ancestor.wav
"The test ahead of us is an exceptionly difficult one."
"We won't be going in there alone."
"Alone? Indeed not we have right at our side, we have right at our side and Mr Baldwin over there."
"I meant my ancestors."
backhome.wav
"Were they born in Africa? I beleive they were... As such her Catholic majesties claims of ownership have no merit. Niether of course do those for salvage made by Lietenants Meade and Gedny. I hearby order the immediate arrest and attention of seniors Ruis and Montez."
[Uproar]
"By Federal Marshalls on the carge of slave trading. I order the release of the Africans and their conveyance by this government back to their homes in Africa."
bigman.wav
"Sinke the others, they say you can, they say you're the big man."
"I am not."
differnc.wav
"Do you know the difference between a cow and a cabbage? A brick and a bear? Or how about a polecat and a President. Well the Spanish government hopes you don't have a whole more common sense than that and I'll tell you why. This case isn't about murder, mayhem or massacres. It's not about anything that dramatic. This case is about knowing the difference between here and there."
gethome.wav
"He will break loose chains, he will dessemate his enemies, he will try and try and try against all odds against all prejudices to get home."
givefree.wav
"Give us free. Givus us free. Give us free."
goods.wav
"Here are the true owners of these slaves. They are in possesion of a reciept for purchase executed in Havana, Cuba, June 26th 1839. I do hereby call upon this court to immediately surrender these goods!"
highcort.wav
"Yet despite this and despite the unlikelyhood of President Van Burren's re-election, he has appealed our most recent favourable decision to the highest court in the land. As I am sure you are well aware, seven of nine of these supreme court justices are themselves Southern slave owners."
isabella.wav
"The Africans must never go free! With sincerest admiration Isabella the Second, Queen of all Spain."
livestoc.wav
"What are they worth to you?"
"We are discussing the case not it's expense."
"The case is much simpler than you think Mr Tabot. It's like anything isn't it? Land, livestock, heirlooms what have you."
"Livestock."
medatate.wav
"Perhaps Mr Adams is medetating on his response?"
"Had I thought your remarks worthy of any sort of repost, Representative, be assured you'd have heard from me hours ago."
murder.wav
"Sinke describes the cold-blooded murder of a significant portion of the people onboard the Tecora. Mr Holliburn sees this as a paradox. Do you sir?"
"Often when slavers are intercepted or beleive they may be. They simply throw all their prisoners overboard and thereby rid themselves of the evidence of their crime."
"Drown hundreds of people?"
"Yes."
nature.wav
"Yay this is no mere property case gentlemen, I put to you thus this is the most important case ever come before this court, because what it infact concerns, is the very nature of man."
notexist.wav
"Take a letter ensign. To his honour the United States Secretary of State Mr John Forsythe. My dear Mr Forsythe, it is my great pleasure to inform you that you are infact correct. The slave fortress in Sira Leone does not exist."
provision.wav
"If you look there's a notation made on May the 10th correcting the number of slaves on board, reducing their number by 50."
"What does that mean?"
"Well if you look at it in conjunction with Sinke's testimony I would say that it means this, the Tecora crew having greatly underestimated the amount of provisions required for their journey solved the problem by throwing 50 people overboard."
salvage.wav
"We Thomas R. Gedny and Richard W. Meade, whilst commisioned US naval officers stand before this court as private citizens and do hereby claim salvag on the high seas of the Spanish ship La Amistad and all her cargo."
"You wish to make this claim above that of the Queen of Spain?"
slaves.wav
"Tell me if this is true, certain tribes in Africa for hundreds of years, thousads perhaps have owned slaves."
south.wav
"There's a growing number of people in this part of the country that regard us in the south as not only geographically beneath them."
spain.wav
"Your honour I am here on behalf of the President of the United States representing the claims of her majesty Queen Isabella of Spain as concerns our mutual treaty on the high seas of 1795. These slaves are by rights the property of Spain and as such under article nine of set treaty are to be returned post haste. Set treaty taking precedence over all other claims and juristictions."
treaty.wav
"In the case of the United States of America versus the Amistad Africans, it is the opinion of this court that our treaty of 1795 with Spain, on on which the prosecution has primarily based it's arguments, is inaplicable. While it is clearly stipulated in article nine that and I quote, siezed ships and cargo are to returned entirely to their propiretery, end of quote, it has not been shown to the courts satisfaction that these particular African fit that description. We are then left with the alternative, that they are not slaves and therefore cannot be considered merchandise but are rather free individuals with certain legal and moral rights including the right to engage in insurection against those who would deny them their freedom and therefore, over one percent, it is the court's judgement that the defendants are to be released from custody at once and if they so choose, to be returned to their homes in Africa."
