"I'd rather die than be a white man's slave." Joseph Cinqué
In July 1839 the Amistad set sail from Havana, Cuba, carrying 49 enslaved Mende people and 4 young children, recently bought in West Africa. After 4 days at sea, led by Joseph Cinqué, the slaves rose up and took over the

the ship and tried to return to Africa but we're tricked by the navigator.
The ship was discovered by the US Navy, and taken into their custody, starting a widely popular Supreme Court case to settle the 'legal status' of the Mende captives. The question at the time was whether

these human beings were free or if they were slaves and therefore to be considered salvage and property of the naval officers that had taken them into custody. If determined property they would have been accused of mutiny and executed for their fight for freedom.
The court

eventually decided the Mende were legally free and had acted as free men rather than slaves, therefore they were only fighting for their freedom and in self-defense. After the court ruling they were repatriated back to Africa.
Though many may think that enslaved Africans were

completely submissive on the ship vessels on their way to the Americas during the Transatlantic Slave trade, the truth is that roughly 15 to 20% of the ships which left Africa never made it to the 'New World.' Amistad was one of the hundreds, maybe even thousands of vessels that

were overtaken by the enslaved Africans onboard. During some of these takeovers, these Africans, who sometimes were warriors, rose up and killed every white man on these ships. Some of these ships were sailed back to Africa by the once captured men, back home. We fought back!