The Amistad

In the year1839, Slave traffic was officially, in all parts of country everywhere in the world, illegal. Despite of this one boat of Cuba named Amistad, was still continuing trade in humans who were kidnapped and traded from Africa’s Western parts. On 28^th June, 1839, 49 men, 3 girls and a boy from the Mendeland were put in a boat named Amistad and were taken to the Puerto Principe from the Havana in Cuba.

Amistad with the captain Ramon Ferrer, 2 Spaniards and crew of his, carried Africans who were purchased as slaves. All the Africans were not from same village and family but belonged to similar culture. Cinque a man among them was chosen as their leader. He tried communicating with the captors who were from Spain.

The Africans were not able to understand their language and had no idea of what was going to happen with them. So Cinque thought of finding out with the help of language of sign. He enquired from the cook of ship that what was going to happen with them. Thinking it a joke, cook answered in signs that they will be killed and eaten. This made Cinque decide that Africans should be lead to revolt in order to save themselves. All the crew members along with captain were killed in revolt except 2 Spaniards. They were spared for the reason that ship could be sailed back east towards Africa by them, but they sailed Amistad towards north i.e. to coasts of U. S.

United States navy captured The Amistad after 2 months. The people from the Mendeland discovered that they were again in other unknown land and people there spoke in different manner. Few people, across whom they came, had opinion that it was their right to revolt to protect themselves. Two years were spent by these people in United State’s Courts proving rights of Africans in respect of freedom, and then in 1842, helped themselves to go back to Africa.

Questions:

• What is The Amistad?
• State the incident that took place in The Amistad?