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Photo, Print, Drawing Grabo. The Armistad [sic] Negroes, Drawn from Life, by Wm. H. Townsend.. Grabo. The Armistad [sic] Negroes, Drawn from life, by Wm. H. Townsend

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About this Item

Title

  • Grabo. The Armistad [sic] Negroes, Drawn from Life, by Wm. H. Townsend..

Other Title

  • Grabo. The Armistad [sic] Negroes, Drawn from life, by Wm. H. Townsend

Summary

  • In 1839, the Spanish slave ship Amistad set sail from Havana to Puerto Principe, Cuba. The ship was carrying 53 Africans who, a few months earlier, had been abducted from their homeland in present-day Sierra Leone to be sold in Cuba. The captives revolted against the ship's crew, killing the captain and others, but sparing the life of the ship's navigator so that he could set them on a course back to Africa. Instead, the navigator directed the ship north and west. After several weeks, a U.S. Navy vessel seized the Amistad off the coast of Long Island. The Africans were transported to New Haven, Connecticut, to be tried for mutiny, murder, and piracy. These charges later were dismissed, but the Africans were kept in prison as the case turned to salvage claims and property rights. In a trial in Federal District Court, a group of Cuban planters, the government of Spain, and the captain of the Amistad all claimed ownership of the Africans. After two years of legal battles, the case went before the U.S. Supreme Court, which ultimately ordered that the captives be set free. Thirty-five of the former captives returned to their homeland; the others had died at sea or while awaiting trial. New Haven resident William H. Townsend made drawings (and in most cases recorded the names) of the Amistad captives at the time of their trial. These drawings have been preserved in the library of Yale University.

Names

  • Townsend, William H., 1822-1851 Artist.

Created / Published

  • New Haven, Connecticut : [publisher not identified], [1839 to 1840]

Headings

  • -  Sierra Leone
  • -  Cuba
  • -  United States of America--Connecticut--New Haven
  • -  1839 to 1840
  • -  Amistad (Schooner)
  • -  Antislavery movements
  • -  Slave insurrections
  • -  Slave trade
  • -  Slavery
  • -  Slavery -- Law and legislation

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 1 drawing, pencil; approximately 16.5 x 13.8 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: Yale University Library.
  • -  Content in English.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Sketches of the Amistad Captives

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021669901

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Townsend, William H., Artist. Grabo. The Armistad sic Negroes, Drawn from Life, by Wm. H. Townsend. New Haven Sierra Leone United States of America Cuba Connecticut, 1839. [New Haven, Connecticut: publisher not identified, to 1840] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021669901/.

APA citation style:

Townsend, W. H. (1839) Grabo. The Armistad sic Negroes, Drawn from Life, by Wm. H. Townsend. New Haven Sierra Leone United States of America Cuba Connecticut, 1839. [New Haven, Connecticut: publisher not identified, to 1840] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021669901/.

MLA citation style:

Townsend, William H., Artist. Grabo. The Armistad sic Negroes, Drawn from Life, by Wm. H. Townsend. [New Haven, Connecticut: publisher not identified, to 1840] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021669901/>.