colony to join the ranks of surviving Tainos. As interracial marriage became extremely prevalent, the two racial groups underwent assimilation. The escaped slaves and their descendants, known as Maroons, were the source of many disturbances in the colony, raiding plantations and occupying parts of the island's interior. Imported African slaves would frequently escape to Maroon territory, known as Cockpit Country. Over the first seventy-six years of British rule, skirmishes between Maroon warriors and the British Army grew increasingly common, along with rebellions by enslaved Blacks.
In 1728, when the First Maroon War began between the English and #Maroons. Largely owing to the easily defendable, dense forest of Cockpit Country, the British were unsuccessful in defeating the Maroons. Following negotiations, the Maroons were granted semi-autonomy within their five towns, living under a British supervisor and their native leader. In 1795 tensions between the Trelawny Parish Maroons and the British erupted into the Second Maroon War. The conflict ended on a less favorable term for Maroons, with a bloody stalemate reigning over the island for five months. Following the killings of plantation owners and their families and the release of slaves by the Maroons, Major-General George Walpole had the British trap the Maroons in Trelawney Town via the use of armed posts and bloodhounds, pushing them to accept defeat in early January 1796. Fearing British victory, the Maroons accepted open discussions in March. This delay was used as a pretext to have the large majority of the Trelawney Maroons deported to Nova Scotia. They were later moved to Sierra Leone.#craradio