Introduction:
In 1839 a Cuban schooner named La Amistad was found off the coast of Long Island, New York. It was a slave trading ship with 53 Africans on board. There had been a mutiny, two officers had been killed. The Africans were seeking to turn the boat back to their home in Africa. They were not successful and were instead taken into American custody. A trial was held to decide whether the Africans would be free to return home or whether they would be treated as property and face a life of slavery.
