While thousands of enslaved Africans in Trinidad celebrated Emancipation in 1834 and full freedom four years later— one community had already secured its liberty years earlier.
The Merikins were formerly enslaved Africans who escaped during the War of 1812, fought alongside the British Colonial Marines, and were rewarded with freedom and land in south Trinidad, where they established villages that still stand today.
More than two centuries later, their descendants are keeping that extraordinary legacy alive.
Angelo Jedidiah and Neil Romain tell us more.