| Amistad New Haven, Hartford, Mystic, CT |
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"Make Us Free" This monument is a memorial to the 1839 Amistad Revolt and its leader, Sengbe Pieh, also known as Joseph Cinque. Sengbe Pieh was on of the millions of Africans kidnapped from their homes and transported in bondage to the Americas. Sold into slavery in Cuba, he, forty-eight other men, and four children were bound aboard the schooner La Amistad. During a storm, Sengbe Pieh successfully freed himself and his fellows. The Africans seized the ship, but their orders to steer La Amistad homeward were thwarted. After futile weeks at sea, they were captured off Long Island by the U.S.S. Washington. On this site, the Amistad Africans were jailed awaiting trial for piracy and murder. To aid their struggle for freedom, the Amistad Committee formed, counting in its number ministers Simeon Jocelyn, Joshua Leavitt, and James Pennington; merchant Lewis Tappan; professor Josiah Gibbs; and lawyer Roger Sherman Baldwin. The Africans were tried twice prior to their ultimate triumph before the United States Supreme Court, where former President John Quincy Adams courageously defended them. Sengbe Pieh and his fellows were declared Free Persons. The Africans sought to return home. To raise funds for their voyage, and to further the antislavery cause, they engaged in a series of speaking tours. In 1841, after a sojourn that profoundly influenced the abolitionist movement, they set sail, free at last. To commemorate the heroism of the Amistad Africans and those who shared their quest for freedom, the 1989 Amistad Committee commissioned this sculpture by Ed Hamilton and dedicated it on September 26, 1992. (Above text from the Amistad Memorial, New Haven, Connecticut.) |
) Amistad
Trial, Re-enacted at Hartford's Old State House, the actual location
of the first Amistad trials, September 17, 1839. This is the senate chamber,
restored to it's original 1796 style and color. On the wall behind the actor
is the original painting of George Washington, a portrait by Gilbert Stuart
commissioned for the chamber. Seventeen of the original 20 chairs, made
in 1796 by Lemuel Adams of Hartford, CT, are around the tables. |
Amistad
Rising |
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Amanda enjoyed the drama of the courtroom. "It was difficult for the Amistad captives and hard for the Americans to decide whether to keep them or let them go. This re-enactment was very similar to what would have happened back then." |
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Amistad An often ignored part of American history, the trials of a nation divided by slavery, and the tragic human cost. |
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The word Amistad means "Friendship". Though the Amistad was not a full-time slave ship, some of the names of real slavers were just as ironic: Liberty, Justice, Integrity, Brotherhood, Gift of God and Jesus. |
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) Amanda
and Harrison tried their hand at shipbuilding with this model of the Amistad.
Harrison said, "It was fun building the Amistad. We connected
the ribs of the boat onto the keel, then set the deck on top. Then we put
the masts on and the rigging. It took us less than 10 minutes to put it
together. Compared to the more than two years it will take to complete the
full-size version, that's pretty quick!" |
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For Younger Readers |
For Older Readers |
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PLEASE DONATE GENEROUSLY TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF HURRICANE KATRINA
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Rated
R for some non-sexual nudity. Directed
by Steven Spielberg, Starring Morgan Freema, Nigel Hawthorne, Matthew
McConaughey and Djimon Hounsou as Sengbe Pieh (Cinque).)
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Africans
in America - Box Set