fighting for self-government and the right to own land. After tough negotiations with the representatives of the Crown, he obtained land rights and privileges for the first Maroon town, San Lorenzo de los Negros in Veracruz, later renamed Yanga after its founder (Martínez Montiel, 1992, p. 542). The nature of the negotiations and the continuing relationship with the colonial authorities is instructive. Maroons in Yanga collaborated with the Spanish for the recapture and return of captives. The town was granted full militia status, not because the Spanish wanted this, but because they depended on the Maroons' knowledge of the fortresses and hideouts of runaways and their ability to manage the terrain to help recapture them. This agreement was also made in the expectation that as a result, Maroons would be 'helped' to return to the plantations and become 'obliging citizens' (Vinson III, 2001, p. 22).