  | | Sengbe Pieh - leader of the revolt. |
Sengbe Pieh , hero of the Amistad revolt Sengbe Pieh, of the Mende tribe in Sierra Leone, was born in 1813. At the age of 26 he was captured and sold to a Spanish slave master, who took him and 48 others to Cuba where he was sold to a Spanish sugar farmer, Jose Ruiz. Along with other slaves, he was chained and put on board the Amistad ship bound for Ruiz's plantation. On the third day at sea, Sengbe managed to break free of his chains, release his companions and arm them with cane knives. They killed the captain, forced the crew overboard and demanded that the Spanish slave master sail the Amistad back to Sierra Leone. The cunning master tried to deceive them by directing the boat to Cuba, but a storm drove the ship north-eastward along the coast of the United States, where Sengbe and his men were captured by the US navy and charged with murder and piracy. A group of American abolitionists came to the rescue, forming an Amistad Committee and hiring well-known lawyers to defend the slaves and secure their release. James Cinque, as Sengbe Pieh became known in America, campaigned publicly against the evils of slavery before returning to Sierra Leone at the age of 29, accompanied by American missionaries. The Amistad Committee continued its fight to end slavery, and after emancipation they set up schools and colleges for newly freed slaves. Sengbe's picture hangs in many public buildings and black colleges in the United States. An account of his gallant deeds appears in many history books. His portrait features on the five-thousand-leones bank note in Sierra Leone. Amistad, a Floating Exhibit
You've seen the movie, now see the recreation of the slave ship La Amistad. In 1839, the sight of this 129-foot sailing vessel with its band of armed African men was, indeed, a troublesome sight for a country steeped in the trade and enslavement of Black men, women and children — cruising just beyond the U.S. coast. The mysterious schooner floated nearly two months outside of the U.S., but caused alarm when it came within a mile of the Long Island coast. A U.S. naval commander ordered the ship to be seized and searched and officials soon learned that the vessel had been the site of a bloody slave revolt led by a Mende rice farmer named Sengbe Pieh, who became widely known as Cinque. Cinque was among 39 African men and four children, and two Spanish slavers who survived the bloody fight for freedom on board a sailing vessel whose name means friendship in Spanish. Cinque and the others apparently spared the lives of Pedro Montes and Jose Ruiz in hopes that the men would steer the ship to Africa. The Spanish government immediately claimed ownership of the slaves and urged that they be returned to Havana, Cuba, for a murder trial. But, some U.S. officials argued Spain's claim was invalid because slave trading had been outlawed in Spain and its colonies 22 years earlier. The Africans were detained in U.S. jails for nearly two years while their fates were determined. The case threatened U.S. relations with Spain and pitted former U.S. president John Quincy Adams against sitting U.S. President James Van Buren. Adams, who was serving as congressman from Massachusetts, argued the Africans' case before the high court and was especially critical of Van Buren's effort to assume unconstitutional powers in the case to placate the Spanish. Trial evidence revealed that Cinque and about 52 Africans were among hundreds who had been forced from their homelands in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The captives were stripped naked and held in the shallow deck of slave ship Tecora until they landed in Havana, Cuba, where they boarded La Amistad after being groomed and fed for trade in Puerto Principe. Freedom Schooner Amistad, the replica of the original L'Amistad involved in The Amistad Incident of 1839, was launched at Mystic Seaport in 2000. It is owned and operated by AMISTAD America, Inc. Amistad travels from port to port nationally and internationally. The Freedom Schooner is an icon for leadership, justice, and freedom, and a catalyst for opening conversations about race and reconciliation. For a ship's schedule and for comprehensive information about the Amistad Incident, please visit amistadamerica.org .
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The Amistad
