On June 28, 1839, the Spanish slave schooner Amistad set sail
from Havana on a routine delivery of human cargo. On a moonless night,
after four days at sea, the captive Africans rose up, killed the
captain, and seized control of the ship. They attempted to sail to a
safe port, but were captured by the U.S. Navy and thrown into jail in
Connecticut. Their legal battle for freedom eventually made its way to
the Supreme Court, where their cause was argued by former president John
Quincy Adams. In a landmark ruling, they were freed and eventually
returned to Africa. The rebellion became one of the best-known events in
the history of American slavery, celebrated as a triumph of the legal
system in films and books, all reflecting the elite perspective of the
judges, politicians, and abolitionists involved in the case. In this
powerful and highly original account, Marcus Rediker reclaims the
rebellion for its true proponents: the African rebels who risked death
to stake a claim for freedom.
Using newly discovered evidence, Rediker reframes the story to show
how a small group of courageous men fought and won an epic battle
against Spanish and American slaveholders and their governments. He
reaches back to Africa to find the rebels’ roots, narrates their
cataclysmic transatlantic journey, and unfolds a prison story of great
drama and emotion. Featuring vividly drawn portraits of the Africans,
their captors, and their abolitionist allies, he shows how the rebels
captured the popular imagination and helped to inspire and build a
movement that was part of a grand global struggle between slavery and
freedom. The actions aboard the Amistad that July night and in
the days and months that followed were pivotal events in American and
Atlantic history, but not for the reasons we have always thought.
The successful Amistad rebellion
changed the very nature of the struggle against slavery. As a handful
of self-emancipated Africans steered their own course to freedom, they
opened a way for millions to follow. This stunning book honors their
achievement.
Join Us for the Lillian Smith Book Award Ceremony
During the Decatur Book Festival
September 1, 2013
During the Decatur Book Festival
September 1, 2013
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