Visits the Freedom Schooner Amistad
USINT personnel braved the elements on Monday, March 29 to tour the Freedom Schooner Amistad, which was docked in Havana harbor as part of its 10-day tour of Cuba. The schooner was ending its 2010 Caribbean Heritage Voyage which commemorates the historic "triangle of trade" connections between America, Europe, Africa and the Caribbean.
The Amistad made headlines in 1839 when slaves held onboard overthrew their captors and sailed the Amistad up the U.S. coast. Off the coast of Long Island, New York, the vessel and all those onboard were impounded by U.S. authorities. Their situation was central to the 1841 slave rebellion case led by John Quincy Adams, leading to the first U.S. Supreme Court case freeing African captives. The Freedom Schooner Amistad, a replica of the original 140' long schooner, is a symbol of this human rights milestone. The story of the Amistad has particular resonance in Cuba: the original boat was built in Cuba, and the slave mutiny took place as the Amistad was departing Havana en route to Puerto Principe, another Cuban port.
The Freedom Schooner Amistad was launched at the Mystic Seaport Museum on March 25, 2000. This was its first visit to Cuba. After leaving Havana, the Freedom Schooner Amistad is sailing northwards up the coast of the United States where it will stop at a number of ports including those in Washington, DC, New Jersey, Massachussetts and New Hampshire.
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