Amistad Research Paper

The story of the Amistad began in February of 1839 when a large group of slaves were illegally taken from their home in Sierra Leone, Africa and were delivered into the heart of the slave trade in Havana, Cuba. While in Cuba Spanish planters bought between 40 - 60 slaves for shipment to a plantation along the coast of Cuba. July 1, 1839, only a few days after being bought and taken from Havana, the Africans aboard the Amistad freed themselves from their confinement below deck and stealthily attacked the vessels’ crew. In the midst of the revolt the captain, much of the crew and the cook were killed, leaving only 2 of the Spanish planters. The Africans had successfully overtaken the Amistad. A deal was made between the Africans and the two Spanish planters; the planters would only live if they helped sail the …show more content…
After days of drifting up and down the coast the U.S. brig Washington seized the Amistad.
The crew of Washington took custody of the Africans and freed the Spanish planters. According to Federal Judicial Center, the Africans were taken to New London, Connecticut, a place where slavery was legal, rather than shipping them to New York where slavery had been …show more content…
His strategy was based on the laws for personal property and the laws of liberty. The main goal was to convince the court and the people that slavery violates natural rights. The natural rights that are given to all human beings no matter what race or where they are from. Baldwin argued that under Spanish law the Mendi Africans could not be lawfully held as slaves because they had only recently been brought to Cuba, which was also a violation to the Spanish treaty. Under the terms of the Spanish treaty that banned the African slave trade the Mendi were free in Cuba and all Spanish