Howard Jones - Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave Revolt and its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy

HOWARD JONES

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York Oxford

Oxford University Press

Oxford New York Toronto

Delhi Bombay Calcutta Madras Karachi

Petaling Jaya Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo

Nairobi Dar es Salaam Cape Town

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and associated companies in

Beirut Berlin Ibadan Nicosia

Copyright 1987 by Howard Jones

First published in 1987 by Oxford University Press, Inc.,

198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016-4314

First issued as an Oxford University Press paperback, 1988

Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Jones, Howard, 1940

Mutiny on the Amistad.

Bibliography: p.

Includes index.

1. SlaveryUnited StatesInsurrections, etc.

2. Amistad (Schooner) 3. SlaveryUnited States

Anti-slavery movements. I. Title.

E447.J66 1986 326'.0973 86-8692

ISBN 0-19-503828-2

ISBN 0-19-503829-0 (ppbk.)

4 6 8 10 9 7 5

Printed in the United States of America

CINQU

The sea calm tonight.

Another night like this we buy
Freedom

dearly.

We strike

blood flow

we kill

We win.

We spare two

Take us home

Africa.

They trick us

We should not trust them

They bring us west

Demand us

sent to Cuba

Chain and whip

kill for crime.

America kind

teach us tell what happen

give us land grow food

talk in court

King with white hair

talk soft

convince

send us tell what happen that

night.

We make friend

boy Kali

they love

pay for ship

We go home.

The sea calm tonight

Tonight peaceful

no fighting

no blood

just peace.

We go home.

Oscar A. Bouise

Professor Emeritus of History

Xavier University, New Orleans, 1981

A book is almost always a product of many peoples labors, and in this case the generalization holds especially true. Without the assistance of friends and colleagues, any merit that the following work might have would be considerably less.

I was particularly fortunate to have sound advice and encouragement throughout the various stages of this project. Tony A. Freyer shared with me his deep knowledge of American constitutional law and saved me from a number of pitfalls and errors. His continual exhortations were also vital to my completing the manuscript earlier than expected. Maurice G. Baxter carefully read the manuscript and offered many recommendations on style, analysis, and the legal aspects of the Amistad and related court cases. Robert E. May also gave the manuscript a close reading and made many helpful suggestions. Forrest and Ellen McDonald provided more assistance than anyone is entitled to receive. Twice they set aside their own work and read my manuscript, making countless recommendations on every aspect of the making of a book. Others who read part of the manuscript or helped in some way included Robert H. Ferrell, Suzanne Freeman, R. Kent Newmyer, David M. Pletcher, Kenneth E. Shewmaker, and Randall B. Woods. Tim Johnson provided invaluable assistance in translating Spanish materials from Madrid and Havana. And, as ever, Guy Swanson repeatedly expressed friendly encouragement and sincere interest in my work.

Archivists in four countries furnished the kind of assistance that helps to make research and writing a pleasure. In the United States, Clifton H. Johnson and his staff at the Amistad Research Center provided expert guidance into the rich collection of Amistad materials in New Orleans. Floyd M. Shumway, former executive director of the New Haven Colony Historical Society, was enormously helpful in securing materials relating to the case. David L. Parke, Jr., has continued his predecessors fine example. Judith Ann Schiff and Patricia Howell provided assistance in finding Amistad items housed in the Sterling Memorial Library of Yale University, James K. Owens located legal materials in the circuit and district court records stored in the Federal Archives and Records Center in Waltham, Massachusetts. Others who facilitated my work were John McDonough of the Library of Congress, John D. Cushing of the Massachusetts Historical Society, Tom Canden of the University of Georgia Library, John C. Dann of the William L. Clements Library of the University of Michigan, and the staffs of the National Archives, the New York Public Library, and the University of Alabama Library. In England, the staffs of the British Library, the Public Record Office, and the Royal Historical Manuscripts Commission provided important assistance. My experience in Spain was equally satisfying. Jos Antonio Martnez Bara and his staff at the Archivo Histrico Nacional in Madrid located the Spanish materials cited in this study. The staffs of both the Archivo General de Indias in Seville and the Archivo General de Simancas assured me there were no Amistad materials in their collections. From Cuba, Armando S. Mal-la B. sent microfilm copies of the few items in the Archivo Nacional in Havana that related to the mutiny. Although these materials did not shape the manuscript, his help is indicative of the spirit of scholarly cooperation that crosses international borders.

Financial assistance from several sources helped in the preparation of this book. The American Council of Learned Societies awarded a grant that, combined with financial help authorized by President Joab L. Thomas and Academic Vice-President Roger E. Sayers of the University of Alabama, allowed me to devote the full academic year of 198485 to the Amistad. The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded a Summer Stipend in 1984 that relieved me from teaching duties and afforded additional research time. The American Philosophical Society provided assistance that allowed research in Washington, D.C., during the spring of 1985. From the University of Alabama, I received support from the Capstone International Program Center (through the efforts of Edward H. Moseley, its director), the College of Arts and Sciences (through the help of Richard E. Peck, David L. Klemmack, and William D. Barnard), and the Bankhead Fund.

There is no way to express my gratitude to those people with whom I have come into contact at Oxford University Press. Sheldon Meyer believed in the Amistad project from its beginning and has continued his enthusiastic support to its completion. Rachel Toor has been a constant source of encouragement, masterfully combining a genuine professionalism with a friendly interest in book and author. Otto Sonntag provided splendid editorial expertise in the last stages of the manuscripts preparation.