Maroon Communities: Enslaved Runaways Establish Hidden Settlements

By the 1670s, colonial records reference communities of escaped enslaved people ('outlyers' in Virginia parlance) living in swamps, forests, and the backcountry. Virginia laws of 1672 explicitly addressed 'negroes that run away and lie out,' suggesting persistent maroon communities. These proto-maroon settlements — precursors to the more organized maroon communities of the 18th century — represented collective resistance and self-determination, with runaways pooling skills and resources to sustain themselves outside the slave system. They raided plantations for food and supplies and offered refuge to newly escaped enslaved people.