About this sheet
Antique View of Trelawney Town, Jamaica Maroons, Bryan Edwards, 1818
Original antique engraved view titled "Trelawney Town, the Chief Residence of the Maroons," depicting the historic Maroon settlement in Jamaica within a dramatic mountainous tropical landscape.
The engraving was published in the 1818 London edition of Bryan Edwards' "History of the British West Indies," an important contemporary work on the history, geography and colonial society of the Caribbean.
The scene shows Trelawney Town spread across a broad valley, surrounded by wooded hills and mountains. Houses, paths, cultivated land, palm trees, figures and livestock are carefully depicted, creating a detailed early 19th-century view of the settlement and its environment.
Trelawney Town was one of the principal settlements of the Jamaican Maroons, communities descended largely from Africans who had escaped slavery and established autonomous settlements in Jamaica's interior. The Maroons maintained a distinct political and military position within colonial Jamaica and played a major role in the island's history.
The subject is closely associated with the Second Maroon War of 1795–1796, in which the Trelawney Town Maroons came into conflict with the British colonial authorities. Following the conflict, many members of the community were deported first to Nova Scotia and later to Sierra Leone.
Bryan Edwards (1743–1800), a British politician, merchant, plantation owner and historian, spent considerable time in Jamaica and wrote extensively about the West Indies. His works remain important historical sources for the colonial Caribbean, while also reflecting the perspective of a prominent defender of the plantation system and opponent of abolition.
This engraving is therefore of particular historical interest for collectors of Jamaican history, African diaspora history, Caribbean colonial history and early views of the West Indies.
Author: Bryan Edwards (1743–1800)
Title: Trelawney Town, the Chief Residence of the Maroons
Subject: Trelawney Town, Jamaican Maroons
Technique: Engraving on paper
Origin: London, England
Publication: History of the British West Indies
Date: 1818
Period: Early 19th Century
Style: Georgian / Regency
Condition:
Good antique condition with general age-related toning, foxing and scattered spotting, particularly in the margins. Some minor edge wear and paper irregularities consistent with age and removal from the original volume. The engraved image remains strong and well defined. Please study the photographs carefully as they form part of the condition description.
Other maps and plates from the same 1818 edition of Bryan Edwards' History of the British West Indies are also available.
An original antique engraving, more than 200 years old. Not a modern reproduction.
Sold unframed. Any framed images or interior views shown are for presentation and inspiration only.
