On July 2, 1839, 53 African slaves on board the slave ship the - TopicsExpress



          

On July 2, 1839, 53 African slaves on board the slave ship the Amistad revolted against their captors, killing all but the ships navigator, who sailed them to Long Island, N.Y., instead of their intended destination, Africa. Joseph Cinqué was the groups leader. The slaves aboard the ship became unwitting symbols for the antislavery movement in pre-Civil War United States. After several trials in which local and federal courts argued that the slaves were taken as kidnap victims rather than merchandise, the slaves were acquitted. The former slaves aboard the Spanish vessel Amistad secured passage home to Africa with the help of sympathetic missionary societies in 1842.#BlackHistory
Posted on: Sun, 02 Feb 2014 12:23:15 +0000

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