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Amistad Revolt
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In 1992, the150th Anniversary of the Amistad Revolt was simultaneously commemorated both in Freetown, Sierra Leone and New Haven in the United States. On this occasion, I enjoyed an exciting entertainment programme in Freetown by a group of African-American who traveled all the way from Connecticut to jointly celebrate the event while the Sierra Leone National Dance Troupe for Amistad Festival, were in New Haven performing a similar programme to mark the same occasion.
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The original Amistad revolt led to a U.S. Supreme Court case, in 1841. Two months after the Africans escaped their chains and killed most of the Spanish, the boat was found off the coast of New York. The Supreme Court considered the question of whether the Africans should be given their freedom in America or sold into slavery.
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The director based the movie on historical accounts of the "Amistad" revolt, but he tells the story from a point of view that diminishes the Africans' specific experiences. Their story becomes part of a general experience, not an individual one of terror, agony and grief as it must have been.
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More background on the Amistad revolt is ... available at the National Archives Digital Classroom website homepage. Click on "Primary Sources and Activities," then select "The Amistad Case" for background and links to archival documents.)
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Amistad Revolt