The Amistad in Halfiax
View the Amistad snapshots
As part of its Freedom voyage, the Amistad is spending a few days in Halifax before sailing to Shelburne, Nova Scotia.
Shelburne, was in the 1780's the place where thousands of Loyalists from the New England Colonies first settled after the defeat of British forces at Yorktown.
It was at Birchtown, near Shelburne, where the largest number of Black Loyalists settled, in 1783. It is this fact, why the Amistad is visiting Shelburne.
History
La Amistad (Spanish: "Friendship") was a 19th-century two-masted schooner built in the United States but owned by a Spaniard living in Cuba. The ship was notable as the scene of a revolt by African captives being transported from Havana. When they took control of the ship in July 1839 and were later captured by the US Navy, La Amistad became a symbol in the movement to abolish slavery. The ship was taken under control by the United States, resulting in a legal battle over the status of the Africans, as importation of slaves into the US had been prohibited since 1808.
At that time the transport of slaves from Africa to the Americas was illegal, so the ship owners fraudulently described the Africans as having been born in Cuba. The court had to decided if the Africans were to be considered salvage and the property of Naval officers who had taken custody of the ship, whether they were the property of the Cuban buyers, or of Spain as the Queen of Spain claimed, or lastly, if the circumstances of their capture and transportation meant they were free. The issues became the focus of the Amistad case, which figured prominently in abolitionism in the United States. In America, the African leader Sengbe Pieh became known as Joseph Cinqué. The Supreme Court ruled the Africans had been illegally held, and the United States arranged for them to be returned to Africa, as they wished
Between 1998 and 2000, Freedom Schooner Amistad, a recreation of La Amistad, was built in Mystic Seaport, Mystic, Connecticut, using traditional skills and construction techniques common to wooden schooners built in the 19th century, but using modern materials and engines. The modern day Amistad is not an exact replica of La Amistad, as the ship is slightly longer and has higher freeboard. There were no old blueprints of the original. The new schooner was built using a general knowledge of the Baltimore Clippers and art drawings from the era. Some of the tools used in the project were the same as those that might have been used by a 19th-century shipwright while others were electrically powered. Tri-Coastal Marine, designers of Freedom Schooner Amistad, used modern computer technology to provide plans for the vessel.
Bronze bolts are used as fastenings throughout the ship. Freedom Schooner Amistad has an external ballast keel made of lead and two Caterpillar diesel engines. None of this technology was available to 19th century builders. Freedom Schooner Amistad is operated by Amistad America, Inc., a non-profit organization based in New Haven, Connecticut.The ship's mission is to educate the public on the history of slavery, discrimination, and civil rights. Her homeport is New Haven, where the Amistad trial took place. She also travels to port cities for educational opportunities. The Freedom Schooner Amistad is the State Flagship and Tall ship Ambassador of Connecticut
Freedom Schooner Amistad set sail on June 21, 2007, from New Haven on the "Atlantic Freedom Tour", a 14,000-mile (23,000 km) transatlantic voyage to Great Britain, Lisbon, West Africa, and the Caribbean to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade in Britain (1807) and the United States (1808). The ship arrived in Bristol on 30 August, 2007.