![Supreme Court documents regarding the Amistad case [via Fold3]](https://www.newspapers.com/topics/wp-content/uploads/Amistad-e1550792825707-300x227.jpg)
Supreme Court documents regarding the Amistad case [via Fold3]
Background
In 1839, a group of Africans from Sierra Leone were abducted and shipped to Havana, Cuba, to be sold and enslaved. When they arrived in Cuba, two Spanish plantation owners, Pedro Montes and Jose Ruiz, illegally purchased 53 to be enslaved on their Caribbean plantation. They loaded the Africans aboard the Cuban schooner Amistad.
Rebellion on the Amistad
While sailing through the Caribbean, the captured Africans organized a revolt. One of them, Sengbe Pieh (also known as Joseph Cinque), freed himself and loosed others. They killed the captain and the ship’s cook, seized the ship, and ordered Montes and Ruiz to sail to Africa.
Capture by the United States
Under the guise of heading toward Africa, Montes and Ruiz sailed the ship north instead. On August 26, 1839, it dropped anchor off the tip of Long Island, where it was discovered by the revenue cutter USS Washington. Thomas R. Gedney, commanding officer of the Washington, ordered his men to disarm the Africans and capture everyone. They were all transported to Connecticut, where officials freed the Spaniards but charged the Africans with murder on the high seas.
Court Case
The murder charges were eventually dismissed, but the plantation owners, the government of Spain, and Gedney all claimed some sort of compensation. The case made it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of the Africans and ordered their immediate release.
Aftermath
Abolitionists who had supported the Africans’ cause raised funds to return them to Africa. On November 26, 1841, nearly three years after their abduction, the surviving Africans departed New York City bound for Sierra Leone.
Learn more about the Amistad Case through historical newspapers from our archives. Explore newspaper articles, headlines, images, and other primary sources below.
Articles and Clippings about the Amistad Case



















