Amistad Captives - Sold at Auction

WARNING:  THIS CLIP RECREATES A KIDNAPPING SCENE AND SHOWS HOW AFRICANS WERE TAKEN FROM THEIR HOMES AND SOLD AS SLAVES.  IT IS NOT EASY TO WATCH AND MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN.  PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

After they were illegally kidnapped from their families, Africans were sent to the “new world” on ships characterized by unspeakably bad conditions.  People were sold, at auction, as slaves.  

In 1839, fifty-three such individuals were part of a sale in Havana, Cuba.  Purchased by two Spaniards, the Africans were transferred to a ship called La Amistad.  They would soon be caught-up in a legal battle which further pushed America toward civil war.

Credits

From Amistad (1997), written by David Franzoni, directed by Steven Spielberg and released by Dreamworks.  Copyright, Dreamworks, all rights reserved.  Provided here as fair use for educational purposes.

The film features Djimon Hounsou (Cinque), Morgan Freeman (Theodore Joadson), Anthony Hopkins (John Quincy Adams) and Matthew McConaughey (Baldwin).  Cinematography by Janusz Kaminski.