Freedom Schooner Amistad is probably the most famous of the
Tall Ships, thanks to a 1997 Steven Spielberg film based on the story
of the actual Amistad revolt and ensuing legal battle.
In June of 1839, about 50 Africans who had recently been captured
from Mendeland (present-day Sierra Leone) took control of La Amistad,
the ship that was transporting them between Cuban ports, destined for a
life of slavery. After seizing control of the ship, they instructed the
two remaining crew members to set sail for Africa. Instead, the crew
headed for the northeast coast of the US, where the Amistad was
eventually captured and all Mendeland survivors were taken prisoner
again, this time by US authorities.
Over the next two years, a courtroom drama ensued. American
abolitionists (including, at the eleventh hour, former president John
Quincy Adams) took up the cause of the Mendeland prisoners. As it turns
out, they had the law on their side. Though slavery was still a
national institution in the US domestically, various treaties had
rendered the international trade of slaves illegal. Both the
Connecticut District Court and the US Supreme Court recognized that the
Mendeland prisoners had been illegally captured in 1839 and ruled that
they be set free.
Since its launch in 2000, the Freedom Schooner Amistad, owned and
operated by a not-for-profit group based in New Haven, Connecticut, has
been sailing the world, educating visitors and viewers about the
Amistad rebellion and the slave trade in general.
One thing to keep in mind as you tour the Freedom Schooner Amistad:
The real Amistad, though it transported slaves on occasion, was not a
custom-built slave ship. Those were far more horrific constructions
than the typical cargo ships of the era. Slave ships often had
half-height cargo decks so that larger numbers of people could be
chained into sitting or reclined positions for the transatlantic
voyage. —Erica Butler
This article appears in Jul 16-22, 2009.
Great story! An important part of everyone’s history in the new world.
and what would you know about this history, or more importantly the lingering effects of slavery on the black population not just of Nova Scotia but all of america, for someone who claims to be of scottish descent.
Funny the main African character from the L’amistad later became a slave runner himself.
There is no documented evidence to support that Sengbe traded slaves.
@Sham wow guy – You are WRONG – the only source mentioning Sengbe Pieh’s involvement in slave trading is a 1953 novel by William A. Owens called “Slave Mutiny: The Revolt on the Schooner Amistad.” What is more, this ironic twist was suggested by Owens’ editor. The longer answer is in Howard Jones’ article in the Journal of American History of December 2000