La Amistad (Spanish: friendship) was a Spanish merchant ship on which a rebellion by the slaves it was carrying broke out in 1839 when the schooner was travelling along the coast of Cuba. The ship was taken over by a group of Africans who had been kidnapped from their homes in Africa and illegally sold into slavery. The Africans were later apprehended on the vessel near Long Island, New York by the United States Navy and taken into custody. The ensuing widely publicized court cases in the United States helped the abolitionism movement along. In 1841, a federal trial court found that the initial transport of the Africans across the Atlantic had been illegal and that they were not legally slaves but free; after being affirmed on March 9, 1841 by the United States Supreme Court on appeal, the Africans travelled home in 1842. A ship is a large, usually decked watercraft. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ... A monument celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, erected in Victoria Tower Gardens, Millbank, Westminster, London Wiktionary has a definition of: Slavery Slavery can mean one or more related conditions which involve control of a person against his or her will, enforced by violence or... This article is about Long Island in New York State. ... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... This poster depicting the horrific conditions on slave ships was influencial in mobilizing public opinion against slavery in Great Britain and the United States. ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one_fifth of its surface. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States to interpret and decide questions of federal law, including... 1842 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Rebellion at sea

The voyage of the Amistad began on June 28, 1839 in Havana, Cuba (which belonged to Spain), where the 53 Africans had purportedly been bought as slaves. The ship was headed to Puerto Principe, Cuba. However, on July 2, 1839, one of the Africans named Cinqué was able to free himself and the other captives. They killed the ship's cook (who had earlier scared the slaves by describing how they would be killed and eaten upon arrival) and the captain in a struggle in which two of the Africans also died. Two sailors escaped. The lives of the two purported slaveowners, Ruiz and Montez, were spared, with the understanding that they would steer the ship to Africa. The captain's personal slave also survived. This article is in need of attention. ... Havana (Spanish: San Cristóbal de La Habana) is the capital of Cuba and, with a population of 2. ... July 2 is the 183rd day of the year (184th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 182 days remaining. ... World map showing location of Africa A satellite composite image of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest continent in both area and population, after Asia. ...

The navigator managed to deceive the Africans and steered the Amistad north along the coast of the United States, where the strange ship was sighted repeatedly. They arrived off Long Island, New York on August 26, 1839, and anchored within half a mile of the shore. Some of the Africans went on shore to procure supplies of water and provisions, and the vessel was then discovered by the United States naval brig Washington. Lieutenant Gedney, commanding the Washington, assisted by his officers and crew, took possession of the Amistad, and of the Africans on shore and in the vessel, brought them into the District of Connecticut, and there presented a written claim under admiralty law (that is, a libel) for salvage of the vessel, the cargo, and the negroes. It has been alleged that Gedney chose to land in Connecticut, because, unlike in New York, slavery was still technically legal there (though extremely rare), and he hoped to profit from the slaves. August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... State nickname: The Constitution State Other U.S. States Capital Hartford Largest city Bridgeport Governor M. Jodi Rell Official languages English Area 14,371 km² (48th)  - Land 12,559 km²  - Water 1,809 km² (12. ... Admiralty law (usually referred to as simply admiralty and also referred to as maritime law) is a distinct body of law which governs maritime questions and offenses. ... In English and American law, and systems based on them, libel and slander are two forms of defamation (or defamation of character), which is the tort or delict of making a false statement of fact that injures someones reputation. ... State nickname: Empire State Other U.S. States Capital Albany Largest city New York Governor George Pataki Official languages None Area 141,205 km² (27th)  - Land 122,409 km²  - Water 18,795 km² (13. ...

The Amistad Cases

A case before the United States Circuit Court in Hartford, Connecticut was filed, alleging mutiny and murder. Various parties also claimed property rights to the slaves: Ruiz and Montez, Lieutenant Gedney and Captain Henry Green (who had met the Africans while on shore in Long Island and claimed to have helped in their capture). The Spanish government asked that the ship, cargo and slaves be restored to Spain under the Pinckney treaty of 1795 between Spain and the United States. Article 9 of this treaty holds that "all ships and merchandises of what nature soever, which shall be rescued out of the hands of pirates or robbers on the high seas, [...] shall be restored, entire, to the true proprietor." The judge ruled that the court lacked jurisdiction as to the mutiny and murder charges, because the alleged acts took place on a Spanish ship in Spanish waters. He directed the U.S. District Court to sort out the various property claims. The United States Courts of Appeals (or circuit courts) are the mid-level appellate courts of the United States federal court system. ... Hartford is the capital of the state of Connecticut, in Hartford County. ... Mutiny is the crime of conspiring to disobey orders that the mutineer is legally obliged to obey, for example by crew members of a ship. ... Pinckneys Treaty, also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo or the Treaty of Madrid, was signed in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on October 27, 1795 and established intentions of friendship between the United States and Spain. ... 1795 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... A judge or justice is an appointed or elected official who presides over a court. ... This article is about courts of law. ... The term jurisdiction has more than one sense. ...

The abolitionist movement had formed the "Amistad Committee" and collected money to mount a defense of the Africans. Their main argument before the District Court was that a treaty between Britain and Spain of 1817 and a subsequent pronouncement by the Spanish government had outlawed the slave trade across the Atlantic. It was established that the slaves had been captured in Mendiland (current Sierra Leone) in Africa, sold to a Portuguese trader in Lomboko (south of Freetown) in April 1839, and brought to Havana illegally on a Portuguese ship. The Africans were therefore not slaves, but victims of illegal kidnapping and free to go. Their papers wrongly identified them as slaves that had been in Cuba since before 1820, a common practice in Cuba condoned by government officials. This poster depicting the horrific conditions on slave ships was influencial in mobilizing public opinion against slavery in Great Britain and the United States. ... 1817 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... For other cities of the same name, see Freetown (disambiguation). ... April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1820 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ...

Initially, communication with the Africans was difficult, since they did not speak English or Spanish. Professor Gibbs learned to count to ten in their native Mende language, went to the harbor of New York City, and counted out loud until he located a person able to understand and translate. That person was James Covey, a twenty year old sailor, of the ship Buzzard, a British man-of-war. Covey was himself a former slave from West Africa. The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Mende are a large tribe (population approximately 700,000) living primarily in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ...

The abolitionists filed charges of assault, kidnapping, and false imprisonment against Ruiz and Montez. Their arrest in New York City in October 1839 outraged conservatives and the Spanish government. They were eventually released on bail and left for Cuba. In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away of a person against the persons will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment (confinement without legal authority) for ransom or in furtherance of another crime. ... October is the tenth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ...

U.S. President Martin Van Buren, who did not have strong opinions on the slavery question but was concerned about relations with Spain and about his reelection prospects in the southern states, sided with the Spanish position; he ordered a U.S. schooner to the New Haven harbor to return the Africans to Cuba immediately after a favorable decision, before any appeals could be decided. Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862), nicknamed Old Kinderhook, was the eighth President of the United States. ... This article is about the city in Connecticut. ...

The District Court however agreed with the abolitionists, ordered that the Amistad be given to Spain and the Africans be returned to their homeland by the U.S. government. (The federal government had outlawed the slave trade between the U.S. and other countries in 1808, and a law from 1818, amended in 1819, provided for the return of all illegally traded slaves.) The captain's slave was declared the rightful property of the captain's heirs and was ordered restored to Cuba (he escaped to Canada). 1808 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... 1818 is a common year starting on Thursday. ... 1819 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

The U.S. district attorney, on order of Van Buren, immediately appealed to the Circuit Court. This court upheld the decision in April 1840 but nevertheless forwarded the case to the U.S. Supreme Court for a final decision because of its international importance. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States...

John Quincy Adams, congressman from Massachusetts and former President of the United States, agreed to argue the case before the high court. The Supreme Court ruled in The Amistad, 40 U.S. 518 (1841), that the Africans had never been the legal property of Ruiz and Montez, that (therefore) article 9 of the Pinckney treaty did not apply to them, and that they were free and had the right to defend that freedom through violent insurrection. The U.S. law from 1818 did not apply to them either since they had not been brought to the U.S. in order to be sold, and the federal government was thus not obliged to pay for their return to Africa. The one dissenting judge also essentially agreed with these findings. Order: 6th President Vice President: John Caldwell Calhoun Term of office: March 4, 1825 – March 3, 1829 Preceded by: James Monroe Succeeded by: Andrew Jackson Date of birth: July 11, 1767 Place of birth: Braintree, Massachusetts Date of death: February 23, 1848 Place of death: Washington, D.C. First Lady... A Congressman or Congresswoman (generically, Congressperson) is a politician who is a member of a Congress. ... State nickname: Bay State Other U.S. States Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney Official languages English Area 27,360 km² (44th)  - Land 20,317 km²  - Water 7,043 km² (25. ... President of the United States - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... 1841 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

After the trial

The Amistad committee continued to instruct the Africans in English and Christianity and collected donations to pay for their return. Along with several missionaries, the surviving 36 Africans travelled back to Africa early in 1842, and a mission was erected in Mendiland. The Amistad committee later evolved into the American Missionary Association, an evangelical organization which continued to support the Mendi mission, argued for abolitionism, and eventually established many schools for freed slaves in the U.S. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion based on the life, teachings, death by crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament. ...

In the following years, the Spanish government continued to press for compensation, and several lawmakers from southern states introduced resolutions into Congress to pay. These efforts were supported by presidents James K. Polk and James Buchanan, but they all failed. A congress is a gathering of people, especially a gathering for a political purpose. ... Order: 11th President Vice President: George M. Dallas Term of office: March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1849 Preceded by: John Tyler Succeeded by: Zachary Taylor Date of birth: November 2, 1795 Place of birth: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Date of death: June 15, 1849 Place of death: Nashville, Tennessee First... For the economist of this name, see James M. Buchanan. ...

Cinqué, once returned to Africa, is often said to have set himself up as a slave trader. No surviving documentation supports this claim and opinion among reputable historians seems to range from 'not proven' to 'presumed innocent'. What little evidence we have are oral accounts from Africa and a claim by William A. Owens to have seen letters, written by AMA missionaries, suggesting that Cinqué was a slave trader. Oral history is an account of something passed down by word of mouth from one generation to another. ...

Legacy

A simplified version of the events described here was made into a movie called Amistad in 1997. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams, Djimon Hounsou as the African's leader Cinqué and Matthew McConaughey as their lawyer. This film described some of the terrible things that allegedly happened to some of the slaves in the ship, such as group drownings (by tying a number of slaves with one rope and making them fall to the sea) and death by hunger. There is a statue of Cinqué beside the New Haven, Connecticut City Hall. Amistad ( friendship) is a 1997 Steven Spielberg movie based on a slave mutiny that took place aboard a ship of the same name in 1839. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Reef. ... Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (born on December 18, 1946 in Cincinnati, Ohio), is a Jewish-American film director whose films range from science fiction to historical drama to horror. ... Sir Anthony Hopkins, CBE (born December 31, 1937) is a British_born American actor who was born Philip Anthony Hopkins in Margam, near Port Talbot, Wales to Richard and Muriel. ... Djimon Gaston Hounsou (born April 24, 1964) is an African actor, dancer and fashion model, born in the West African country of Benin. ... Matthew David McConaughey (born November 4, 1969) is an American actor. ... A lawyer or attorney at law is a person licensed by the state to advise clients in legal matters and represent them in courts of law (and in other forms of dispute resolution). ... This article is about the city in Connecticut. ...

In March 2000 a replica of the Amistad was launched from Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut. Its mission is to educate the public on the history of slavery, discrimination and civil rights. The vessel is currently homeported in New Haven, Connecticut, where the Amistad Trial occurred, but travels to port cities for educational opportunities. The official name of the vessel is the Freedom Schooner Amistad. 2000 is a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Mystic Seaport is a maritime museum in Mystic, Connecticut. ... A coffeeshop along Main Street in Mystic Mystic is a census-designated place located in New London County, Connecticut. ... A monument celebrating the emancipation of slaves in the British Empire in 1834, erected in Victoria Tower Gardens, Millbank, Westminster, London Wiktionary has a definition of: Slavery Slavery can mean one or more related conditions which involve control of a person against his or her will, enforced by violence or... Civil rights or positive rights are those legal rights retained by citizens and protected by the government. ... This article is about the city in Connecticut. ...

The United States faced a similar incident in the Creole case of 1841. The Creole case was an incident in American history that began in 1841 on board a brig named Creole while it was transporting 135 slaves between Hampton Roads and New Orleans. ...

External links

• "The Amistad Case and Its Consequences in U.S. History" (http://www.tulane.edu/~amistad/johnson2.htm) by Clifton Johnson
• 40 U.S. 518 (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=40&page=518) (1841) -- Opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court
• "The Amistad Case" (http://www.npg.si.edu/col/amistad/) -- Smithsonian
• The Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition (http://www.yale.edu/glc/info/amistad.html)
• James Covey (http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/amistad/AMI_BCOV.HTM)
• A chronology of the trials (http://amistad.mysticseaport.org/timeline/courttimeline.html)