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going home
Secretary of State John Forsyth orders the Navy to prepare to transport the Africans to Cuba as soon as the district court ruling is reached, before an appeal can be lodged. The Navy dispatches the USS Grampus to wait in New Haven harbor. -
mende
1839 January: (Cinque), a Mende, is seized in West Africa and sold into slavery. -
slaves are bought
Late June: The Africans are brought to Havana, Cuba. Jose Ruiz, a Spanish planter from Puerto Principe, buys 49 adult males, paying $450 for each. Pedro Montes, another planter from the same region, buys four children, three of them girls. -
getting ready
June 28: Ruiz and Montes walk their 53 slaves through Havana, board the Amistad at 8:00pm and near midnight get underway. -
on board
Over the next two months the Amistad sails east by day, north by night, through the Bahamas and up the North American coast, into United States waters. -
home
The Amistad anchors off Long Island and lands a shore party to obtain provisions. Late in the afternoon, Henry Green and company encounter the Africans’ shore party. -
court
New York abolitionists announce the formation of the “Amistad Committee” to raise funds for legal counsel and to support the Africans while jailed. Lewis Tappan, Rev. Joshua Leavitt and Rev. Simeon Jocelyn take the lead. -
the spanish minister
The Spanish minister in Washington formally demands that the Africans be returned to Cuba to stand trial for mutiny and murder. -
almost done
The second trial opens at the federal district court in Hartford, Judge Judson presiding. Abolitionists try to get the case dismissed on grounds the “salvage” should have been taken to New York. They then introduce evidence demonstrating that the Africans were not legally enslaved. The court postpones the hearing until January and moves it to New Haven. -
its over
Justice Story delivers the decision of the Court, affirming the Africans’ freedom. -
africans are home
The Africans reach Sierra Leone.
