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The survivor of the last American slave ship identified
Hannah Durkin, of the British University of Newcastle, determined the identity of the last survivor of the last American slave ship. Redoshi, nicknamed "Sally Smith", was abducted at age 12 in West Africa. After five years of slavery, she died in Alabama in 1937, at the age of 89 or 90 years. The slave trade would be Oluale Kossola, also known as Cudjo Lewis, who died in 1935.
Researchers have found the remains of the last known ship to bring slaves from West Africa to the United States, officials said Wednesday in the history of Alabama.
The Alabama Historical Commission confirmed that the Gulf schooner Clotilda had been identified and verified after months of assessment.
"For nearly 160 years, the waters surrounding Mobile have concealed the final destination of the Gulf schooner Clotilda," the commission said in a statement.
THE FINAL INCOME OF THE LAST AMERICAN SLAVE SHIP REVEALED
"The discovery of Clotilde is an extraordinary archeological discovery," said Lisa Demetropoulos Jones, executive director of the commission. "This trip was one of the darkest epochs of modern history and constitutes a profound discovery of the tangible evidence of slavery."
In 1860, Clotilde illegally transported 110 men, women and children to Mobile from what is now the African country of Benin. The ship was then taken to the delta waters north of the port and set on fire.
Redoshi, described as "Aunt Sally Smith", appeared briefly in a public information film called "The Negro Farmer" from the 1930s that was produced by the US Department of Agriculture.
(United States Department of Agriculture / National Archives)
The dimensions and construction of the wreck correspond to those of the Clotilda, said the commission, as do the building materials, including the locally-sourced wood and metal parts in it. pig iron. There are also signs of fire.
"We are cautious when we place names on wrecks of ships that no longer carry a name or something that looks like a bell with the name of the ship on it," said marine archaeologist James Delgado in a statement. "But the physical and medico-legal evidence strongly suggests that it's about Clotilda."
THE ANCHOR OF THE ARTICLE 'THE MOST TRUE BROWSER OF HISTORY & # 39; HAS BEEN
According to National Geographic, smuggling was initiated by landlord and mobile ship builder Tim Meaher, who was betting on a group of northern businessmen that he could bring slaves to Alabama.
The importation of slaves into the United States has been illegal since 1808 and federal anti-piracy laws were amended in 1820 to make it a punishable offense to die. The ban, however, did not deter smugglers crossing the Atlantic from carrying wooden vessels cluttered with people. Southern plantation owners needed workers for their cotton fields.
This fireplace at Africatown, Mobile, Alabama, is the last original structure dating back to the time when Clotilda survivors lived in the area. (AP Photo / Julie Bennett)
According to the Encyclopedia of Alabama online, about 25 Africans boarded the Clotilda were sold to slave traders. Sixty others were divided between Meaher and two of his parents, while "between five and eight" were given to the captain of the ship, William Foster, as payment for the trip.
The prisoners were released from slavery after the Civil War and thirty of them used the money earned in the fields, houses and boats to buy land from the Meaher family and Install in a community still known as Africatown.
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"Africatown residents have transported the memory of their ancestors who emigrated from Africa with force and violence on the shores of Alabama," the commission said. "Since then, the last chapter of Clotilda's story is immersed in mystery."
The commission is expected to release the full report on its Clotilda inquiry next week at a community celebration in Africatown.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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