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Vol. 74/No. 19      May 17, 2010

 
Cuba pays tribute to
‘Amistad’ slave revolt
 
BY BEN JOYCE  
A replica of the Amistad, an early 19th century slave ship that in 1839 was taken over by the Africans it was transporting, docked in the port of Matanzas, Cuba, March 22, as part of a 10-day-long trip to the island.

The arrival of this Connecticut-based ship commemorated the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.

The 18 crew members joined the welcoming ceremony, which was attended by prominent cultural figures, historians, artists, and government officials. Miguel Barnet, president of the Union of Cuban Writers and Artists, welcomed the visitors and thanked them for participating in the important commemoration.

“This is a very important dialogue, because we know that there is a violent media campaign against Cuba,” said Barnet, referring to accelerated efforts by the U.S. rulers and the capitalist media to slander the Cuban Revolution. “In spite of this unjust, rash, and boundless campaign, they have come to Matanzas.” Barnet added that the trip and ceremony could represent “a crack” in the economic blockade imposed by the U.S. government on Cuba some five decades ago.

Three days after the Matanzas event, the ship sailed to Havana. A ceremony there was attended by prominent individuals, including Ricardo Alarcón, president of Cuba’s National Assembly.

Gregory Belanger, president of the U.S.-based sponsoring organization Amistad America, addressed the audience. He thanked the Cuban government for preserving the history of the slave trade, including being the only country in the region with a museum dedicated to the issue.

The original Amistad was the scene of an on-board slave revolt in 1839 that took place while en route from one Cuban port to another. Fifty-six slaves, mostly from Sierra Leone, took control of the ship and demanded to be taken back to Africa, but were fooled by the ship’s navigator who set them on course to New York. The ship was captured off the coast of Long Island, New York, and the Africans were taken to Connecticut to be sold.

However, because the transatlantic slave trade had been banned by the U.S. Congress in 1808, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Africans had been illegally transported and ordered them freed. The 35 surviving Africans were returned to Africa in 1841.  
 
 
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