AMISTAD, i'mestad', CASE, in United States history, one of the landmarks of the slavery question. The Spanish government, by decree of December 181; forbade the importa tion of slaves from Africa into its dominions after 30 Dec. 1820, on penalty of confiscation of the slave-ship and immediate freeing of the negroes. The trade nevertheless went on under transparent disguises. In the spring of 1839 the slave-hunters in Africa made a large cap ture of Sierra Leone natives, including their chief, Cinque, and sent them to Havana; where two months afterward two Cuban planters, Pedro Ruiz and Jose Montez, bought 38 youths and men, three girls and a boy, and shipped them on 27 June for Guanaja, Puerto Principe, on the schooner L'Amistad, under passport from the governor of Cuba obtained by falsely alleging that they were domestic slaves. Cinque organized a plan for revolt, and when four days out they rose, killed the captain and one of the crew, wounded two others in the contest, and forced the remaining whites to surrender; but they did them no violence, and set all on shore except the two planters, whom they man aged to make understand that they must steer for Africa. These gradually changed course in the nights and fogs, and brought the vessel north off Culloden Point (near Montauk), at the east end of Long Island, where on 26 August she was noted as °suspicious° by Lieu tenant Gedney of the coast survey, on the brig Washington. He sent a boat to her, and one of the planters declared himself the owner of the negroes and claimed United States protection. Some of them had gone on land in a boat; Gedney seized them as under New York State jurisdiction, and the vessel as a ((prize rescued from pirates," and brought them to New Lon don, Conn. The negroes were committed for murder on the high seas, to be tried at the Circuit Court of 17 September at Hartford, and meantime lodged in New Haven jail. The planters claimed them as slaves, appealed to the Spanish minister, Calderon, and he de manded their surrender of the United States district attorney for Connecticut. The latter wrote to the Secretary of State (Forsyth of Georgia) askimg if the negroes under treaty with Spain might not be surrendered before the court sat; the Secretary transmitted the question to the President (Van Buren), but warned the district attorney to take care that no court whatever put the vessel, cargo or slaves beyond the control of the Federa' executive. Meantime the anti-slavery interest had bestirred itself and secured funds, able counsel and an interpreter of African; and the Circuit Court (Judge Thompson) decided or the 23d that the killing of the captain of the L'Amistad, being an incident of the slave trade_ was not a crime against the law of natior.1 The negroes were remanded to jail till the Di: trict Court in November should decide whether they were free or slave. The next day the United States Attorney-General, Felix Grundy of Tennessee, was ordered to prepare an off.a: opinion on the Spanish minister s request an the claim of Gedney a al. for prize money. He replied in November that ship, cargo and negroes should be surrendered according to article 9 of the treaty of 27 Oct. 1795, as the United States under international law had ne power to investigate the truth of facts stated m Spanish official papers,— in other words whether the governor's passport was obtained by fraud, and the negroes were free according to the Spanish law already cited; thongi hardly one could speak a word of European and none much more, and the planters were obviously perjured in swearing ignorance of their being recently imported. But this article
any way related only to vessels and goods rescued on the high seas from pirates; ane under this interpretation the negroes were it once the pirates and the cargo, and had com mitted piracy in seizing themselves from their owners. The Spanish minister protested that no United States court had any jurisdiction The administration, not daring to take the case out of its courts, went as far as it could by ordering the district attorney to act as legal adviser to the planters and file another indict ment for them with new pleadings ; sent a ra se! to lie off New Haven in order to carry the negroes back to Cuba as soon as the District Court pronounced them slaves, as was taken for granted (this was the first trial for violating the slave-trade laws that had taken place a cept in slave States, where of course no con victions were ever found), and to do it ire stantly unless an appeal were interposed, whici was gnot to be taken for granted'; ordered that Gedney and his associate Meade accom pany it to give evidence in court ; and that these directions be kept secret. But the anti slavery counsel had no difficulty in showing that kidnapping foreigners was not only not protected by United States or even Spanish law, but was directly contrary to both (the anti-slavery doctrine outside the courts was that the kidnapped had a natural right to lall their captors if they could, and a legal right to hold ship and cargo as prize in such case, and the United States had no right to interfere): and the court pronounced them free, and ordered them delivered to the United States executive to be sent back to Africa. The plaintiffs at once appealed to the Supreme Court, and the administration continued in partnership in a private suit. The case of the negroes was argued in February and March 1841 by John Quincy Adams, who had previ ously introduced resolutions into the House di recting the President to report to Congress the authority by which Africans charged with no crime were held in custody; Roger Sherman laldwin, the district attorney, admitted in open ourt that they were newly from Africa when ought : and on 9 March the court (Taney, C. .) pronounced them illegally held as slaves nd liable to no punishment for their acts. he case roused the fiercest excitement in both he free and slave sections of the country. In 844 the astounding bill was reported by the hairman of the House committee on foreign (fairs to pay Ruiz and Montex $70,000 corn ensation; but it was laid on the table and ever reappeared. This ends the °case," but word may be added on the negroes. They 'ere removed to Farmington, Conn., well cared it and instructed in the rudiments of educa on by a competent professor. Cinque kept lem under stern discipline; they were excel [ntly behaved and much liked; and some of lem, being unusually quick of intelligence, 'ere exhibited for proficiency in New Eng [nd towns. About the end of November they ere sent back to Africa with some mis onaries, and a mission was afterward estab shed in the district.