Amistad Case

The story of the Amistad begins in 1839. Slave trade was illegal in many parts of the world, but slave traders don't pay much mind to the law. In western Africa they often kidnap of they sell their own kind. Early in 1839 in a place called Mendeland, a group of African was kidnapped and transported to the African slave port of Lomboko. They were Portuguese slave trader who purchased 500 Africans and they took them on a slave ship Tecora to Havana, Cuba. When they got to Cuba the slaves were separated and sold. Two plantation owners, Spaniards named Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montes brought 53 of the slaves, 49 men, one boy and three girls. Ruiz and Montes packed their cargo and their slaves on a ship called schooner Amistad. During the ride the Africans learned sign language to ask the Spanish cook and he replied that the African will be killed and eaten. One of the African used a nail he found and started picking the chained to legs and wrists. After he got himself out he tried to take out the others. The African on board found some sugar cane knives with two foot long blades. They took over the Amistad ship, there was two African and two Spaniards who were killed, the African was now in control of the boat and they forced Ruiz and Montes to sail east to their homeland. Ruiz and Montes tried to trick the African by heading east into the sun all day, day and night each morning they made a different direction zig zag during the Atlantic, off the coast of the United States. This went on for about 2 months, on August 26, the navy sailors spotted the ship they heard the Spaniards version of the story, they captured the ship, the Africans the sailors though they would get an award for their ship if not they would sell the slaves for some money. The sailor was heading to New York but slavery was illegal their, they wouldn’t have any chance to sell the slaves, they headed to Connecticut were it was still legal, they was still in New London, based on their story from Ruiz and Montes, the African were ordered to stand on trail for mutiny and murder. The African couldn’t tell their side of their story because they didn’t know the language English, or Spanish. The trail ended up freeing the slaves and returning to their homeland in Mende.

Source: http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson043.shtml
Picture source: http://myweb.wvnet.edu/~jelkins/lp-2001/images/amistad.jpg - This picture was from the africans that were caputrued and were put on trail, this was from the movie Amistad Case