Amistad and the Battle against Slavery

Introduction
This is a movie directed by Steven Spielberg and was released by his company, Dream
Works, on 1997. It is a movie which was based on a historical event which dated back to 1839
when a group of Africans were abducted from their homeland and were transported to Cuba.
Cuba was then a colony of Spain.

Amistad, the title of the movie, was the name of the slave ship travelling from Cuba to the
United States of America. Ironically, the word Amistad literally means “friendship” in Spanish
language, however the ship named after it became a witness of one of the horrifying moments in
history.

This central theme of the movie was about the battle for freedom of the Africans that were
abducted from their homeland for the sole purpose of being sold illegally as slaves. The movie’s
story centers during the time when black slavery was still a common practice in the United States
of America. During this time, Negroes, the term used to refer to black slaves then, were
considered as properties by the White Americans. However, the central point of the story is
whether or not the Africans were born slave.

The story started when a group of abducted Africans were able to seize control of the ship
named Amistad after murdering most of their white abductors except for Montes and Ruiz who
were the ones who made the purchase. After the killings, the two Spanish nationals were held as
captives by the Africans in hope that they will be the ones driving the ship in its return to Africa
since the Africans were not accustomed to traveling by sea for a longer period of time. During the
day, Ruiz and Montes were doing what they were instructed and that is to sail the ship for Africa,
however, they were always changing their route every night in order for them to sail to Porto
Principe Cuba, which was then a Spanish colony, only to find out that they had already reached
the shores of Washington, D.C.

The Start of the Legal Battle: Are the Africans properties or freemen?

The group of Africans was charged with murder and piracy for
killing their captors and taking control over the La Amistad ship with
Don Jose Montes and Don Pedro Ruiz, two Spanish plantation owners,
held as captives but the heart of the legal battle was to determine whether
these black people were citizens of another land or they were born
slaves. This was the question to be concluded in order to determine their
fate because if they were slaves then they would face incarceration for
the murder of their white abductors. Also, due to the belief that those
Africans were born on a Spanish territory, they were to be delivered
immediately to Spain as they were supposed to be a property of the
Spanish crown and to be subjected under the discretion thereof.
Moreover, if they were newly purchased slaves then they are a property
of Montes and Ruiz, their purchaser. Another claimant of the black
people were two officials of the United States Navy who claimed salvage
upon the La Amistad ship and hence argue that they were the true
claimants of anything that the ship contains. On the other hand, if they
were to be proven as abducted citizens, they will be return to their
homeland and hence regain their freedom. Helping the Africans was the
Abolitionist Movement of the United States of America. It is a civic
movement advocating for the abolishment of slavery in America.
In order to help the Africans, the Abolitionist Movement sought the
legal services of Atty. Baldwin, a real-estate lawyer, however, it was
Baldwin who offered his services first to the movement, it was just the
said movement declined his offer on the first time. In court, Atty.
Baldwin was arguing that the black people were not from Havana, Cuba
but they came from a farther place, Africa. At first, he was basing his
argument on plain physical features and language differences but these
arguments were countered by the prosecutor by saying that these were
immaterial matters as slaves do not need to be well immersed in Cuban
language and communication because they were only tasked to attend to
the farm. Baldwin’s claim was further cemented through a cargo
manifest of the notorious trans-Atlantic slave ship known as the Tecora,
a Portuguese vessel. In it contains the information that trade occurred in
Sierra Leone which is a British Protectorate. During this time, the British
crown already outlawed slavery therefore the Africans were illegally
obtained by Don Ruiz and Don Montes.
The Turning Point Towards an Even Greater Battle
When the case was about to be decided, then-U.S. President Martin
Van Buren received a request from the pre-pubescent Queen of Spain
Isabella II that the African captives be returned to Cuba under
international treaty. Also, if he would not interfere on the judicial
proceedings of this case, he would risk a court that might decide in favor
of the African captives. As a result, this decision would anger Southern,
pro-slavery voters with whom Van Buren relied so much for an
upcoming election. Also, this might cause for another civil war. With
this in mind, then-President Van Buren extended his executive hand by
appointing a new and younger judge to decide on the case. For Van
Buren, having a younger judge to decide on the case would mean that the
magistrate would always do the president’s bidding because the former is
indebted to the latter.
Expecting that the newly appointed judge would decide in
accordance to his desire, then-President Van Buren sent a naval ship to
transport the Africans away before the abolitionist could file for an
appeal. However, then-President Van Buren was disappointed because
the U.S. District Court in Hartford decided that the Africans were not
slaves and they were obtained illegally. The said court also ordered for
the arrest of Don Jose Ruiz and Don Pedro Montes for abducting the
Africans in a form of illegal purchase.
After appealing the decision of the U.S. Circuit Court, which
upheld the decision of the lower court, the U.S. District Attorney or
Prosecutor appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. It was
during this time that former United States President and a member of the
House of Representatives, John Quincy Adams finally heed to the
request of the Abolitionist Movement to stand as a legal counsel for the
Africans in the highest court of America, since he turned down their
request for several times. Adams anchored his argument on his belief
that the essence of humankind is freedom. After a lengthy legal battle in
the U.S. Supreme Court, the justices thereof decided in the 7-1 decision
that the Africans were not slaves and therefore cannot be considered as
merchandise. They consider them as free individuals with certain legal
and moral rights including the right to engage in insurrection against
those who deny them their freedom. Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme
Court ordered that the Africans be released from custody and, if they so
desire, be returned to their homeland in Africa.
Is his really a fight against slavery?
The central theme of the movie was to determine whether the
Africans were slave or not. Therefore, the idea centering the movie was
not about a fight against slavery but a fight against the possibility of
people being considered as slaves. The movie does not revolve around
the story of a man battling his way out of slavery but it centers on a
group of men being considered as slave even if they were not really
slaves.