Ever since seeing the Spielberg film, this has been a historical event that truly captured my attention and my heart. It was on this date in 1839, that the wrongfully captured Africans overthrew the Amistad ship. The slaves killed all of the crew with except for two individuals. These two complied with turning the ship towards Africa during the day (as the slaves demanded), but during the night, they slowly turned the ship back towards American waters.
The U.S. captured the ship on August 26, and the slaves were put on trial. After a long legal battle, on March 9, 1841, the court ruled that the slaves had been illegally abducted, and in November of that year, they were permitted to return to Africa.
For more information:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mutiny-on-the-iamistadi-slave-ship
http://www.law.cornell.edu/background/amistad/revolt.html
http://www.cultures.com/samistad.html
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/amistad/
http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/amistad/amistadstory.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Amistad
