Joseph Cinqu @, Leader Amistad Slave Revolt

Joseph Cinquce (1814 - 1879) was a West African man of the Mende people who led a revolt of many Africans on the Spanish slave ship, La Amistad. After the ship was taken into custody by the United States Revenue Cutter Service, Cinquce and his fellow Africans were eventually tried for killing officers on the ship, in a case known as United States v. The Amistad. The case reached the Supreme Court, where Cinquce and his fellow Africans were found to have rightfully defended themselves from being enslaved through the illegal Atlantic slave trade and were released. Americans helped raise money for their return to Africa. Cinquce and the other Africans reached their homeland in 1842. In Sierra Leone, Cinquce was faced with civil war. He and his company maintained contact with the local mission for a while, but Cinquce left to trade along the coast. Little is known of his later life. Engraved by John Sartain after Nathaniel Jocelyn, 1840

Picture No

12696649

Media ID

47672656

Size

3342px x 4200px (5.9MB)

Credit

LOC/Science Source/Mary Evans