The Amistad

In New London, Ruiz and Montes described the slave rebellion to the American authorities, and pressed their claim for the return of the Amistad with its cargo of slaves. Despite the illegal capture of the slaves, the Spanish government backed Ruiz's and Montes' claim. With the blessing of President Martin Van Buren's administration, District Attorney William S. Holabird charged Cinque and the other blacks with committing murder and piracy aboard the Amistad.

The trial was held in the U.S. District Court for Connecticut. The judge was district court judge Andrew T. Judson, assisted by Supreme Court Justice Smith Thompson. The abolitionists hired a team of defense lawyers to represent the blacks, comprised of Roger S. Baldwin, Joshua Leavitt, Seth Staples and the ex-president of the United States, John Quincy Adams.

The trial began on 19 November 1839. The defense lawyers asserted that the blacks had the right to free themselves from the horrible conditions of slavery. In support of their position, they introduced Dr. Richard R. Madden, who had travelled extensively in Cuba and was an expert on slave conditions:

. . . so terrible were these atrocities, so murderous the system of slavery, so transcendent the evils I witnessed, over all I have ever heard or seen of the rigour of slavery elsewhere, that at first I could hardly believe the evidence of my senses.

Further, as the testimony of Madden and various witnesses made clear, returning Cinque and the others to Cuba meant certain death at the hands of the pro-slavery colonial authorities. In addition, since the blacks had originally been captured in Africa in violation of Spanish law, the abolitionists argued that the blacks were not legally slaves and therefore were not "property" belonging to Ruiz and Montes.

Despite pressure from the Van Buren administration, which wanted to avoid diplomatic tension with Spain, on 13 January 1840 Judge Judson ruled in favor of the Africans. Although the Amistad with its goods would be returned to Ruiz and Montes, subject to salvage costs, Cinque and the others:

. . . were born free, and ever since have been and still of right are free and not slaves.

Further, because they had been illegally enslaved, the Africans were ruled to be innocent of murder and piracy since they had only acted to free themselves. The prosecution appealed Judson's decision to the Supreme Court. The abolitionists had anticipated this move, since five Supreme Court justices, including Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, were Southerners and had owned slaves. The defense relied on John Quincy Adams to present their case, banking on his prestige as much as on his legal ability.

On 22 February 1840 the Supreme Court heard both sides of the argument, and on 9 March issued its opinion. The Court upheld Judson's decision, and so the blacks were finally free. Cinque and the others were returned to Africa.

Technically, the Amistad decision did not condemn slavery. It only held that Africans who were not legally slaves could not be considered property. Still, the courts could have easily turned Cinque over to Spanish authorities or returned them to Cuba. Therefore, the case was seen as a victory for the abolitionist cause, and was a milestone in the movement's quest for the total elimination of slavery.