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Historical Questions
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Written by AAI Staff
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Sunday, 27 May 2007 |
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La Amistad was a coastal trader doing the same work that tractor-trailers do for us today. Generally, she carried sugar-industry products from Guanaja, her home port in Cuba, to Havana, making a round trip about every two months. She often carried people: Spanish ladies and gentlemen and sometimes she carried people bound for lives as slaves on sugar-cane plantations. At the same time that La Amistad sailed, there were vessels known as slave ships, such as Tecora, that were engaged in trafficking illegally captured African people from Africa to the Americas. La Amistad was not such a vessel.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 14 January 2008 )
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Questions about Freedom Schooner Amistad,
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Written by AAI Staff
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Wednesday, 30 May 2007 |
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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. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 14 January 2008 )
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Questions about Freedom Schooner Amistad,
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Written by AAI Staff
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Wednesday, 30 May 2007 |
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Freedom Schooner Amistad is always looking for dedicated crew members. Learn more about life aboard Amistad and joining the crew. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 14 January 2008 )
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Questions about Freedom Schooner Amistad,
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Written by AAI Staff
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Wednesday, 30 May 2007 |
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Amistad is ten feet longer than the original La Amistad of 1839. The extra length was built into the ship to accommodate an engine room. The keel is made of a tropical hardwood known as Purpleheart. The wood was harvested using sustainable forestry management practices in
Guyana,
South America. It is extremely dense, hard, and rot-resistant. Amistad’s two masts are carved from Douglas Firs donated by the the Department of Natural Resources,
Washington
state. The frame is made of live oak salvaged in
South Carolina from the devastation caused by Hurricane Hugo in 1989, and from highway projects on Hilton Head,
South Carolina. Iroko was donated by the
Republic of
Sierra Leone, the birthplace of the Amistad captives. Learn more by reading about the woods used in construction.
Dimensions
Total length from bowsprit to stern: 129’
Weight: 136 tons
Rig: Topsail Schooner
Length over the rail: 85’
Length on deck: 81’
Maximum beam (width): 23’
Length at waterline: 78’
Design draft (depth): 10’
Sail area: 5,200 square feet
Topmast: 91’ |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 14 January 2008 )
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