The Long Black Schooner	

In 1839, Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montez purchased fifty-three Africans that had been captured, bound and brought to the Spanish colony of Cuba by slave ship. They chained men, women, and children together at the feet and ankles and crammed them between decks aboard the long black schooner, Amistad. 

On a dark, moonless night at sea, a captive named Joseph Cinque used a nail to break his padlock and unchained his companions. Finding sugar cane knives, they stormed the deck and killed both the cook and the captain of the ship. They commandeered the schooner and ordered the remaining crew to sail back to Africa. After being tricked by the crew and kept off-course for sixty-three days, the Amistad was sighted by a U.S. Navy ship near the coast of Long Island and towed to New London Harbor.

The Africans were arrested and charged with murder. Former President John Quincy Adams argued their case in front of the U.S. Supreme Court. It ruled that, like any other freeborn human beings, the Africans were entitled to their liberty. Although they were originally portrayed as violent savages, when details of their testimonies were revealed, many considered them victims of oppression who had battled for their freedom. 

The court's decision marked the first time that people of color were granted equal rights in America. It was a significant legal milestone in the long and difficult struggle of the abolitionist movement. Another twenty-two years would pass before President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to end slavery in America.









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