The Amistad incident
Important moment in the history of the U.S. and the United Church of Christ.
In 1839, 55 Africans who had been captured in the slave trade struck out for their freedom while being transported out of Havana, Cuba, on a schooner called La Amistad. The captives successfully took over the ship and ordered the crew to sail back to Africa, but weeks later the ship ended up far north, at the tip of Long Island, New York. U.S. officials boarded the ship, arrested the captives and jailed them in Connecticut. There they were befriended by Christian abolitionists, many belonging to churches that are now part of the United Church of Christ. The abolitionists hired lawyers, including former President John Quincy Adams, to appeal the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which declared the captives free in 1841. This abolitionist victory helped create momentum for the formation in 1846 of the American Missionary Association. This interracial agency’s work in education, discipleship and justice eventually became part of the national mission structure of the UCC which continues to this day.
God’s love be with you,
