Did you know? The Amistad Mutiny

The Amistad rebellion was a significant 19th-century slave revolt off Cuba's coast, led by Joseph Cinque. Captured Africans took control of the Spanish ship Amistad, aiming to return to Africa. Instead, they were captured by the US Navy and imprisoned in New Haven. The US government, favoring slavery, expected a ruling against the Africans. However, courts ruled in their favor, recognizing them as kidnap victims. The US government appealed to the Supreme Court, where former President John Quincy Adams defended the Africans. The court upheld their freedom, and they returned to Sierra Leone in 1842.

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