Some
of the boat’s sails were badly torn and lightly flapping in the breeze.To experienced sailor the
ship seemed oddly rigged and
looked more like ghost ship than a working boat.Some people thought that is was a
pirate ship.It soon became clear
that the men on the boat were all black. It was a slave trading ship with 53 Africans on
board. There had been a
mutiny, two officers had been killed. The Africans were seeking to turn the boat back to
their home in Africa. . They were not successful and were instead taken into American custody. A trial was held to
decide whether the Africans
would be free to return home or whether they would be treated as property and face a
life of slavery.
