Aluku Maroons

Also known as: Boni

Details

Organization Timeline

Captain Oorsinga reports the difficult approach to Fort Buku

📅 4 May 1772

A colonial officer reported that the Aluku stronghold at Buku was protected by marshland and a concealed path. The fort’s location and defenses helped Maroon communities withstand VOC-style colonial...

Baron’s forces raid Poelwijk plantation

📅 30 June 1772

A witness account records Baron’s raid on Poelwijk. Baron and Boni’s Aluku forces attacked plantations and freed enslaved people, undermining the labor regime and colonial authority. The account comes...

Aluku fighters resist the colonial assault on Fort Buku

📅 20 September 1772

The Battle of Buku formed part of the Boni wars. Dutch forces eventually entered and destroyed the fortified settlement, but the Aluku had used its swamp setting and defenses to resist capture. This...

Colonel Fourgeoud receives orders to fight Boni and Baron

📅 22 March 1776

The Society of Suriname instructed Colonel Fourgeoud to protect the colony from Boni and Baron. The order expanded a militarized campaign against Aluku communities. Colonial authorities recruited free...

A colonial interrogation preserves Boni’s words

📅 25 April 1776

A record of an interrogation contains a statement attributed to Boni. The source was created by colonial officials after a person connected to Boni’s community was captured. It offers evidence of...

Boni is killed during the continuing struggle for Aluku freedom

📅 3 March 1793

A Society of Suriname record reports Boni’s death. Boni had led a prolonged war against plantation slavery and colonial military power. His death did not erase Aluku resistance or political life;...