Directed by Steven Spielberg, Amistad takes place from 1839 to 1841. The appearance of the Amistad on US shores in 1839 was significant, because the Africans had been transported illegally across the Atlantic Ocean on a slave vessel called the Tecora. Two Spanish sugar plantation owners, Don Jose Ruiz and Don Pedro Montez, purchased the Africans in Cuba. On their way to another plantation in Cuba, the slaves revolted. The Africans sailed the boat east by day, yet by night the two Spaniards navigated it back to Cuba. After two-months, the ship landed in Connecticut and was brought to Long Island by a US marine ship. The slaves were taken into custody and charged with piracy and murder. With the
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