Mutiny on the Amistad - Essay Example

Film Studies In the year 1839, slaves took over control of the Amistad ship and attempted to sail the vessel back toAfrica. An American frigate seized the ship and took it to the US, which, in turn, set off a controversy in which the courts conflicted with the President and created awareness of North America about the detriments of slavery. The Amistad event was a significant milestone in the progress of the abolitionist movement. Amistad introduces the horrors of the disruptive nature of the slave trade and slavery. This paper will provide a brief history of the institution of slavery in North America before 1865, discussing the depiction of slavery through film. The film Amistad provides an accurate depiction of slavery in the North prior to the 1865 time line (Jones 14). Slavery in the US was a manner of slave labor that existed as a permissible custom since the early colonial period. Pursuant to the American Revolution between the year 1775 and 1783, northern states abolished slavery. Congress subsequently abolished slavery in the Northwest Territory. Slavery in North gained momentum after 1800 with the advent of the cotton industry before expanding to the Southwest. This resulted in the establishment of a slave and Free State system. In spite of this, the US law illegalized the international export and import of slaves in the year 1807. By the mid 19th century, the South vigorously defended slavery, as well as its expansion into other territories. In the North, however, a minute number of abolitionists condemned slavery as sinful, while a large number of anti-slavery movements denounced slavery as unfavorable to the rights of free individuals. States attempted and failed to reach a compromise, and in the year 1861, eleven states disentangled to establish the Confederate States of America. In order to defeat the Confederacy, in 1862, the Union made abolition of slavery the main agenda, which the Union attained in 1865 (Jones 29). During this period, slave owners freed all slaves but did not receive any compensation. Through the system, chattel slavery became the dominant system in which ownership of slaves entailed the ownership of an individual and all of his or her descendants. The chattel system encompassed a racial element as slaves were predominantly blacks of African descent, while the owners were largely whites. Freedom from slavery was only possible by running away or being discharged by the owner. The film, Amistad depicts this phenomenon as slaves aboard the vessel sought to run away from their owners. Amistad is a historical drama film based on the true events of the 1839 uprising in which newly captured African slaves took over the La Amistad ship off the Cuban coast under the leadership of Joseph Cinque (Jones 21). Directed by Steven Spielberg and released in 1997, the film paints a picture of the slavery menace that engulfed North America in the 18th and early 19th century. The film follows the story of Cinque’s life through his recurrent flashbacks. Of paramount importance is Cinque’s capture in Africa and journey to the Caribbean Islands through the infamous Middle Passage slave vessel called Tecora. Cinque shows the horrors engulfed in the Middle Passage like the drowning of fifty persons to save rations (Jones 37). Cinque recounts that, after their arrival at the Caribbean Islands, his unlawful sale to the owners of La Amistad ensued. Through Cinque’s flashbacks, the film accurately depicts the occurrences of the slave trade and slavery, showing how trade in Africans occurred like in commodity such as copper and crops. Through Cinque’s experiences, the audience appreciates the events of the slave trade and slavery and understands the pushing force for the establishment of US antislavery laws. The film goes further to describe the legal battle that ensued after the recapture of the African slaves on the La Amistad by a US revenue cutter. The legal battle entailed the group of African slaves charged with murder and mutiny and who received legal representation from an abolitionist lawyer called Baldwin. Baldwin presented a log book of all slaves aboard La Amistad as evidence to the district court. The book showed that the slaves were, indeed from Africa. This was a complete contravention of the US law, which, by then, outlawed the enslavement of any person who was not a descendant of a slave. The basis of this law was the provision in the US Constitution that allowed Congress to illegalize African slave trade from the year 1809. This meant that the purchase and sale of slaves aboard La Amistad was illegal as the slaves were abductees from West Africa; therefore, the slaves were legally permissible to use deadly force to secure their freedom. This, in turn, meant that the killings of white slave traders and vessel crew were justifiable homicide and not murder (Jones 49). Amistad shows a twist in the case as the then president Van Buren replaced the presiding judge before the judge could rule in favor of the Africans. Van Buren sought to replace the presiding with one that he could influence. Nonetheless, the new judge still ruled in favor of the Africans, citing that since the slaves originated from Africa, it was permissible for them to use deadly force to resist enslavement. The judge order the immediate return of the slaves to Africa at the US government’s expense and the arrest of potential slave traders. This case was a critical turning point in American history as the judge’s ruling precipitated the denunciation and complete abolition of the slave trade, which was conducted secretly despite illegalization by the US Constitution in 1808. The film shows how, despite winning the case against the US government in the US v. The Amistad, in the district court, the prosecution appealed to the Supreme Court whose seven out of nine justices were slave owners (Jones 91). However, because of the assistance of former president John Quincy Adams, the Africans won the case and went back to Africa. One of the predominant lasting effects in Amistad is that the committee of abolitionists established to defend and care for the Amistad Africans stayed together and has since been a force against slavery. After the Africans had reached Africa, the committee dispatched a mission to Christianize Africa. The committee later developed into the American Missionary Association that fought against the slave trade and slavery for the next few decades. Amistad tackles an unfavorable period in the history of America. The film is borrows from the Amistad essays that chronicle the uprising of African slaves. In most cases, film-making reshapes history for the sake of drama. However, despite the challenge of fusing experienced and fresh talent with the accurate occurrences of the Amistad incident, Steven Spielberg produced an overwhelmingly accurate film of the Amistad incident. Cinematographer Janusz Kaminski uses low-light to produce pictures with precision in terms of portraying the emotions of either side of the slavery battle. Amistad is historically accurate, especially with regard to the Supreme Court ruling reversing District and Circuit decrees regarding the conveyance of Africans back to Africa (Jones 82). The film exemplified a turning point with regard to the slave trade regarding importation of African slaves. The film provides an impressive portrayal of cultural wars that engulfed the US prior to 1865. The film also depicts the American, white society as mostly racists who enslaved blacks of African descent. The film’s script breaks free from the traditional dialogue-heavy structure allowing Spielberg’s trademark brilliance to shine. For instance, the scenes aboard the ship express heart-wrenching sadness in several visual minutes that allow glimpses into the rousing movie. In conclusion, while importation of slaves into the US was illegal since 1808, the film shows evidence that the law was rather lenient to slave traders and owners. These individuals continued to import slaves until 1839 when African slaves captured the La Amistad, shedding light on the continued importation of slaves into North America. Pursuant to the Amistad incident as portrayed in the similarly named film Amistad, the US judicial service, became stricter on slave traders who imported slaves, especially from Africa (Jones 112). The occurrences aboard La Amistad and the subsequent court battle changed the course of the slave trade in the US, bringing to an end the illegal importation of slaves from Africa. Amistad provides an accurate description of the occurrences aboard La Amistad and the ensuing court cases that halted slave importation in the US. Work Cited Jones, H. Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave Revolt and Its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print.   Read More