Joseph Cinqué (1814 – 1879), sometimes referred to mononymously as Cinqué, was a West African man of the Mende people who led a revolt by many Africans aboard the Spanish slave ship La Amistad. After the boat was taken into custody by the US Revenue Cutter Service, he and his fellow Africans were tried for mutiny and killing officers on the ship, in a case known as United States v. The Amistad. This reached SCOTUS, where he 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 funds to return 35 survivors to Sierra Leone.
He was a rice farmer and married with three children when he was captured illegally by African slave traders in 1839 and sold to Pedro Blanco, a Spanish slave trader. He was imprisoned on the European slave ship Tecora, in violation of treaties prohibiting the international slave trade. He was taken to Havana, where he was sold with 110 others to Spaniards José Ruiz and Pedro Montez.
After the case was decided in favor of the Africans in the district and circuit courts, the Spanish parties, including the Spanish government, appealed to SCOTUS. In March 1841, the SCOTUS ruled that the Africans had mutinied to regain their freedom after being kidnapped and sold illegally. The advocacy of former President John Quincy Adams, together with Roger Sherman Baldwin, was critical to the Africans’ defense. The court ordered the Africans freed and returned to Africa if they wished. This decision was against the protests of President Martin Van Buren, who worried about relations with Spain and implications for domestic slavery. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence
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