(AURN News) — On this day in 1841, 35 survivors of the Amistad mutiny departed New York City to return home to Africa. The men, members of the Mende tribe, had been violently captured and forced aboard the Spanish slave ship La Amistad. Refusing to accept enslavement, they staged a courageous revolt and attempted to steer the vessel back toward Africa.
Instead, the ship drifted to Long Island, New York, where the men were taken into custody. Their struggle ignited a groundbreaking legal battle in the United States that ultimately reached the Supreme Court. In a landmark ruling, the Court found that the Africans had been illegally enslaved and were justified in fighting for their freedom.
After years of trauma, imprisonment and uncertainty, the survivors finally began their long-awaited journey home, returning to Sierra Leone in January 1842.
Click play to listen to the AURN News report from Clay Cane. Follow @claycane & @aurnonline for more.
