Tecora
Encyclopedia
The Tecora was a Portuguese
slave ship
of the early 19th century. The brig was built especially for the slave trade after the transport across the Atlantic of human beings as slaves had already been outlawed in the first decade of the 19th century. She was fast and maneuverable in order to evade British
patrols which attempted to stop such illegal slave ships.
In 1839, a group of Africans were kidnapped from Mendiland
, (in modern day Sierra Leone
) and transported to the African slave port of Lomboko
. There a Portuguese slave trader purchased about 500 of the Africans and transported them aboard the Tecora to Havana, Cuba.
. In the ship's dark cargo hold, each slave had 3 feet 3 inches (1 m) of headroom during the ten-week voyage. The captives were sometimes brought up on deck and fed rice. Those who tried to starve themselves, as often happened, were whipped and forced to eat. While they were at sea, water supplies ran low, and disease spread through the closely packed, unventilated slave deck. At times when supplies ran low, the crew would chain 30 to 40 slaves together, attach a heavy weight to the end, and throw the weight overboard, which would drag the chains and the slaves underwater, drowning them. Nearly a third of the slaves died during the long voyage from disease, malnutrition
, and beatings.
-controlled Cuba
was illegal, the slave traders smuggled the captive Africans ashore at night in small boats. They landed them in a small inlet a few miles from Havana. Once on land, the slaves were placed in a barracoon
, or a "slave pen".
Under Spanish law, once they arrived in Cuba in late June, the Africans were legally free. However, they were fraud
ulently classified as Cuban-born slaves so they could be separated and sold. Two Spanish plantation owners, Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montes, bought 53 of the surviving Africans: 49 men, a boy, and three girls. Ruiz and Montes packed their cargo and the slaves on board the schooner La Amistad
and set sail for their plantation at Port Principe, Cuba. During the voyage, the slaves rebelled and killed the crew, sparing Ruiz and Montes in the hopes they would be able to force their former captors to return them to Africa. Instead, they were intercepted by an American naval cutter off the coast of New England, and imprisoned as mutineers in Connecticut. After a drawn-out legal affair, the Africans, represented by American Abolitionist attorneys (including former President John Quincy Adams
) won their freedom, and were repatriated to Africa.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
slave ship
Slave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially converted for the purpose of transporting slaves, especially newly purchased African slaves to Americas....
of the early 19th century. The brig was built especially for the slave trade after the transport across the Atlantic of human beings as slaves had already been outlawed in the first decade of the 19th century. She was fast and maneuverable in order to evade British
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
patrols which attempted to stop such illegal slave ships.
In 1839, a group of Africans were kidnapped from Mendiland
Mendiland
Mendiland is the extreme southwest portion of Sierra Leone on the western coast of Africa, where the Mende tribe lives and the Mende language is spoken....
, (in modern day Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
) and transported to the African slave port of Lomboko
Lomboko
Lomboko refers to a slave factory; a fortress stockade created by the infamous Spanish slave trader Pedro Blanco. It consisted of several large holding depots or barracoons for slaves brought from the interior, as well as several palatial buildings for Blanco's use, to hold his wives and...
. There a Portuguese slave trader purchased about 500 of the Africans and transported them aboard the Tecora to Havana, Cuba.
Conditions
The captives were stripped, chained in groups of five, and packed tightly into the slave hold (a deck below the main deck and above the cargo hold) so that one person's head, when lying in rows, was forced upon another person's thighThigh
In humans the thigh is the area between the pelvis and the knee. Anatomically, it is part of the lower limb.The single bone in the thigh is called the femur...
. In the ship's dark cargo hold, each slave had 3 feet 3 inches (1 m) of headroom during the ten-week voyage. The captives were sometimes brought up on deck and fed rice. Those who tried to starve themselves, as often happened, were whipped and forced to eat. While they were at sea, water supplies ran low, and disease spread through the closely packed, unventilated slave deck. At times when supplies ran low, the crew would chain 30 to 40 slaves together, attach a heavy weight to the end, and throw the weight overboard, which would drag the chains and the slaves underwater, drowning them. Nearly a third of the slaves died during the long voyage from disease, malnutrition
Malnutrition
Malnutrition is the condition that results from taking an unbalanced diet in which certain nutrients are lacking, in excess , or in the wrong proportions....
, and beatings.
The affair of La Amistad
Since importing slaves into SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
-controlled Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
was illegal, the slave traders smuggled the captive Africans ashore at night in small boats. They landed them in a small inlet a few miles from Havana. Once on land, the slaves were placed in a barracoon
Barracoon
A barracoon is a type of barracks used historically for the temporary confinement of slaves or criminals.In the African slave trade, captured individuals were temporarily transported to and held at barracoons along the western coast of the continent, where they awaited transportation across the...
, or a "slave pen".
Under Spanish law, once they arrived in Cuba in late June, the Africans were legally free. However, they were fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
ulently classified as Cuban-born slaves so they could be separated and sold. Two Spanish plantation owners, Jose Ruiz and Pedro Montes, bought 53 of the surviving Africans: 49 men, a boy, and three girls. Ruiz and Montes packed their cargo and the slaves on board the schooner La Amistad
La Amistad
La Amistad was a ship notable as the scene of a revolt by African captives being transported from Havana to Puerto Principe, Cuba. It was a 19th-century two-masted schooner built in Spain and owned by a Spaniard living in Cuba...
and set sail for their plantation at Port Principe, Cuba. During the voyage, the slaves rebelled and killed the crew, sparing Ruiz and Montes in the hopes they would be able to force their former captors to return them to Africa. Instead, they were intercepted by an American naval cutter off the coast of New England, and imprisoned as mutineers in Connecticut. After a drawn-out legal affair, the Africans, represented by American Abolitionist attorneys (including former President John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
) won their freedom, and were repatriated to Africa.