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The impetus for building Amistad came from Warren Q. Marr II, former editor of the NAACP’s The Crisis magazine. Marr’s inspiration for the replica emerged during New York's Operation Sail 1976, a spectacular parade of the world’s tall ships. Participating in that event was a representation of the historic 19th century schooner, La Amistad. It was actually the schooner Western Union with its name temporarily hidden under signs proclaiming her Amistad. Marr wanted the story of the African captives’ fight for freedom on the seas, in a New Haven court, and in a landmark United States Supreme Court case to be told. Marr’s goal was to design the re-created vessel as a floating exhibit, assemble a crew, and sail her from port to port teaching the history of the Amistad Incident of 1839. Marr believed the Amistad story could foster unity among people of diverse backgrounds and help improve race relations.

In filming his interpretation of the Amistad Incident of 1839, Steven Spielberg used two ships to stand in for long-shots of La Amistad. These include Pride of Baltimore II (when filming on the East Coast) and Californian (when filming on the West Coast). Spielberg also used the "blubber room" of the Mystic Seaport whale ship, Charles W. Morgan, to portray the hold of Amistad.