One hundred and seventy one years after the slave ship Amistad sailed from Havana carrying a cargo of captives from Sierra Leone, the replica of the Amistad arrived in Havannah harbor yesterday. The captives on the original slave ship seized control of the vessel and sailed the ship to the United States where they were finally granted their freedom in 1841 by a ruling of the Supreme Court.
Schooner Amistad sails into Havana Harbor – March 25th, 2010
Amistad sails into Old Havana harbor
Built in Connecticut, the black-hulled, two-masted re-creation of the schooner, whose name means “Friendship,” flew the flags of the United States, Cuba and United Nations. It was one of the few times a ship under Cuba’s flag and the Stars and Stripes has called on the island in 51 years of estrangement since Fidel Castro took power.
As the Amistad neared shore, the crew of 19 mostly students — all Americans except for one from the African nation of Sierra Leone — lowered the sails, taking the U.S. flag down with them. Once the ship docked, however, the flags of both nations again flew high.
Molly Shakespear Rimington died at age 93 at the end of January but her obituary only appeared in the Telegraph this week. She was a fascinating individual. The daughter of Brigadier Talbot Shakespear, she joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service, WRNS, popularly and officially known as the Wrens just before the start of World War II. In 1942 she was given the job of writing the war diary for Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, who was Naval Commander Expeditionary Force, North Africa.
OK, I admit it. I am posting this because I like the title of the article.
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