The true story of the August 25, 1839 revolt on the Spanish slave ship La
Amistad. The slaves were from Sierra Leone, West Africans who had been borne
across the vast ocean to Havana, Cuba in an abusive Portuguese slave ship. Sold
there at a slave auction and moved to the bowels of the Amistad (“Friendship” in
Spanish), where they were chained like wild animals, the 44 African slaves had
released themselves through a bloody insurrection on the high seas. Their leader
was a tall, muscular man in his mid 20s, whose name is known as Cinque. While in
the Amistad for transport to another part of the island, the Africans broke free,
killing the captain, the chef and other crewmates. It was not long before a U.S.
Navy brig, the Washington, appeared and seized the Amistad and all its slaves on
board. They were taken to New London, Conn., a state where slavery would not
become illegal until 1848.
Looking out for the Africans’ interests......
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