Blast From the Past

I was doing my morning stroll along the World Wide Web and came across this interesting story on Discovery.com.

Yesterday, March 25, marked the 203rd anniversary of Great Britain outlawing the slave trade. As part of the rememberance celebrations, a group has built a replica of the Amistad, a slave ship that sailed out of Sierra Leone headed for North America with a hold full of captives destined for bondage in the US. The slaves managed to take over the ship and took it on a zigzag course along the Atlantic coastline until they were finally caught off the coast of Long Island. The slaves were put on trial for their actions and it went all the way to the Supreme Court. This played greatly into the abolitionist cause in the United States and John Quincy Adams stood up for the slaves in front of the Court, advocating their freedom. In the end, the Supreme Court Justices agreed and the Amistad slaves were freed. The replica of the Amistad is currently in the harbor of Havana, Cuba. Its builders hope to foster better Cuban/US relations.

If you are interested in the story, Steven Spielberg put it on the big screen in his 1997 movie Amistad. Believe me, it is worth the watch.