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Death of Captain Ferrer




About this Item

Title
Death of Capt. Ferrer, the Captain of the AMISTAD, July 1839
Summary
African slaves killing Ramon Ferrer with cane knives; Don Jose Ruiz and Don Pedro Montez, the slave owners, look on in horror.
Created / Published
1969.
The Amistad Rebellion. In July, 1839, captive West Africans rebelled and took over the Spanish slaveship Amistad. They ordered the owners to sail to Africa but, instead, the Amistad was taken on a meandering course, finally waylaid by a U.S. Navy brig. The Africans were charged with the murder of the captain and jailed in New Haven, Connecticut. Aolitionists came to their support; ex-President John Quincy Adams represented them in court. After a long legal battle, the Supreme Court freed the "mutineers" in 1841. The following year they returned to Africa.

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