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La Amistad. The Ship. Spanish for “Friendship” the Amistad was a ship that was notorious because of a revolt by African captives being transported from Havana to Puerto Principe, Cuba. It was a 19th-century two - masted schooner built in Spain and owned by a Spaniard living in Cuba .
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The Ship • Spanish for “Friendship” the Amistad was a ship that was notorious because of a revolt by African captives being transported from Havana to Puerto Principe, Cuba. • It was a 19th-century two - masted schooner built in Spain and owned by a Spaniard living in Cuba. • The rebellion broke out when the schooner, traveling along the coast of Cuba, was taken over by a group of captives who had earlier been kidnapped in Africa and sold into slavery. • The Africans took control of the ship in July 1839, but could not navigate the vessel. They were fooled into thinking they were being taken back to Africa, but were captured off the coast of Long Island by the USS Washington of the United States Revenue Cutter Service. • The US Revenue Cutter Service is the forerunner to what is now the Coast Guard.
The US Supreme Court • The initial ruling by the circuit court was that the alleged mutiny was conducted on a Spanish ship in Spanish waters, therefore the court had no jurisdiction. • The defense attorneys of the African slaves then appealed and the US Supreme Court chose to hear the case. • The case was heard and an eloquent closing argument was written by John Q. Adams.
The Conundrum for Our US Courts • At the time, the transport of slaves from Africa to the Americas was illegal, so the ship owners fraudulently described the Africans as having been born in Cuba. • The court had to decide one of 4 options. • Were the slaves considered salvage? (Due to a maritime law back then, the cargo of a seized ship could become the property of the Naval officers who had taken custody of that ship.) • Or were they the property of the Cubans who bought them? • Were they the property of Spain as Queen Isabella II of Spain claimed? • Or finally, because of the circumstances of their capture and transportation meant they were free?
YOUR ASSIGNMENT • Pretend you are a Supreme Court Justice. • You will decide which of the previous 4 options you would decide as a decision. • Your decision is based on what you have been told and the following closing argument from the Hollywood movie version of the closing argument of Amistad.
