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The Creole
Topic Started: Mar 27 2010, 02:41 PM (172 Views)
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An Empire for Liberty

December 10, 1841

It has been reported that on the 7th day of last month, a group of slaves being transported from Hampton Roads to New Orleans via sea rebelled against their masters and took control of the brig Creole. Nineteen of the 135 slaves listed in the cargo manifest are said to have instigated the revolt, which also resulted in the murder of one of their owners, John Hewell, as well as the injuring of several crew members. The slaves piloted the ship to the British colony at Nassau, where slavery has been illegal since 1833. The entire affair has caused something of a diplomatic flap between the United States and Great Britain.

The slaves were immediately proclaimed free upon arriving in the Bahamas, and local authorities have refused to prosecute any of them on charges of murder. This has angered many American slaveholders and those financially affected by the Africans' escape are demanding their immediate extradition, or in lieu thereof, compensation from the British government.

In Congress, the incident has sparked new debates over slavery and the interstate slave trade. Abolitionist representative Joshua Giddings was formally censured by the House of Representatives last week after declaring the men's actions "justified" -- in effect, condoning mutiny.

Secretary of State Daniel Webster is expected to take up the issue with the British at the forthcoming diplomatic conference.
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