For Immediate Release
The Amistad arrives in Bristol on historic tour to mark 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act
Freedom Schooner Amistad sailed into Bristol on Thursday to continue its historic UK tour marking the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade.
  The new crew will be welcomed by Bristol students Saphra Ross, 20, and Nadia Waithe, 22, who helped to sail the ship across the Atlantic since her departure from New Haven, Connecticut, USA on 21 June 2007.
The official welcome ceremony will take place at 3pm today at the berth next to the Arnolfini on Bristol’s harbourside.
During its transatlantic journey from the US, they coped with high seas, saw dolphins, and exchanged greetings with the Queen Mary II.
Saphra and Nadia will be passing on their sailing tips to the new student crew, which includes Bristolian  Molly Crossthwaite, who will help to sail Amistad to Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Molly Crossthwaite, 22, has just finished an undergraduate degree in Archaeology and Ancient History. She became particularly interested in the history of slavery, the way it is interpreted and presented during last year.
Molly’s undergraduate dissertation compared the way the cities of New York and Bristol deal with their slavery heritage in context of the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade. In the future, she hopes to pursue a graduate degree in maritime archaeology.
The arrival of Amistad in Bristol marks a significant point in the 16-month, 14,000 mile ‘Amistad Atlantic Freedom Tour’ sponsored by Delta Air Lines and Caterpillar Marine Power Systems to retrace the infamous slave trade triangle, which includes the ‘homecoming’ trip to Sierra Leone.
After a 48-day transatlantic voyage, including a stop in Halifax, Amistad, a reconstruction of the original ship that was commandeered by African captives in 1839, arrived in Falmouth at the beginning of August before sailing into Liverpool with former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, MP, at the helm to launch the opening of the International Slavery Museum. Hundreds of people visited her at Albert Dock, including civil rights campaigner the Reverend Jesse Jackson.
Amistad will be open for visits and lectures from the crew. The Amistad team will also visit local schools to deliver talks on slavery and the Amistad incident. The schooner will then set sail for London on Tuesday, September 4, and is expected to moor in the capital’s South Quay on September 13.
She will then resume her Atlantic Basin tour, stopping at Portugal, Senegal, Sierra Leone, the Caribbean and the US.
A total of 50 students from countries around the Atlantic Basin will serve as Amistad crew during the voyage. Through live web-casts and e-mail correspondence to participating schools and museums across the globe, students aboard the ship will share their learning experiences with other students of all ages. The web-casts and e-mail are expected to connect several million students worldwide, making Amistad a floating classroom.
In December, Amistad will sail into the harbour of Freetown, Sierra Leone, the original West African homeland of many of the Amistad captives. This symbolic “homecoming” will be a capstone event of the Atlantic Freedom Tour.
AMISTAD America Chairman William Minter said: “The reaction to Amistad on this tour has been truly unbelievable. It seems now really is the right time for the message of Amistad to be heard. This tour represents an opportunity to share the values of Amistad–freedom, collaboration, and justice–with communities in Bristol and across the UK.
"Fifty-three West Africans were forcefully captured from their home and fought for their freedom on board the original La Amistad in 1839. Now 200 years after the abolition of the slave trade, Amistad is touring the UK to mark Britain’s important role in the road to emancipation of all slaves.”
Molly Crossthwaite said: “What is hitting me the most is how privileged I am to be sailing Amistad back home to Sierra Leone.
“Although I have previously studied various issues concerning transatlantic slavery, I have never focused on the Amistad incident. I have only now really realized that it was not only an amazing story of freedom but it had such an effect on American politics at the time.”
Saphra Ross added: “We’ll be telling Molly and the new crew all about life on Amistad at sea. This will be an once-in-a-lifetime experience for all the crew. I will never, ever forget my time on Amistad.”
Amistad will return to the United States, via the Caribbean and Bermuda, in Spring, 2008 and travel to several ports coming up the East Coast as the US commemorates its bicentenary of legislation to ban the importation of slaves.
AMISTAD America, Inc. is not-for-profit US-based charity that promotes improved relations among races and cultures through educational programs and Amistad schooner port visits.
Amistad's tour of the UK is being supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport as part of the commemoration of the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in the former British Empire.
For further information, photography, or to arrange interviews, please contact:
Helen Hewitt, Corporate Communications, Bristol City Council
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on 0117 922 2646
Carleen Lyden-Kluss -
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– 001 203 260 0480
For further information please visit http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/slavery/index.htm
To find out more about the Amistad Atlantic Freedom Tour, visit
http://www.amistadamerica.org
Notes to Editor:
1. The welcome ceremony will take place at 3pm at the berth next to the Arnol Fini on the harbourside.
2. AMISTAD America, Inc. is a national, non-profit educational organisation that promotes improved relationships between races and cultures and strives to educate the public on a unique and relevant event in U.S. history through their educational programme.
3. AMISTAD America, Inc., was created as a consortium between Mystic Seaport Museum, the Connecticut Afro-American Historical Society, the Amistad Committee of New Haven, Amistad Affiliates of New York and other interested individuals working in partnership to promote the Amistad project.
4. In 1839, 53 Africans were kidnapped from West Africa and sold into the transatlantic slave trade. Shackled aboard the Portuguese slave vessel Tecora, the 49 men and four children (three girls and a boy) were brought to Havana, Cuba, where they were fraudulently classified as native, Cuban-born slaves. Purchased illegally by Spanish planters, Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montez, they were transferred to the schooner La Amistad for transport to another part of the island. Three days into the journey, led by a 25-year-old Mende rice farmer named Sengbe Pieh, or “Cinque” to his Spanish captors, the Africans seized the ship, killed the captain and the cook, and ordered the planters to sail to Africa. After 63 days, La Amistad and her “cargo” were seized as salvage by the USS Washington near Montauk Point, Long Island, and towed to New London harbour. The Africans were held in a New Haven jail on charges of murder. The case took on historic proportions when former President John Quincy Adams successfully argued before the United States Supreme Court on behalf of the captives. In 1841, the 35 surviving Africans were returned to Africa
5. Saphra Ross from Montpelier, Bristol is 20 years old and is currently studying for a degree in Law at the city’s University of the West of England. Saphra is also a Mentor and Windsor Junior Fellowship Ambassador. Her duties involve assisting teaching, tutoring and mentoring pupils year 6 to year 11, being an inspiration to young black people and helping them to reach their dreams.
Nadia Waithe from Montpelier, Bristol is 22 years old and is currently pursuing a BA Hons in Popular music at the University Of Glamorgan. She has a keen interest in the slave trade having been on an Archaeology dig, with 14 other students to work and study the slave traders on a sugar plantation in Nevis in St Kitts in the Caribbean.
6. Key dates of the Atlantic Freedom Tour
Aug 08 – 11 Falmouth, UK (Falmouth Docks)
Aug 19 – 26 Liverpool, UK (Albert Dock)
Aug 23 UNESCO Slavery Remembrance Day
Aug 30 – Sep 04 Bristol, UK
Sep 13 or 14 Arrival in London (South Quay, Canary Wharf)
Sep onward Lisbon, Portugal; Madeira Islands; Tenerife, Spain; Dakar, Senegal; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Barbados; Puerto Rico; Bermuda; Charleston, SC; Hampton Roads,VA; Washington, DC; Baltimore; New York; and other east coast cities.
7. The international voyage will retrace the infamous slave industry triangle with stops at more than a dozen Atlantic ports that played a significant role in the trade and reflect today’s social, political and cultural character. Ports of call include Halifax, Nova Scotia; Falmouth, Liverpool, Bristol, and London, Eng; Lisbon and Madeira, Portugal; Tenerife, Spain; Dakar, Senegal; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Praia, Cape Verde; Barbados; Puerto Rico; Bermuda; and cities along the east coast of the United States.
8. Delta Air Lines is an official sponsor of the Amistad Atlantic Freedom Tour. Delta Airlines offers customers service to more destinations than any global airline with Delta and Delta Connection carrier service to 332 destinations in 57 countries. With more than 60 new international routes introduced in the last year, Delta has added more international capacity than all other U.S. airlines combined and is the leader across the Atlantic with flights to 36 trans-Atlantic destinations. To Latin America and the Caribbean, Delta offers nearly 700 weekly flights to 63 destinations. Delta's marketing alliances also allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on nearly 15,000 flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Including its SkyTeam and worldwide code share partners, Delta offers flights to 479 worldwide destinations in 105 countries. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at
http://www.delta.com
9. Caterpillar Marine Power Systems is an official sponsor of the Amistad Atlantic Freedom Tour. For more than 80 years, Caterpillar Inc. has been making progress possible and driving positive and sustainable change on every continent. With 2006 sales and revenues of $41.517 billion, Caterpillar is a technology leader and the world’s leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, clean diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines. More information is available at
http://www.cat.com.
Ashleigh Thomas (AMRS)
Events Executive
Geronimo Communications
87-91 Newman Street, London W1T 3EY
Tel: 020 7299 8740 Fax: 020 7299 8741
Direct Dial: 0207 299 8750
Mobile: 079465 00029
Email:
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