PRESS RELEASE - 2008
Barbados welcomes Amistad freedom schooner Amistad Freedom Schooner serves as backdrop to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade PRESS RELEASE - 2008
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (April 10, 2008) - A combination of beautiful weather, culturally relevant presentations and the rush of being a part of an unfolding historic moment, made the official welcome ceremony for the Amistad Freedom Schooner at the Flour Mill on April 4 truly unforgettable.
To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade with the breathtaking schooner as the backdrop, attendees were treated to an authentic West African libation ceremony by the Sankofa Dance troupe featuring local spoken word poet, Adrian Green.
Subsequently, the official remarks were made by Minister of Tourism, Richard Sealy, who endorsed the ship's visit as timely, particularly as the nation seeks to bolster its burgeoning heritage tourism sector. He also anticipated that the educational tours of the vessel will be greatly appreciated, especially by Barbadians who would want to go beyond the textbook version of the Triangular Slave Trade.
This multi-faceted event provided an opportunity for visitors to embrace the courageous and inspiring struggle during August 1839, when some 40 slaves were successful in overtaking the vessel and its wealth of cargo, facing U.S. law makes t the time, to transform the future of their nation.
Acting Deputy Chief of Missions at the U.S. Embassy, Mr. Robert Smolik, brought a more sombre interpretation of the visit, by reminding attendees that slavery still exists in various forms of forced labour across the globe. However, he was thankful to the Amistad team for its efforts to trumpet the continued physical and mental emancipation from this abominable system through their Atlantic Freedom Tour.
Dr. Wayne Adams, a representative of Amistad Freedom Society of Nova Scotia, Canada, encouraged Captain Eliza Garfield and her 16 crew members, and shared intriguing facts about the connection between his hometown, Nova Scotia, Canada and Freetown, Sierra Leone during his address.
Once the ceremony had dispersed, a party of VIPs were ferried out to the schooner to become the first Barbadians to tour the vessel. Members included Tourism Minister, Richard Sealy, and Permanent Secretary, Andrew Cox; Minister of Culture, Steve Blackette; Acting Deputy Chef of Missions at the U.S. Embassy, Robert Smolik; President & CEO of the Barbados Tourism Authority, Stuart Layne, along with the Senior Vice President Cicely Walcott, and Director of Marketing Services, Averil Byer.
Amistad's 2007-2008 voyage cover 14000 miles, including a sail into Sierra Leone, the original West African homeland of many of the Amistad captives and where they were returned after their historic victory in 1839. The ship will set sail April 20 to depart for South Carolina, a state with which Barbados shares significant historical connections.
The Amistad story
In 1839, 53 Africans were kidnapped from West Africa and sold into the transatlantic slave trade. Shackled aboard the Portuguese slave vessel, Tecora, 49 men and four children were brought to Havana, Cuba, where they were fraudulently classified as native, Cuban-born slaves. Purchased illegally by Spanish planters, Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montez, they were transferred to the schooner,La Amistad for transport to another part of the island.
Three days into the journey, led by a 25-year-old Mende rice farmer named Sengbe Pieh, or "Cinque" t his Spanish captors, the Africans seized the sip, killed the captain and the cook, and ordered the planters to sail to Africa. After 63 days, La Amistad and her "cargo" were seized as salvage by the USS Washington near Montauk Point, Long Island, NY and towed to New London harbor in Connecticut.
The Africans were held in a New Haven jail on charges of murder. The case took on historic proportions when former President John Quincy Adams successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the captives. In 1841, the 35 surviving Africans were returned to Africa.
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