The Amistad v. The Creole

[Samori Toure]

Why do White people only want to push the narrative of "Amistad" slave ship rebellion, where only 53 people were freed from slavery; rather than even so much as mention the "Creole" slave ship rebellion that freed over 128 slaves just two years later?

The Creole Slave Revolt Took Place On This Day In 1841
Written By D.L. Chandler
Posted November 7, 2013

Although there are several tales of slaves revolting against their masters in the annals of history, the overthrow of The Creoleby captives heading from Virginia to Louisiana is one of the more riveting accounts. The rebellion ultimately gained 128 slaves freedom after taking control of the slave trading ship and sailing to the Bahamas, sparking tensions between the British and American forces.

The Creole was sailing from Hampton, Va,. as part of the domestic slave trade coastal route after the United States banned international slave trade. A total of 135 slaves were aboard the ship as it made its way to New Orleans as part of a sale. 160 people in total were on the brig, including the captain’s family, a handful of slave traders and a crew of 10.

Madison Washington, a cook who was enslaved in Virginia after attempting to rescue his wife after he escaped to Canada, was the first to spark the overthrow. The slaves were kept in a forward hold and when a grate was lifted, Washington overtook the deck. Washington and 17 other men sparked the clash by taking on the captain’s crew and killed a trader with a knife. The captain was wounded, but escaped with his life as he hid inside the ship’s rigging.

The slaves demanded the ship be sailed towards Liberia, as it was the only country they knew former slaves could go for freedom. However, another slave mentioned they should sail to the British West Indies because slaves were freed there a year prior. Upon arriving at Nassau, Bahamas on November 9, the ship was boarded by Black Bahamians who declared the group free under British colonial law.

Because of the death of the slave trader, the governor of the Bahamas could not let the men go free. Washington and his compatriots in the revolt were detained while the rest were allowed to live as free people. Amazingly, three women, a girl and a boy elected to stay aboard the Creole and return to slavery. Upon the Creole’s arrival in New Orleans in December, White slave owners were angered at the loss of workers they considered nothing more than property.

Since there were no extradition treaties between the British and America, charges to return the slaves were dropped and many of the newly freed traveled on British ships to Jamaica while some remained behind. Among abolitionists and even the British, who outlawed slavery in 1834, Washington was considered a hero. It was also reported that Washington didn’t allow his fellow men to kill their captors and even helped treat the wounded.

Although it was not specifically named as a reason, the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 was enacted that banned the trading of slaves using waterways.

Madison Washington’s revolt on the Creole is largely seen as one of the most successful slave revolts in history.

BLACK HISTORY

The Creole Slave Revolt Took Place On This Day In 1841


Here is the story of Amistad, which is well known.

https://www.history.com/news/the-amistad-slave-rebellion-175-years-ago

 

[Supper]

Foreign blacks will always be romanticized over AfrAmDOS in this country

Don't forget the Decatur ship revolt in Baltimore where slaves did manage to take control of the ship, but were stranded due to not knowing how to pilot it, and eventually apprehended by whites on another ship, but many managed to escape when the ship landed and only one was caught. So, it was semi-successful.

Baltimore's Own Version of "Amistad"

Fun Fact: both the Decatur and the Creole revolts were both sparked by the domestic slave trade, and deep southern slave owners didn't like slaves coming in from northern territories as they were known for being unruly, mischievous, and having desires for freedom.

 

[Samori Toure]

Foreign blacks will always be romanticized over AfrAmDOS in this country

Don't forget the Decatur ship revolt in Baltimore where slaves did manage to take control of the ship, but were stranded due to not knowing how to pilot it, and eventually apprehended by whites on another ship, but many managed to escape when the ship landed and only one was caught. So, it was semi-successful.

Baltimore's Own Version of "Amistad"

Fun Fact: both the Decatur and the Creole revolts were both sparked by the domestic slave trade, and deep southern slave owners didn't like slaves coming in from northern territories as they were known for being unruly, mischievous, and having desires for freedom.

Yup that is the whole process of being sold down the river from plantations in the mid-south (Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky) to plantations in the deep south (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas). Of course those sales were happening because the USA had just completed the Louisiana Purchase and lands in the deep south were being cleared to plant the newer more profitable crop of cotton after Eli Whitney's Black slave named Sam invented the cotton gin.

NPR Choice page

Btw, there are lots and lots of stories about ships in the USA domestic slave trade being blown off course and ending up in Bermuda and the Bahamas. Once those ships landed in either one of those countries the English would immediately free the African American slaves. That is the reason for the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842, where the English agreed to pay restitution to USA plantation owners who slaves had been freed in Bermuda or the Bahamas.

So there is precedent for reparations that African Americans are seeking.

 

[Supper]

Yup that is the whole process of being sold down the river from plantations in the mid-south (Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky) to plantations in the deep south (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas). Of course those sales were happening because the USA had just completed the Louisiana Purchase and lands in the deep south were being cleared to plant the newer more profitable crop of cotton after Eli Whitney's Black slave named Sam invented the cotton gin.

Yeah the domestic slave trade was so truly horrific in nature that confederate sympathizers who were apologist for the practice of slavery itself actively tried to distance themselves from the domestic slave trading industry, which I have a feeling is part of the reason this very significant part of history is glossed over when discussing slavery in America.

Deep southern slave owners knew that blacks from coming in from far away slave territories were most likely to runaway most likely to return to their families they left after being sold away. Truly sad stuff.

As an Afr'Am who slave ancestry traces back to Texas and Louisiana I am without a doubt a descendant of domestically traded slaves. I think a whole separate conversation needs to be had in regards to reparations for the domestic slave trade that is distinct from the practice of slavery itself.

And I hate to have to seem like I'm downplaying another people's struggle, but we hear about the trail of tears nonstop(which had Afr'Am in it), but barely any talks about the horrors of the domestic slave trade despite that fact that it was much larger, more brutal(being whipped and escorted in coffles), and much more traumatizing, as it involved the ripping apart of families by force.

NPR Choice page

Btw, there are lots and lots of stories about ships in the USA domestic slave trade being blown off course and ending up in Bermuda and the Bahamas. Once those ships landed in either one of those countries the English would immediately free the African American slaves. That is the reason for the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842, where the English agreed to pay restitution to USA plantation owners who slaves had been freed in Bermuda or the Bahamas.

So there is precedent for reparations that African Americans are seeking.

Now, this I didn't know. Preciate the info.

Gonna have to start droppin by the root more often.

 

[Samori Toure]

Yeah the domestic slave trade was so truly horrific in nature that confederate sympathizers who were apologist for the practice of slavery itself actively tried to distance themselves from the domestic slave trading industry, which I have a feeling is part of the reason this very significant part of history is glossed over when discussing slavery in America.

Deep southern slave owners knew that blacks from coming in from far away slave territories were most likely to runaway most likely to return to their families they left after being sold away. Truly sad stuff.

As an Afr'Am who slave ancestry traces back to Texas and Louisiana I am without a doubt a descendant of domestically traded slaves. I think a whole separate conversation needs to be had in regards to reparations for the domestic slave trade that is distinct from the practice of slavery itself.

And I hate to have to seem like I'm downplaying another people's struggle, but we hear about the trail of tears nonstop(which had Afr'Am in it), but barely any talks about the horrors of the domestic slave trade despite that fact that it was much larger, more brutal(being whipped and escorted in coffles), and much more traumatizing, as it involved the ripping apart of families by force.





Now, this I didn't know. Preciate the info.

Gonna have to start droppin by the root more often.

Yup. Under the treaty the British government had to pay the USA government $110,300.00 for the value of the 128 slaves that had been freed. The US government reimbursed the slave owners. Btw, those were 1842 dollars so that is in the millions now. Here is the actual info:


The Slave Ship ‘Creole’ Affair
Though it was not specifically mentioned in the treaty, Webster-Ashburton also brought a settlement to the slave trade-related case of the Creole.

In November 1841, the U.S. slave ship Creole was sailing from Richmond, Virginia, to New Orleans with 135 slaves on board. Along the way, 128 of the slaves escaped their chains and took over the ship killing one of the white slave traders. As commanded by the slaves, the Creole sailed to Nassau in the Bahamas where the slaves were set free.

The British government paid the United States $110,330 because under international law at the time officials in the Bahamas did not have the authority to free the slaves. Also outside the Webster-Ashburton treaty, the British government agreed to end the impressment of American sailors.

How the Webster-Ashburton Treaty Smoothed US-Canadian Relations
Milestones: 1830–1860 - Office of the Historian

 

[Supper]

Yup. Under the treaty the British government had to pay the USA government $110,300.00 for the value of the slaves that had been freed. The US government reimbursed the slave owners. Btw, those were 1842 dollars so that is in the millions now. Here is the actual info:


The Slave Ship ‘Creole’ Affair
Though it was not specifically mentioned in the treaty, Webster-Ashburton also brought a settlement to the slave trade-related case of the Creole.

In November 1841, the U.S. slave ship Creole was sailing from Richmond, Virginia, to New Orleans with 135 slaves on board. Along the way, 128 of the slaves escaped their chains and took over the ship killing one of the white slave traders. As commanded by the slaves, the Creole sailed to Nassau in the Bahamas where the slaves were set free.

The British government paid the United States $110,330 because under international law at the time officials in the Bahamas did not have the authority to free the slaves. Also outside the Webster-Ashburton treaty, the British government agreed to end the impressment of American sailors.

How the Webster-Ashburton Treaty Smoothed US-Canadian Relations
Milestones: 1830–1860 - Office of the Historian

Oh yeah, I knew about the restitution the British paid in the creole case. I didn't know about the other ships that accidentally went off course then landed in Bermuda and the Bahamas and then the British having to pay the US for that.

This reminds me of the case when DC paid 900 slave owners $300 dollars each in restitution for loss of "labor" after the abolishment of slavery in the city, and then offered to pay newly freed slaves $100 each if they chose to leave the US for other countries like Haiti or Liberia.

District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act - Wikipedia

 

[get these nets]

OP, it's not simply white people in this situation, it is American white people.
The Amistad film was a slavery film with "white American heroes" . Only way you can cover the subject in a mainstream film is with white characters that the white audience can "identify" with.*

A British film about Creole, would be along the same lines with "British white heroes" against the evil white American slavers.


Also, the Amistad case lasted a long time, was covered in the intl. press, and was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Because of the international coverage, it is story known across across some of Europe. America is and has been VERY influential globally...so certainly American abolitionists wrote several books and articles about Amistad to bolster their anti-slavery arguments.


*Danny Glover ran into funding efforts o get film about Haitian Revolution done through studio system because there is no white hero in the story. If mainstream ever does cover that subject, I'd bet money that it will be written from perspective of the Polish soldiers who were brought in to help France, but who switched sides and joined the Africans.

 

[Samori Toure]

OP, it's not simply white people in this situation, it is American white people.
The Amistad film was a slavery film with "white American heroes" . Only way you can cover the subject in a mainstream film is with white characters that the white audience can "identify" with.*

A British film about Creole, would be along the same lines with "British white heroes" against the evil white American slavers.


Also, the Amistad case lasted a long time, was covered in the intl. press, and was ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. Because of the international coverage, it is story known across across some of Europe. America is and has been VERY influential globally...so certainly American abolitionists wrote several books and articles about Amistad to bolster their anti-slavery arguments.


*Danny Glover ran into funding efforts o get film about Haitian Revolution done through studio system because there is no white hero in the story. If mainstream ever does cover that subject, I'd bet money that it will be written from perspective of the Polish soldiers who were brought in to help France, but who switched sides and joined the Africans.

This is not about a movie. If we are going to talk about the movie the Amistad then it should be noted that the movie was historically inaccurate, because it did not disclose the fact that Mende were kidnapped by a completely different ship in Sierra Leone and brought to Cuba, before ending up on the Amistad. The movie also didn't disclose the fact that the Mende slaves were Muslim; which is why those White evangelists in New England were handing them bibles to begin with in an effort to proselytize them. However, for some reason Hollyweird just left that shyt out, which reinforced White people propaganda nonsense that Black people were ignorant and docile and didn't belong to organized religions.

Sengbe Pieh was even pictured as Muslim at that time of the revolt in 1839:

Islam in America During the Slavery Years
A true history of the African chief Jingua and his... p. 8-[illustration]
United States v. The Amistad - Wikipedia

I get what you are saying, but I am asking why the Amistad story over the Creole story? The Creole story was much more significant, because the Creole showed just how close England and the USA were to having another war, which is why they had to create a treaty. The Creole was part of a larger problem, because the British abolished slavery in their territorial waters as of 1834, however long before that event: the English had created manumission in the Bahamas in 1818 for any slaves brought from another nation to the Bahamas. So the English were freeing slaves long before they actually abolished slavery, which included their efforts with the USA at blockading the African coastlines in 1807. So I pointed out the Creole, because of the revolt, but the problem was much bigger and deeper than that, because what I didn't cover were the other ships that the English just straight up gangstered at sea to free slaves or the freeing of American slaves that were ground by storms that occurred from 1830-1842. That is not even going into the Caroline incident in Canada, between the USA, Canada and Britain, which didn't even involve slavery; the Enterprise slave ship incident gives a little more detail on what was going down in the Caribbean.

Enterprise (slave ship) | Revolvy
Afro-Bahamian - Wikipedia

 

[get these nets]

Akan,

you answered your own question. I'm assuming you are in America. The story of Amistad was covered extensively and was concluded legally HERE. American abolitionist used it for anti-slavery movement HERE.
I'm certain that in English popular culture, their anti-slave trade measures and actions are covered extensively. I argue with a white guy on YB over that ,though. I called BS on it being based on any moral ground, as they teach it in the UK. I think anti-slavery fighters helped push for it, but there was an economic incentive also.
White guy was beating his chest about how "Brits ended the slave trade" morality,etc...told him to GTFO......less than 75 years after "ending the atlantic slave trade"Britain was getting their slice of the scramble for Africa and fwent on to colonize, pillage, and exploit land across the entire globe....which was neoslavery.
He conceded the point and stopped paying the morality card