On the morning of June 28, 1839, La Amistad (Friendship) set sail from Havana, beginning an adventure of far-reaching historical consequences. On board the little schooner were 53 Africans who had been abducted from West Africa and sold in violation of international law. Their intended fate was enslavement on plantations down coast from Havana. On the third day out, the Africans revolted and ordered that the ship be guided toward the rising sun back to Africa, but each night the Cubans reversed direction. Zigzagging for two months, the ship eventually was brought by northerly winds and currents to Long Island. The Africans were jailed and charged with piracy and murder. In New York City, a group of Christian abolitionists, headed by Lewis Tappan, formed a defense committee. Attorney Roger Sherman Baldwin, with help from former President John Quincy Adams, took the case to the United States Supreme Court, which ruled that the Africans were free.

The Amistad Research Center offers the following essays and American Missionary Association Timeline as educational resources for those wishing to learn more about the Amistad Incident. In addition, the Center provides a guide to researching its holdings related to the American Missionary Association (linked below).

Essays

"The Amistad Case and Its Consequences in U.S. History"
By Clifton H. Johnson

"Out of Bondage: From the Annals of the American Missionary Association, the Story of the Heroic Slave Mutiny aboard the Amistad"
By Warren Marr II

American Missionary Association Timeline
Through images of original documents, this timeline presents a visual history of the Amistad Incident and its legacy in the American Missionary Association's commitment to social justice, and especially education.

Guide to Researching the American Missionary Association
This guide offers entry into the American Missionary Association Archives and related collections housed at the Amistad Research Center.