La Almistad

After lengthy court battles, on March 9 1841, the U.S, Supreme Court announced that the slaves who had revolted aboard the Spanish ship, La Almistad, were to be set free. It was a telling moment in history.

The slaves had originally been captured in Sierra Leone and sold into slavery in Cuba. In

July 1839, the slaves managed to gain control of the ship, whose name ironically translates as "friendship." It was captured off the coast of Long Island by the USS Washington and interned while the courts figured out what to do with the Africans. It took a Supreme Court decision to do that.

Among the slaves were 49 adults and 4 children. John Quincy Adams helped represent their case. Their eventual release was seen as a victory by anti-slavery proponents.

In 1997, Steven Spielberg directed a movie based on these events. Almistad starred Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, and Matthew McConaughey. It might be a good movie to watch for this day in history.

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