Amistad

In my American Government class I recently had the opportunity to watch the film Amistad, staring Matthew McConaughey, Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, and directed by Steven Spielberg. This gripping adaptation of a miraculous true story, tells of a group of slaves bound for Cuba who revolted and took control over the ship La Amistad. The slaves were armed with cane knives and were able to overthrow the crew and hold the Captain hostage. They demanded that the Captain sail for Africa. The captain was deceiving and lied to the slaves about which direction they were sailing. The boat ended up traveling north towards the continental United States. They reached Long Island and were captured by the United States Navy. The salves were captured and sent to Connecticut where they were to be sold as slaves. A court battle ensued about the true origins of the slaves. There were many claims as to who should reap the profits of the slaves should they be sold. In the movie ownership is claimed on behalf of Queen Isabella of Spain (ironically the slave trade had been outlawed in Spain but not Cuba), two Cuban merchants, and the leaders of the American ship who captured La Amistad. There was also some question as to the origins of the ship. Eventually the lead attorney on the case discovers a manifest that shows that the salves are actually from Africa and were transported to Cuba and then arrived in America which violated current laws that outlawed the Atlantic slave trade in the United States. The case has national ramifications and is repealed to the Supreme Court by the current President Martin Van Buren. Because Van Buren was currently on the campaign trail any act of anti-slavery could have damaged his possibilities of re-election. In the end of the film they are able to reprove their case again and the slaves are able to return home.

As I reflect on the movie I am amazed by the historical significance that this event had. Not only was it an important victory for abolitionists but it was also was another step towards increased sectionalism between North and South. The film repeatedly speaks about the coming war, although the Civil War would not take place for another 20 years the grounds for it were set long in advance. The film addresses important points about the nature of slavery. In Africa salves were not captured by the merchants who transported them across the sea but rather by their neighboring villagers. In exchange the capturing tribe received guns; in order to protect themselves from slavery other tribes needed guns, so they in turn engaged in slavery. Another important point addressed is the absolutely appalling nature of the slave trade. As we have often discussed in class there are three themes of slavery, violence, terror, and death. All three of these themes were addressed in the movie. Some of the first scenes we observe are of the awful conditions of the slave ships. The slaves are chained together in cramped conditions. It is difficult to imagine being aboard a salve ship. Later we observe the meager rations that were given to slaves while being transported. In the movie only a select few are given a mess of a meal that looks awful to eat. The captains of the ship also dump some of the salves overboard when they realize that they do not have enough rations for all. This practice is truly appalling. The final element that shocked me was the fact that although the salve trade had been outlawed in most countries. But the salve trade continued to occur even though great efforts were employed to stop it. The film as a whole was deeply moving and I would recommend it to all.

Personal Narrative of the Middle Passage

It has been almost two months since our village was raided and attacked by the neighboring tribe, since I had seen my whole family gunned down right in front of my eyes, since I had seen our village burning in the on-setting twilight. The red of the fire stood in stark contrast to the deep purple sky. Those who had survived the raid were shackled by our necks and forced to walk towards the west for days on end. The boy behind me had been wounded during the confrontation and was bleeding profusely from a deep gash on his bulging thigh. It did not take long for the flies to settle in and drink from the crimson blood that never stopped streaming into the sand. Slowly I began to feel him get weaker. With every step we took I felt the tension on the chain get tighter until eventually he could take the walking no longer and collapsed to the ground taking the whole group down with him. Our captors quickly answered our conundrum with the stings of whips and biting words. When they finally realized what had happened my arms and back were raw with stripes. The boy behind me would not make it another day under the strenuous conditions we found our selves in. They broke the chains of his bondage and left him for dead. As we passed I saw the blood from his would slowly dripping into the sand.

It took us two weeks of walking with little water and even less food to reach the coast. When we reached the massive body of clear blue water I saw the craft that had been spoken about around the campfires of our village. It was taller than the tallest tree I had ever seen. As they forced us into the walls of the holding cell I lost sight of the spectacular vessel and would not see the ship for another week. I began to regain my strength inside the walls of the prison although the rations were meager at best. The skin on my neck had begun to wear raw. Eventually the whole prison was full of men, boys, and the occasional woman. When the prison walls were finally at their breaking point they again stood us up and forced us through low corridors until we almost reached the last doorway. Before the light of day peaked through I saw what they were doing, they were loading the groups of men onto small boats and taking them out to the huge vessel. I protested our forced march through the doorway. I grabbed onto anything I could to keep from never seeing my beloved homeland again. My complaints were quickly met with the stings of whips and prods of sticks. I realized my hopes were futile and proceeded through the door. We loaded the ship to its full capacity and more. With the craft hardly floating above the water we proceeded towards the large ship. As we approached the large vessel I saw a group of men who decided a life with out their families was no life at all jump from their boat. The weight from the chains was too much and they began to sink towards the bottom of the sea. We eventually reached the ship and were forced onboard. I caught a glimpse of the blood red sun setting in the west. That sight was the last time I would see the sun for almost a month.

If the conditions in the prison were bad the conditions on the boat were worse. It was so hot and so cramped that I often found myself gasping for the putrid air, which stank of sweat and human waste. We were rarely allowed above deck. When we were all I could see was the blue of the ocean and the grey of the sky. Everyday the poor souls that did not make it through the night or exhibited signs of sickness were thrown overboard. After over a month of endless blue and gray passed before land became visible. The dark foreboding vista was so different from my home. As we pulled into the dock, all of the men and women were unloaded and taken to markets, not like the markets at home, these markets are where humans buy humans. At last my dreadful journey was over; little did I know that it was just the beginning of the horrific journey that was to become my everyday life.

Welcome to my Blog

This blog will be used to post assignments for my American Government and Society class at BYU (and whatever else I feel like bloging about). My first assignment is to write a short personal narrative as if I was a slave being transported to America. I have found this assignment to be both thought provoking and meaningful. I have tried to explore the sure terror of the victims of the Middle Passage. The narritive is soon to follow.