Carucerean Maroons
 Photograph of a Maroon family c. 1910 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 60,000 (2014, est.) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
 Carucere | |
| Côte Nord | 13,000 |
| Côte Azure | 13,000 |
| Plaines Anne | 12,000 |
| Vallée Verte | 11,000 |
| New Sheaford | 6,000 |
| Grand Port | 4,000 |
| Other | 5,000 |
| Languages | |
| Moutagnar, Gaullican, & Papotement | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity & Winti | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Rwizi, Bahio-Carucerans, and Sisulu | |
Carucerean Maroons, also known as Marrons, Marous, or Moutagnar (People of the mountains), are the descendants of enslaved Bahians in Carucere that escaped from the plantations and established communities of free black people in the mountainous interior and western regions of Marien. Although Maroons are considered to be Bahio-Carucereans, they are typically distinguished from the Noir, the descendants of Bahian slaves brought by Gaullica and emancipated by Estmere in 1795.
The first Maroons were Bahians who were enslaved during the first period of Estmerish rule over Carucere from 1530 to 1720. Those who were able to escape and develop refugee communities integrated with the remnants of the Carucere's indigenous Nati peoples, forming a new ethnic group. The majority of Maroons are descended from the slaves that escaped when the colony was abandoned after the Gaullican Empire razed the colony during the Ten Years' War. Between 20 to 30 thousand slaves escaped into the interior of Marien, where they joined the existing Maroon communities. Tensions between the Maroons and the new Gaullican colonial authorities were eventually settled by a treaty that granted them autonomy in exchange for them ceasing to raid the colony.
The Maroons were further bolstered after Estmere seized the colony in the 1770s and additional slaves fled inland. The importance of the Maroons to the colonial authorities declined after slavery was abolished in 1795. The Maroon communities continued to live in relative isolation in Western and Central Marien throughout the majority of the 18th and 19th centuries. However the the island's development during the late 19th and early 20th centuries has led to conflicts with the Maroons and reduced their isolation from the rest of the island.
Today Carucerean Maroons continue to form a distinct autonomous and separate identity within the Bahio-Carucerean community. The community is typically subdivided into High Maroons, those who live in the mountain highlands, and Low Maroons, those who live in less remote regions. Generally Low Maroons are more culturally similar to Noir Bahians, and are less culturally distinct. As most High Maroons continue to live in remote inaccessible communities in the mountains, they have maintained many distinct cultural traditions. The largest Maroon settlements that continue to exist today are Bouna in New Sheaford and Musha in Vallée Verte. Nevertheless Maroons face numerous issues which include extreme poverty, conflicts over land rights with developers, and the loss of their distinct culture and identity.