Sengbe Pieh, later known as Joseph Cinqué, was an ordinary man. He owned a rice farm in Sierra Leone and lived with his wife and three children. However, one day, everything changed. Cinqué was suddenly taken from his family and home by slave traders, who imprisoned him in Lomboko. He was cruelly kept there, away from his wife, his family and his livelihood for about a year. Eventually, he was carelessly sold to a slave trader named Pedro Blanco for less than the cost of a few bottles of Spanish whiskey. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In 1836, the British passed a law authorizing the destruction of ships captured while smuggling slaves, since the slave trade was illegal in Britain. In response to this, slave traders waited until prisons and the like were filled with (largely innocent) black prisoners, and then transported their human cargo in huge loads to minimize the risk of detection by having to make multiple trips . Slave trader Jose Ruiz bought Cinqué and 48 other slaves from the now full prison for one of these voyages and loaded him onto his schooner, La Amistad. The frightened and disoriented Africans were herded like cattle, tied and placed in heavy chains among a load of plates, jewelry, fabrics and other prized objects. In May 1839, La Amistad set sail from Havana, Africa, originally intending to land in Puerto Principle, Cuba. However, unbeknownst to the crew, a rebellion was brewing below decks. Cinqué convinced his fellow prisoners that they could take control of the ship and return to their homes in Africa. He pointed out that the crew was weak and old and that there were machete-like cane knives to use. Eventually, a captive blacksmith named Burna figured out how to free the mutineers from their chains with a primitive tip. Freed from their chains, Cinqué and his conspirators settled down to await an opportunity. On July 2, 1839, a storm rocked La Amistad, distracting the crew. Seeing the opportunity, Cinqué and two other freed prisoners armed themselves and proceeded onto the bridge to stage their revolt. They fought furiously against the crew and killed La Amistad's captain and cook. The navigator was spared and ordered to take them back to Africa. However, the navigator was cunning. Taking advantage of the fact that the mutineers were short of supplies and did not speak English, he sailed La Amistad to the northeast, towards Africa by day, but in the opposite direction, towards the Bahamas by night for several weeks. Eventually, U.S. authorities captured the exhausted and starving fugitives and threw them into another prison in New Haven, Connecticut, a state where slavery was legal. Before any legal proceedings could even begin, just as Cinqué and his companions were arrested, the Spanish embassy demanded the return of the slaves at La Amistad. They argued that because they were technically Spanish, Spain should have custody of future escaped slaves, but the United States simultaneously laid claims to them as its property. The abolitionist movement, seeing that the plight of the African mutineers was a good opportunity to garner public sympathy, made their move. US President Martin Van Buren also had his eye on the case. It was the year of his re-election, so he decided to stir up pro-slavery sentiment with his support and thus gain more votes for his campaign. Ultimately, abolitionist sentiment on the case succeeded, 83(2), 101-106.