The Amistad Comes to Portsmouth, NH

Experience History Aboard the Amistad

September 15 to 21

BHTNH is thrilled to invite you and your students (grades 4-12) to a once-in-a-lifetime educational opportunity: the Amistad’s first-ever visit to New Hampshire! This historic replica of the famed 19th century vessel will be at Peirce Island in Portsmouth offering guided tours, interactive learning sessions, and teacher seminars.

A Ship with a Story

In 1839, Mende captives from Sierra Leone took control of the
ship transporting them to slavery. Unable to navigate back to Africa, the ship was captured and towed into the port of New London, Connecticut. Faced with slavery or execution, the Mende found their cause championed by many residents throughout Connecticut. U.S. Circuit and District courts ruled in favor of the Mende. A decision upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1841 led to the captives’ release.

What is the Amistad?

The Amistad was a Spanish schooner involved in a famous 1839 revolt that became a landmark legal case in the United States. Captive Africans led by Joseph Cinqué seized control of the ship while it was sailing from Cuba. The vessel was later captured near Long Island, sparking a major court battle over whether the Africans were property or illegally enslaved people fighting for freedom. In 1841 the United States Supreme Court ruled they had been kidnapped and allowed them to return to Africa, making the Amistad case a powerful symbol in the abolitionist movement against slavery worldwide thereafter, leaving an enduring legacy.