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1
00:05:26,262 --> 00:05:30,057
1839
2
00:05:55,693 --> 00:05:56,839
That one wants us to sail them back.
3
00:05:59,881 --> 00:06:03,927
That one thinks he can sail
all the way back without us.
4
00:06:35,855 --> 00:06:38,342
Yes. East. To the sun.
5
00:06:39,298 --> 00:06:42,259
I understand. You can trust me.
6
00:06:59,151 --> 00:07:00,487
To Africa.
7
00:08:11,409 --> 00:08:14,620
Well, I have to tack, don't I?
Tack. You'd rather I didn't.
8
00:08:15,141 --> 00:08:18,844
You want to get there? I have to tack.
9
00:09:01,015 --> 00:09:03,124
You're going to get us killed.
10
00:09:13,087 --> 00:09:15,590
Yea, yea, yea, now go take a bath.
11
00:11:24,856 --> 00:11:26,795
We have to signal them.
12
00:11:26,896 --> 00:11:32,553
When the ship gets close, he'll run and hide.
Then we both start yelling.
13
00:11:37,723 --> 00:11:39,651
They'll search the ship.
14
00:12:01,776 --> 00:12:03,180
Get ready.
15
00:13:04,740 --> 00:13:06,720
Six Weeks Later...
16
00:13:48,139 --> 00:13:48,948
Dolly!
17
00:13:51,782 --> 00:13:52,609
Dolly!
18
00:15:03,580 --> 00:15:05,178
Carry on, Mr. Packwood!
19
00:15:06,115 --> 00:15:07,634
Aye, aye, sir!
20
00:15:08,020 --> 00:15:09,325
Straight ahead!
21
00:15:35,704 --> 00:15:37,080
Fire over their heads!
22
00:16:01,543 --> 00:16:02,544
Steady on.
23
00:17:19,964 --> 00:17:21,362
Open the gate!
24
00:17:26,588 --> 00:17:28,290
Come on, come on, come on!
25
00:17:40,853 --> 00:17:43,203
-Move along!
-Come on, let's go!
26
00:17:44,983 --> 00:17:46,200
Move along!
27
00:17:47,992 --> 00:17:50,621
-Forward! Come on!
-Keep it going!
28
00:18:03,167 --> 00:18:05,335
Come along! Get moving!
29
00:18:06,086 --> 00:18:09,121
-Don't stop there! Keep moving!
-Make way for the stinking heathens!
30
00:18:10,395 --> 00:18:11,784
All right, move on.
31
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:14,924
Lock 'em up!
32
00:18:32,941 --> 00:18:35,711
Gates! Gates! Gates!
33
00:18:40,957 --> 00:18:41,920
Push 'em in!
34
00:19:40,138 --> 00:19:45,102
Isabella II, Queen of Spain
35
00:20:01,409 --> 00:20:03,452
Your Royal Highness.
36
00:20:03,771 --> 00:20:04,996
Something's happened.
37
00:20:08,817 --> 00:20:10,012
Martin Van Buren,
8th President of the United States
38
00:20:10,075 --> 00:20:12,629
-Thank you...
-Mr. President, sir.
39
00:20:13,329 --> 00:20:15,986
The ambassador to Spain, Senor Calderon.
40
00:20:16,884 --> 00:20:18,886
-What?
-Senor Calderon.
41
00:20:18,969 --> 00:20:21,346
-Yes, all right. Not now. Not now.
-Ambassador...
42
00:20:21,430 --> 00:20:23,413
It appears to be a matter
of certain importance, sir.
43
00:20:23,473 --> 00:20:24,474
God bless!
44
00:20:32,649 --> 00:20:37,235
I'm trying to drink my brandy
after a very long day.
45
00:20:38,155 --> 00:20:41,950
I understand. I simply wasn't certain
whether this was something
46
00:20:42,011 --> 00:20:45,137
-you wanted to take care of personally.
-Leder, there are, what,
47
00:20:45,704 --> 00:20:48,081
three, four million Negroes
in this country?
48
00:20:48,165 --> 00:20:52,252
Why on Earth should I concern myself
with these 44?
49
00:20:53,338 --> 00:20:54,504
Well, there are reasons.
50
00:20:54,565 --> 00:20:57,165
I don't care how. You just take care of it.
51
00:21:01,386 --> 00:21:03,100
The ship is the Amistad.
52
00:21:05,015 --> 00:21:07,552
It's too small to be
a Transatlantic slaver.
53
00:21:08,422 --> 00:21:11,691
So, they're plantation slaves, then?
West Indians?
54
00:21:11,752 --> 00:21:15,644
Not necessarily.
At least they certainly don't look it.
55
00:21:16,526 --> 00:21:19,863
Not from the glimpse I caught of them
on their way to jail.
56
00:21:20,948 --> 00:21:22,824
They have these scars.
57
00:21:23,951 --> 00:21:25,285
-Scars?
-Yeah.
58
00:21:42,224 --> 00:21:46,047
They were first detained by officers of a
survey brig off the coast of Long Island.
59
00:21:46,348 --> 00:21:49,726
They were conveyed to New Haven,
under what authority, I don't know,
60
00:21:49,810 --> 00:21:52,020
and given over to the local constabulary.
61
00:21:52,104 --> 00:21:55,732
About 40 of them,
including four or five children.
62
00:22:03,699 --> 00:22:05,487
The arraignment is day after tomorrow.
63
00:22:06,276 --> 00:22:08,411
I can only assume
that the charge is murder.
64
00:22:09,246 --> 00:22:10,947
I'll see what I can do about that.
65
00:22:12,874 --> 00:22:16,690
Perhaps a writ for illegal arrest
and detainment to stall things.
66
00:22:18,778 --> 00:22:21,048
At the very least,
make sure they have good counsel.
67
00:23:04,342 --> 00:23:05,165
Chief!
68
00:23:05,358 --> 00:23:06,359
Chief! Chief!
69
00:23:08,805 --> 00:23:11,016
He's not a chief.
70
00:23:11,641 --> 00:23:12,624
Brother!
71
00:23:12,684 --> 00:23:14,311
Brother! Brother!
72
00:23:15,270 --> 00:23:16,560
He's not your brother.
73
00:23:19,518 --> 00:23:20,840
What is he then?
74
00:23:20,901 --> 00:23:22,228
He's a white man.
75
00:23:24,321 --> 00:23:25,781
Hear ye, hear ye.
76
00:23:25,864 --> 00:23:28,306
In the matter of the district court
of the United States of America
77
00:23:28,366 --> 00:23:30,899
in this, the year of our Lord, 1839,
78
00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,963
the honourable
Andrew T. Juttson presiding.
79
00:24:00,023 --> 00:24:01,158
If it please Your Honour.
80
00:24:01,983 --> 00:24:05,195
The bench recognizes
District Attorney Holabird.
81
00:24:07,005 --> 00:24:11,159
I would like to present the court,
Your Honour, with the charges
82
00:24:11,243 --> 00:24:13,852
-of piracy and murder against the...
-Your Honour, I have a petition
83
00:24:13,912 --> 00:24:16,623
-for a writ of habeas corpus.
-Your Honour, I was speaking.
84
00:24:16,706 --> 00:24:19,642
Yes, I know, Mr. Holabird.
You were reading charges, which,
85
00:24:19,703 --> 00:24:21,843
whatever they might be,
will be rendered moot by this writ.
86
00:24:21,904 --> 00:24:25,959
That petition for a writ, Mr. Tappan,
if, indeed, that's what it is, is moot
87
00:24:26,020 --> 00:24:28,452
unless and until an actual writ
88
00:24:28,552 --> 00:24:31,609
by some higher court,
by some miracle, is granted.
89
00:24:31,670 --> 00:24:33,403
Mr. Holabird is correct, Mr. Tappan.
90
00:24:33,557 --> 00:24:36,143
And if you would, sir,
while I know it is your custom,
91
00:24:36,226 --> 00:24:39,095
please, kindly refrain
from impersonating a lawyer,
92
00:24:39,156 --> 00:24:40,950
which you patently are not.
93
00:24:41,064 --> 00:24:42,774
As I was saying, Your Honour...
94
00:24:42,928 --> 00:24:43,770
Your Honour.
95
00:24:46,847 --> 00:24:48,229
Mr. Secretary.
96
00:24:48,729 --> 00:24:53,073
Your Honour, I am here on behalf of
the President of the United States,
97
00:24:53,134 --> 00:24:53,849
U.S. Secretary of State John Forsyth
98
00:24:53,953 --> 00:24:57,455
representing the claims of Her Majesty,
Queen Isabella of Spain,
99
00:24:57,581 --> 00:25:01,585
as concerns our mutual treaty
on the high seas of 1795.
100
00:25:01,668 --> 00:25:04,129
-You have my attention, sir.
-Thank you.
101
00:25:04,421 --> 00:25:08,216
These slaves, Your Honour,
are by rights the property of Spain,
102
00:25:08,300 --> 00:25:10,468
and as such,
under Article 9 of said treaty
103
00:25:10,552 --> 00:25:12,888
are to be returned post haste.
104
00:25:12,993 --> 00:25:16,038
Said treaty taking precedence
over all other claims and jurisdictions.
105
00:25:16,099 --> 00:25:19,019
Them slaves belong
to me and my mate, Your Majesty.
106
00:25:19,102 --> 00:25:20,687
Your Honour, I have not yet read the...
107
00:25:20,770 --> 00:25:22,314
Who be you two gentlemen?
108
00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:25,859
'We, Thomas R. Gedney
and Richard W. Meade,
109
00:25:25,942 --> 00:25:28,612
'whilst commissioned
US Naval officers,'
110
00:25:28,695 --> 00:25:32,082
'stand before this court
as private citizens,'
111
00:25:32,782 --> 00:25:34,951
'and do hereby claim salvage
on the high seas'
112
00:25:35,035 --> 00:25:39,818
'of the Spanish ship La Amistad
and all her cargo.'
113
00:25:40,165 --> 00:25:42,529
-Here you go, sir.
-Your Honour...
114
00:25:42,590 --> 00:25:47,094
You wish to make this claim
above that of the Queen of Spain?
115
00:25:48,122 --> 00:25:49,883
Where was she, pray,
when we was fightin' the winds
116
00:25:49,966 --> 00:25:52,931
to bring this vessel in, Your... Honour.
117
00:25:53,355 --> 00:25:56,478
Her Majesty, the Queen of Spain,
was busy ruling a country.
118
00:25:58,141 --> 00:26:01,286
Your Honour, these officers'
claims are just...
119
00:26:01,373 --> 00:26:02,606
Your Honour!
120
00:26:05,395 --> 00:26:09,092
Here are the true owners
of these slaves.
121
00:26:11,446 --> 00:26:13,531
-Order! Order in this court!
-On their behalf,
122
00:26:13,615 --> 00:26:18,059
I am in possession of a receipt
for purchase executed in Havana, Cuba,
123
00:26:18,203 --> 00:26:21,074
June 26, 1839,
124
00:26:21,458 --> 00:26:26,012
I do hereby call upon this court
to immediately surrender
125
00:26:27,550 --> 00:26:28,802
these goods
126
00:26:32,115 --> 00:26:34,972
and that ship out there to my clients,
127
00:26:35,095 --> 00:26:37,097
-Jose Ruiz...
-Yo soy Ruiz.
128
00:26:37,180 --> 00:26:41,017
'Yoso' Ruiz, and... Pedro Montes?
Pedro Montes.
129
00:26:50,401 --> 00:26:52,710
Mr. Tappan. How do you do, sir?
130
00:26:52,771 --> 00:26:55,199
My name is Roger S. Baldwin,
attorney-at-law.
131
00:26:56,368 --> 00:26:57,535
Real estate attorney?
132
00:26:57,636 --> 00:27:00,498
Real estate, inventories
and other contestable assets, sir.
133
00:27:00,996 --> 00:27:02,196
Can I help you with something?
134
00:27:03,057 --> 00:27:04,703
Well, I don't know.
What is it that you do?
135
00:27:06,376 --> 00:27:09,546
Well, I own various businesses
and banks.
136
00:27:10,213 --> 00:27:14,435
Well, as a matter of fact, you probably
could help me, Mr. Tappan.
137
00:27:14,933 --> 00:27:17,819
But that's not why I'm here.
You see, I'd like to help you.
138
00:27:18,193 --> 00:27:20,642
-Me?
-Yes. I deal with property, Mr. Tappan.
139
00:27:21,599 --> 00:27:23,208
And sometimes
I get people's property back for them,
140
00:27:23,268 --> 00:27:24,459
and other times I get it taken away,
141
00:27:24,672 --> 00:27:26,813
as in this case,
which is clearly a property issue.
142
00:27:26,950 --> 00:27:28,225
You see, all of the claims here,
143
00:27:28,286 --> 00:27:30,548
every single one of them,
speaks to the issue of ownership.
144
00:27:30,608 --> 00:27:34,237
-Thank you very much, Mr. Baldwin.
-Baldwin, Roger S. Attorney-at-law.
145
00:27:36,088 --> 00:27:38,473
But I'm afraid what's needed here
is a criminal attorney.
146
00:27:39,326 --> 00:27:41,701
A trial lawyer.
But thanks for your interest.
147
00:27:42,362 --> 00:27:44,074
Yes. Well,
148
00:27:44,706 --> 00:27:47,886
intending no disrespect, Mr. Tappan,
149
00:27:47,947 --> 00:27:50,601
but if that were the
way to go, well, then,
150
00:27:51,925 --> 00:27:54,665
quite frankly, I wouldn't have bothered
coming down here, would I have?
151
00:28:00,513 --> 00:28:04,040
Goodbye. I bid you gentlemen
a good afternoon.
152
00:28:05,310 --> 00:28:06,844
In closing,
153
00:28:07,765 --> 00:28:10,215
I call upon our distinguished
colleague from Massachusetts,
154
00:28:10,794 --> 00:28:12,671
Representative John Quincy Adams,
155
00:28:13,961 --> 00:28:17,134
to reweigh his unmeet
and unprecedented attempt
156
00:28:17,614 --> 00:28:21,368
to convert this eccentric bequest of,
157
00:28:21,451 --> 00:28:25,163
let's be frank,
a bunch of junk of one James Smithson,
158
00:28:25,425 --> 00:28:28,773
into a so-called institute
of national treasure!
159
00:28:33,421 --> 00:28:36,174
Perhaps Mr. Adams
is meditating on his response.
160
00:28:48,329 --> 00:28:50,314
Had I thought your remarks worthy of
161
00:28:50,375 --> 00:28:53,435
any kind of riposte,
Representative Pickney,
162
00:28:53,846 --> 00:28:58,323
be assured you'd have heard from me
hours ago.
163
00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:00,363
Who?
164
00:29:00,990 --> 00:29:03,493
Mr. Tappan. Lewis Tappan.
165
00:29:03,754 --> 00:29:04,734
Yeah?
166
00:29:06,505 --> 00:29:08,729
I must see him?
I'm required to see him?
167
00:29:08,790 --> 00:29:10,858
No, of course not, sir.
He requests an audience.
168
00:29:10,919 --> 00:29:11,901
Give me a hand.
169
00:29:13,002 --> 00:29:14,614
He requests, does he?
170
00:29:15,478 --> 00:29:18,940
Yeah. I don't know
anyone called Tappan.
171
00:29:19,266 --> 00:29:21,083
Yes, sir, you do.
You've met him on countless occasions.
172
00:29:21,144 --> 00:29:23,561
Where? Where is he?
173
00:29:24,231 --> 00:29:25,836
He's right over there, sir.
Right there, sir.
174
00:29:27,684 --> 00:29:28,848
What is that?
175
00:29:30,835 --> 00:29:32,128
-Where?
-Right there, sir.
176
00:29:32,993 --> 00:29:35,245
Lewis! Good to see you again!
177
00:29:35,400 --> 00:29:37,110
And you, sir.
178
00:29:37,793 --> 00:29:39,946
-This is Theodore Joadson.
-How do you do, sir?
179
00:29:40,029 --> 00:29:42,042
-An honour to meet you, sir.
-Yeah.
180
00:29:44,599 --> 00:29:47,419
-Sir? Is there somewhere we could...
-What? Let's stroll in the garden.
181
00:29:47,495 --> 00:29:48,937
-This way, sir.
-What?
182
00:29:49,831 --> 00:29:52,041
Let go of my arm. Over here.
183
00:29:57,815 --> 00:30:00,360
I believe this case
has great significance, sir.
184
00:30:00,467 --> 00:30:03,159
Our Secretary of State has already
deemed it worthy of his attention.
185
00:30:03,219 --> 00:30:05,516
-You don't have to shout. Stop shouting.
-No. Yes.
186
00:30:05,999 --> 00:30:07,749
Well, he's supported
the Queen of Spain
187
00:30:07,810 --> 00:30:10,068
in her claims
that the Africans belong to her.
188
00:30:10,750 --> 00:30:12,928
And then there are others
making claims as well.
189
00:30:12,989 --> 00:30:14,542
-Two sailors...
-What season is it?
190
00:30:14,603 --> 00:30:17,055
-Pardon?
-I said, what season is it?
191
00:30:17,361 --> 00:30:18,674
I don't understand what you mean.
192
00:30:19,152 --> 00:30:22,336
There are two ways of knowing for
certain without consulting a calendar.
193
00:30:23,989 --> 00:30:26,614
The leaves on the maple trees
have all gone and the fact that
194
00:30:26,675 --> 00:30:31,010
the President is not at home over there
on Pennsylvania Avenue.
195
00:30:31,874 --> 00:30:34,792
Tell me, sir, you really think
196
00:30:34,976 --> 00:30:39,939
Van Buren cares about the whims
of an 11-year-old girl who wears a tiara?
197
00:30:40,023 --> 00:30:43,943
'Cause I can assure you, sir,
having been over there,
198
00:30:44,027 --> 00:30:46,529
only one thing occupies his thoughts
this time of the year,
199
00:30:46,613 --> 00:30:47,845
being all things to all people,
200
00:30:47,905 --> 00:30:49,850
which, of course,
means be nothing to no one.
201
00:30:50,158 --> 00:30:52,342
In other words,
gettin' himself re-elected.
202
00:30:53,870 --> 00:30:54,868
Give me a hand.
203
00:31:03,463 --> 00:31:05,882
-Will you help us, sir?
-Let go of my arm.
204
00:31:07,050 --> 00:31:08,375
Take my stick.
205
00:31:09,886 --> 00:31:12,001
-Mr. Adams?
-Yeah, what?
206
00:31:13,014 --> 00:31:15,759
As an advocate for
the abolition of slavery, will you help us?
207
00:31:17,852 --> 00:31:20,123
I'm neither friend nor foe
of the abolitionist cause.
208
00:31:20,184 --> 00:31:21,564
No, I won't help you.
209
00:31:22,708 --> 00:31:23,426
Sir.
210
00:31:24,973 --> 00:31:25,778
What?
211
00:31:26,319 --> 00:31:27,779
I know you, Mr. President.
212
00:31:28,410 --> 00:31:30,593
I know you and your presidency
as well as any man
213
00:31:31,032 --> 00:31:32,199
and your father's.
214
00:31:33,034 --> 00:31:36,043
You were a child at his side
when he helped invent America.
215
00:31:36,788 --> 00:31:40,127
And you, in turn, have devoted your life
to refining that noble invention.
216
00:31:41,209 --> 00:31:44,462
There remains but one task undone,
one vital task
217
00:31:44,545 --> 00:31:46,798
the founding fathers left to their sons
218
00:31:46,881 --> 00:31:51,110
before their 13 colonies could
precisely be called United States.
219
00:31:51,552 --> 00:31:55,153
And that task, sir, as you well know,
is crushing slavery.
220
00:31:56,474 --> 00:31:58,648
Your record confirms
you're an abolitionist, sir,
221
00:31:59,694 --> 00:32:00,696
even if you won't.
222
00:32:01,396 --> 00:32:04,114
-And whether or not you admit it...
-Mr. Joadson.
223
00:32:05,848 --> 00:32:07,300
...you belong with us.
224
00:32:10,405 --> 00:32:12,791
You're quite the scholar,
Mr. Joadson, aren't ya?
225
00:32:13,931 --> 00:32:15,266
Quite the historian.
226
00:32:19,372 --> 00:32:22,683
Let me tell you something
about that quality, if I might.
227
00:32:23,710 --> 00:32:28,132
Without an accompanying mastery of
at least one-tenth its measure of grace,
228
00:32:28,798 --> 00:32:31,387
such erudition is worthless, sir.
229
00:32:32,802 --> 00:32:34,785
Now, you take it from one who knows.
230
00:32:37,773 --> 00:32:39,708
If you gentlemen will excuse me.
231
00:32:44,605 --> 00:32:46,297
We know we aimed high
coming to see you, sir, but...
232
00:32:46,358 --> 00:32:47,637
Well, aim lower!
233
00:32:48,860 --> 00:32:51,333
Find yourselves someone
whose inspiration blossoms
234
00:32:52,363 --> 00:32:53,333
the more you lose.
235
00:32:58,911 --> 00:33:02,403
If the court awards them to Spain,
they'll be taken to Cuba and executed.
236
00:33:03,963 --> 00:33:07,952
If the two lieutenants prevail,
they'll most likely sell them to Spain
237
00:33:08,459 --> 00:33:09,576
and they'll be executed.
238
00:33:10,673 --> 00:33:13,124
If Montes and Ruiz
are successful in their campaign...
239
00:33:13,185 --> 00:33:16,356
I'm a little confused by something.
What are they worth to you?
240
00:33:17,513 --> 00:33:19,312
We're discussing the case,
not its expense.
241
00:33:19,373 --> 00:33:20,725
The case, of course.
242
00:33:22,268 --> 00:33:26,647
Well, the case is much simpler
than you think, Mr. Tappan.
243
00:33:26,731 --> 00:33:30,359
It's like anything, isn't it? Land,
livestock, heirlooms, what have you.
244
00:33:31,778 --> 00:33:32,942
Livestock.
245
00:33:35,239 --> 00:33:36,949
Yes. Consider,
246
00:33:37,033 --> 00:33:41,454
the only way one may sell or purchase
slaves is if they are born slaves,
247
00:33:41,537 --> 00:33:42,861
as on the plantation.
248
00:33:45,041 --> 00:33:46,883
-I'm right, aren't I?
-Yes.
249
00:33:47,660 --> 00:33:50,163
-So, are they?
-'Are they?'
250
00:33:50,406 --> 00:33:53,526
Yes. Born slaves, as on a plantation.
251
00:33:54,383 --> 00:33:56,844
No, we're not certain,
but we very much doubt it.
252
00:33:57,155 --> 00:34:00,328
Well, let's say they are, and if they are,
then they are possessions,
253
00:34:00,389 --> 00:34:03,351
and no more deserving of a criminal
trial than a bookcase or a plough.
254
00:34:03,434 --> 00:34:05,019
Then we can all go home, can't we?
255
00:34:05,102 --> 00:34:06,836
Now, on the other hand,
let's say they aren't slaves.
256
00:34:06,896 --> 00:34:09,857
If they aren't slaves, then they were
illegally acquired, weren't they?
257
00:34:10,274 --> 00:34:12,633
Forget mutiny, forget piracy,
forget murder and all the rest.
258
00:34:12,693 --> 00:34:15,404
Those are subsequent,
irrelevant occurrences.
259
00:34:15,488 --> 00:34:18,546
Ignore everything
but the pre-eminent issue at hand.
260
00:34:18,991 --> 00:34:21,671
The wrongful transfer of stolen goods.
261
00:34:22,203 --> 00:34:24,288
-Either way, we win.
-Sir,
262
00:34:25,164 --> 00:34:28,045
this war must be waged on
the battlefield of righteousness.
263
00:34:29,786 --> 00:34:30,543
The what?
264
00:34:31,379 --> 00:34:34,632
It would be against everything I stand for
to let this deteriorate into
265
00:34:34,918 --> 00:34:38,022
an exercise in
the vagaries of legal minutia.
266
00:34:39,909 --> 00:34:41,746
Well, I don't know
what you're talking about, Mr. Tappan,
267
00:34:41,806 --> 00:34:43,289
but I'm talking about
the heart of the matter.
268
00:34:43,349 --> 00:34:44,117
As am I.
269
00:34:45,309 --> 00:34:46,308
It is our destiny
270
00:34:47,103 --> 00:34:50,700
as abolitionists and as Christians
to save these people.
271
00:34:51,816 --> 00:34:53,521
These are people, Mr. Baldwin.
272
00:34:54,313 --> 00:34:55,646
Not livestock.
273
00:34:55,862 --> 00:34:58,348
Did Christ hire a lawyer
to get him off on technicalities?
274
00:34:59,282 --> 00:35:02,701
He went to the cross, nobly.
You know why?
275
00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:05,279
To make a statement.
276
00:35:07,081 --> 00:35:08,901
To make a statement, as must we.
277
00:35:12,628 --> 00:35:13,797
But Christ lost.
278
00:35:15,735 --> 00:35:17,779
-You, I think...
-No, sir, he did not.
279
00:35:18,449 --> 00:35:20,743
Or, at least you, Mr. Joadson,
want to win, don't you?
280
00:35:20,803 --> 00:35:22,645
-Yes.
-I certainly do.
281
00:35:23,139 --> 00:35:25,320
Hell, sometimes
I don't get paid unless I do.
282
00:35:26,475 --> 00:35:30,739
Which brings us back to
the earlier question of worth.
283
00:35:30,980 --> 00:35:32,523
Now, in order to do a better job than
284
00:35:32,606 --> 00:35:34,256
the attorney who represented
the Son of God,
285
00:35:34,317 --> 00:35:36,150
I'll require $2.50 a day.
286
00:35:49,748 --> 00:35:51,276
Who are they, do you think?
287
00:35:57,368 --> 00:35:58,793
Looks like they're going to be sick.
288
00:36:09,436 --> 00:36:10,716
They're entertainers.
289
00:36:12,688 --> 00:36:16,873
...but why do they look so miserable?
290
00:36:38,464 --> 00:36:39,622
You don't belong here.
291
00:36:40,350 --> 00:36:43,396
Your table doesn't belong here.
292
00:36:51,435 --> 00:36:53,257
This is Temne land.
293
00:36:58,234 --> 00:37:01,406
How do you do, sir? How do you do?
294
00:37:02,655 --> 00:37:04,949
You want to sit?
Sit over here in Mendeland.
295
00:37:05,616 --> 00:37:07,098
What are you doing, Temne?
296
00:37:08,536 --> 00:37:12,832
You want trouble?
Cross into our territory again.
297
00:37:12,962 --> 00:37:16,272
What is this?
Get this table out of here.
298
00:37:16,528 --> 00:37:18,530
Let me show you to Sherbroland.
299
00:37:30,933 --> 00:37:32,140
There?
300
00:37:59,443 --> 00:38:01,145
I'm sorry. I don't understand.
301
00:38:03,762 --> 00:38:06,306
Excuse me. I...
302
00:38:06,469 --> 00:38:07,720
My name is Roger Baldwin.
303
00:38:07,901 --> 00:38:09,676
This is Theodore Joadson
of the Anti-Slavery Society
304
00:38:09,737 --> 00:38:12,158
and owner of
the Forten Shipping Service.
305
00:38:12,767 --> 00:38:16,209
And this is Professor Gibbs, a linguist.
306
00:38:17,698 --> 00:38:19,238
What do you want?
307
00:38:20,816 --> 00:38:22,657
Keep talking. Get them to talk.
308
00:38:24,622 --> 00:38:26,298
Have you seen this before?
309
00:38:26,583 --> 00:38:29,904
I could kill you with my bare hands
before you raise that sword shoulder high.
310
00:38:30,659 --> 00:38:32,536
This belongs to you?
311
00:38:32,661 --> 00:38:33,662
Does this...
312
00:38:37,333 --> 00:38:39,230
No. No.
313
00:38:42,671 --> 00:38:44,858
I need to know where you're from.
314
00:38:54,533 --> 00:38:55,387
What did he say?
315
00:38:55,763 --> 00:38:58,361
I didn't understand a word of it. It's gibberish.
316
00:38:58,820 --> 00:39:01,823
-He said, I think, 'Show me the map.'
-Yes.
317
00:39:02,525 --> 00:39:03,882
What do you think? Is he here to help us? Or?
318
00:39:04,292 --> 00:39:05,444
I don't know.
319
00:39:07,363 --> 00:39:10,806
He reminds me of that Fula
of Baoma, you know the one...
320
00:39:11,784 --> 00:39:13,679
...who hires himself out to scrape
elephant dung from the crop rows.
321
00:39:15,787 --> 00:39:19,000
A dung-scraper might be just the
kind of man we need right now.
322
00:39:21,019 --> 00:39:23,668
Here, Africa, is this where you're from?
323
00:39:24,130 --> 00:39:25,843
Africa.
324
00:39:26,423 --> 00:39:27,530
What does he want?
325
00:39:27,724 --> 00:39:30,143
He's an idiot. He just likes
to hear himself speak.
326
00:39:31,007 --> 00:39:32,695
Were you born in the West Indies?
327
00:39:34,140 --> 00:39:38,227
Were you born in the West Indies?
328
00:39:40,072 --> 00:39:41,449
All three of them are idiots.
329
00:39:43,858 --> 00:39:44,815
What did he say?
330
00:39:45,289 --> 00:39:49,001
He said they have to go away.
331
00:39:54,347 --> 00:39:57,475
-There they are!
-Damnation is God's way!
332
00:39:59,079 --> 00:40:00,958
You cannot own another human being!
333
00:40:01,056 --> 00:40:04,313
-Killers of white men!
-Slavery is tyranny!
334
00:40:04,374 --> 00:40:06,395
Look, it's those miserable-looking people again.
335
00:40:13,499 --> 00:40:15,001
God's blessing on you this morning.
336
00:40:15,061 --> 00:40:17,122
I'm not afraid of you, or your medicine.
337
00:40:17,574 --> 00:40:22,860
Yes. You place your hand on this book,
and I'll pray for you.
338
00:40:24,794 --> 00:40:27,630
They're human beings, not animals!
339
00:40:28,903 --> 00:40:30,946
Slavery will kill this country!
340
00:40:35,117 --> 00:40:38,787
Then, in the quietude of the night,
341
00:40:38,871 --> 00:40:41,040
after the Spaniards
attended their vespers,
342
00:40:41,123 --> 00:40:44,043
and were deep in virtuous sleep,
343
00:40:45,628 --> 00:40:49,048
the savages broke loose their collars
344
00:40:49,131 --> 00:40:53,844
and stole onto the deck
like creatures of prey,
345
00:40:53,928 --> 00:40:57,822
where they fell upon the unsuspecting
crew with these sabres and cane knives.
346
00:40:58,891 --> 00:41:02,080
I cannot overstate
the inhumanity of their acts...
347
00:41:02,141 --> 00:41:04,128
Have you figured out who he is?
348
00:41:04,274 --> 00:41:05,507
...the savagery, the bloodshed.
349
00:41:05,981 --> 00:41:07,691
An advisor of some kind. Maybe theirs.
350
00:41:07,797 --> 00:41:09,492
Unsated by the mere deaths
of their victims,
351
00:41:09,553 --> 00:41:11,639
they went on to mutilate
at least one of them...
352
00:41:11,813 --> 00:41:12,671
What about him?
353
00:41:12,732 --> 00:41:15,652
...to dismember him.
The simple cook, a Creole.
354
00:41:16,283 --> 00:41:17,284
Their own kind.
355
00:41:17,368 --> 00:41:18,675
Theirs maybe.
356
00:41:19,014 --> 00:41:21,686
But for the bravery
of Senors Ruiz and Montes,
357
00:41:21,747 --> 00:41:23,082
who fought their way to the stern
358
00:41:23,143 --> 00:41:25,145
and steered the Amistad
to these shores,
359
00:41:25,206 --> 00:41:27,333
under constant threat of like fate,
360
00:41:27,461 --> 00:41:29,546
we might never have
heard of this massacre,
361
00:41:29,630 --> 00:41:30,770
this bloodbath.
362
00:41:31,006 --> 00:41:32,450
But for their bravery,
363
00:41:32,841 --> 00:41:35,386
these villains most certainly
would have escaped justice.
364
00:41:36,262 --> 00:41:38,678
But they've not. They've not.
365
00:41:43,815 --> 00:41:44,959
And Dung-Scraper?
366
00:41:46,876 --> 00:41:49,894
I have a horrible feeling he talks for us.
367
00:42:05,207 --> 00:42:08,627
Do you know the difference
between a cow and a cabbage?
368
00:42:10,462 --> 00:42:11,711
A brick and a bear?
369
00:42:13,424 --> 00:42:18,045
Or how about
a polecat and a President?
370
00:42:21,174 --> 00:42:22,281
Well, the Spanish government hopes
371
00:42:22,350 --> 00:42:23,697
you don't have a whole lot more
common sense than that.
372
00:42:23,758 --> 00:42:25,010
And I'll tell you why.
373
00:42:25,088 --> 00:42:28,615
This case isn't about murder,
mayhem or massacres.
374
00:42:28,731 --> 00:42:30,637
It's not about anything that dramatic.
375
00:42:31,358 --> 00:42:36,027
This case is about knowing
the difference between here and there.
376
00:42:40,951 --> 00:42:42,087
I want to show you something.
377
00:42:53,422 --> 00:42:54,344
Open your mouth.
378
00:42:55,549 --> 00:42:56,740
Of course, he doesn't
understand what I'm saying
379
00:42:56,800 --> 00:42:57,912
because he doesn't speak English.
380
00:43:02,514 --> 00:43:03,974
Doesn't he understand that?
381
00:43:04,058 --> 00:43:05,541
I thought he was born
on a Cuban plantation.
382
00:43:05,601 --> 00:43:06,764
That's what they're all saying.
383
00:43:07,394 --> 00:43:09,563
Perhaps he simply just
doesn't like you, Mr. Baldwin.
384
00:43:09,646 --> 00:43:11,240
He wouldn't be the first, Mr. Holabird.
385
00:43:23,769 --> 00:43:24,466
Yes.
386
00:43:25,204 --> 00:43:28,404
What, did he learn this on some Cuban
plantation, this decorative effect?
387
00:43:34,838 --> 00:43:36,131
Cuban plantation.
388
00:43:38,967 --> 00:43:41,292
Stand up. Stand up.
389
00:43:41,902 --> 00:43:42,487
Hey.
390
00:44:02,309 --> 00:44:03,806
Stand up.
391
00:44:07,256 --> 00:44:08,112
Thank you.
392
00:44:09,411 --> 00:44:12,023
Your Honour, I speak more Spanish,
and I was born in Philadelphia.
393
00:44:12,084 --> 00:44:15,921
Your Honour, on Spanish plantations,
slaves always choose to live
394
00:44:16,004 --> 00:44:19,216
surrounded by their own ways
and simple languages.
395
00:44:19,299 --> 00:44:24,012
Pray tell, what need they know
of Spanish? Fetch? Carry? Stop?
396
00:44:24,096 --> 00:44:29,101
Oft times, gestures suffice for slaves, as,
indeed, for any other beast of burden.
397
00:44:29,184 --> 00:44:30,049
Your Honour.
398
00:44:31,728 --> 00:44:35,253
I represent the interests
of Senors Ruiz and Montes.
399
00:44:35,858 --> 00:44:36,791
I remember.
400
00:44:37,137 --> 00:44:40,987
I have a bill of sale issued in Havana
for the purchase of slaves.
401
00:44:41,365 --> 00:44:43,033
I remember that, too.
402
00:44:43,699 --> 00:44:47,749
On it, in addition to the amounts paid
for each, are their names.
403
00:44:48,036 --> 00:44:52,291
Jose, Bernardo, Paco and so on.
404
00:44:53,792 --> 00:44:56,843
On behalf of my clients,
I submit this document to the court.
405
00:45:05,971 --> 00:45:08,882
Mr. Baldwin, you've proffered
to this court this morning
406
00:45:08,943 --> 00:45:12,572
a good deal of, I'll be kind,
circumstantial evidence.
407
00:45:12,978 --> 00:45:17,483
Have you, in addition, anything, say,
in the order of actual documentation
408
00:45:17,566 --> 00:45:19,318
that might refute this one,
409
00:45:19,401 --> 00:45:22,488
and in so doing,
more compellingly support your claims?
410
00:45:22,571 --> 00:45:26,200
I'm sure I could manufacture some
as easily as they have, Your Honour,
411
00:45:26,283 --> 00:45:27,321
if that would suffice.
412
00:45:27,382 --> 00:45:29,471
But what you're saying is,
then, you don't.
413
00:45:29,745 --> 00:45:30,734
Is that correct?
414
00:45:40,380 --> 00:45:41,312
I have them.
415
00:45:42,919 --> 00:45:45,020
I'm afraid that does not impress me.
416
00:45:56,834 --> 00:45:58,168
I thought you did quite well.
417
00:45:59,858 --> 00:46:00,557
You do?
418
00:46:01,276 --> 00:46:03,307
Much better than I expected,
to be honest.
419
00:46:05,030 --> 00:46:06,823
Well, thank you, I think.
420
00:46:06,907 --> 00:46:09,618
Although, I was concerned for a moment
that you might've forgotten
421
00:46:09,701 --> 00:46:11,453
that this is just a case like any other.
422
00:46:11,765 --> 00:46:13,392
Well, you needn't worry about that.
423
00:46:13,956 --> 00:46:14,852
That's good.
424
00:46:35,018 --> 00:46:37,854
Hello, Cinque.
My name is Roger Baldwin.
425
00:46:37,938 --> 00:46:39,006
I'll be your attorney.
426
00:46:55,497 --> 00:46:58,093
Yes. Thank you.
427
00:47:08,010 --> 00:47:09,065
All right.
428
00:47:14,308 --> 00:47:16,063
I need to prove where you're from.
429
00:47:17,186 --> 00:47:19,361
You want to show them where we're from.
430
00:47:23,892 --> 00:47:25,903
How are you supposed to tell me? I...
431
00:47:29,031 --> 00:47:31,211
How can I explain to you where we're from?
432
00:47:37,623 --> 00:47:38,624
Maybe, I -
433
00:47:38,707 --> 00:47:39,815
Listen, why don't I... You go.
434
00:47:39,875 --> 00:47:42,842
I'm sorry, you should talk first.
435
00:47:58,101 --> 00:48:00,634
Here. This is where I'm from.
436
00:48:01,521 --> 00:48:02,938
Here. This.
437
00:48:03,523 --> 00:48:05,719
All of this. All of this is...
438
00:48:08,028 --> 00:48:08,896
That's here.
439
00:48:09,245 --> 00:48:09,971
...my home.
440
00:48:11,323 --> 00:48:11,961
Here.
441
00:48:20,415 --> 00:48:22,586
Cuba. Cuba's an island.
442
00:48:34,438 --> 00:48:37,349
The Amistad. This is where you...
443
00:48:37,432 --> 00:48:40,561
Where everyone was killed. Here.
444
00:48:42,145 --> 00:48:43,927
Cuba, the Amistad.
445
00:48:44,106 --> 00:48:47,484
Now, Cuba, is this your home?
I don't think so.
446
00:48:48,151 --> 00:48:49,933
But... Excuse me.
447
00:48:53,615 --> 00:48:54,384
Now...
448
00:49:01,777 --> 00:49:02,567
Africa.
449
00:49:03,463 --> 00:49:05,637
This is your home, isn't it?
450
00:49:06,396 --> 00:49:11,161
This is your home. Yes?
451
00:49:12,634 --> 00:49:18,515
You came all the way from here.
452
00:49:46,668 --> 00:49:47,417
This...
453
00:49:48,378 --> 00:49:49,776
This... is how far I've come.
454
00:50:15,947 --> 00:50:17,953
Secure the barrels for transport.
455
00:50:24,080 --> 00:50:26,208
Put your backs into it, boys. Come on.
456
00:50:26,583 --> 00:50:28,400
This is a court order
granting us permission to board
457
00:50:28,460 --> 00:50:30,270
and search this vessel
for evidential purposes.
458
00:50:31,296 --> 00:50:32,076
What did they want?
459
00:50:32,631 --> 00:50:33,469
To come aboard.
460
00:50:33,746 --> 00:50:37,832
I informed them they needed to obtain
one of these, an authentic one.
461
00:50:46,728 --> 00:50:47,718
Aren't you coming?
462
00:51:09,543 --> 00:51:11,152
Heave-ho!
463
00:53:07,535 --> 00:53:09,010
The light. Light...
464
00:53:11,247 --> 00:53:13,041
Light the lamp, Mr. Baldwin.
465
00:53:13,410 --> 00:53:14,274
I'm trying.
466
00:53:21,716 --> 00:53:22,627
Mr. Joadson!
467
00:53:24,052 --> 00:53:25,038
Here.
468
00:53:30,389 --> 00:53:31,206
You all right?
469
00:53:36,231 --> 00:53:36,935
Yes.
470
00:54:17,814 --> 00:54:19,217
These papers,
471
00:54:20,191 --> 00:54:23,611
and I shall ask you to examine them,
are portions of a ship's manifest
472
00:54:23,695 --> 00:54:25,749
I retrieved from the Amistad
yesterday eve.
473
00:54:26,740 --> 00:54:27,824
At first glance, perhaps,
474
00:54:27,907 --> 00:54:31,244
they may appear to bolster
the prosecution's case.
475
00:54:32,280 --> 00:54:33,667
You see, they list cargo,
476
00:54:35,040 --> 00:54:37,375
cargo bearing the very Spanish names
477
00:54:37,436 --> 00:54:41,221
that Messrs. Ruiz and Montes
insist represent my clients,
478
00:54:42,630 --> 00:54:44,655
hand-scrawled in the margins.
479
00:54:45,836 --> 00:54:49,782
But, no, this is not the manifest
of the Amistad at all. Look.
480
00:54:51,931 --> 00:54:55,734
This is part of the cargo manifest
of a Portuguese vessel,
481
00:54:55,946 --> 00:54:58,942
the notorious Transatlantic
slave ship, the Tecora.
482
00:54:59,898 --> 00:55:01,229
The Tecora.
483
00:55:04,319 --> 00:55:07,614
And I can bring you as many
witnesses as you wish, Mr. Holabird,
484
00:55:07,697 --> 00:55:09,240
-to corroborate this.
-Tecora.
485
00:55:09,324 --> 00:55:11,408
Their clients trade primarily
off the coast of West Africa,
486
00:55:11,618 --> 00:55:13,317
the Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone.
487
00:55:16,372 --> 00:55:17,910
I know what you're thinking.
488
00:55:18,500 --> 00:55:20,960
Sierra Leone is a protectorate
of the British Crown.
489
00:55:21,044 --> 00:55:22,925
Slavery is outlawed there.
490
00:55:23,296 --> 00:55:26,716
Its principal port, in fact,
has been rechristened 'Freetown.'
491
00:55:27,592 --> 00:55:30,428
How then,
can the Portuguese-flag-flying Tecora
492
00:55:30,512 --> 00:55:32,421
engage in the slave trades
in these waters?
493
00:55:33,598 --> 00:55:36,476
I'll tell you how, in a word.
494
00:55:39,541 --> 00:55:40,638
Illegally.
495
00:55:43,608 --> 00:55:46,319
Now, whatever these men say
from this point on clearly matters not
496
00:55:46,402 --> 00:55:48,407
because this proves them liars.
497
00:55:49,197 --> 00:55:51,398
My clients' journey
did not begin in Havana,
498
00:55:51,459 --> 00:55:54,683
as they claim and keep claiming
more and more emphatically.
499
00:55:54,744 --> 00:55:56,534
No, my clients' journey
500
00:56:00,629 --> 00:56:02,506
began much, much further away.
501
00:56:16,599 --> 00:56:18,271
I underestimated you, sir!
502
00:56:19,451 --> 00:56:20,810
I really did!
503
00:56:21,354 --> 00:56:23,314
Well, I should
take that as a compliment.
504
00:56:23,398 --> 00:56:25,083
You should, indeed, sir.
You should, indeed.
505
00:56:25,144 --> 00:56:26,299
You've done it, I think.
506
00:56:26,552 --> 00:56:29,594
I can't imagine there's no not reaching
a favourable conclusion...
507
00:56:30,738 --> 00:56:32,281
Hey! Hey!
508
00:56:34,637 --> 00:56:35,653
Am I bleeding?
509
00:56:38,079 --> 00:56:38,992
There's nothing there.
510
00:56:42,067 --> 00:56:43,313
What did I do to deserve this?
511
00:56:44,752 --> 00:56:46,478
You took the case, Mr. Baldwin.
512
00:56:48,097 --> 00:56:49,249
You took the case, sir.
513
00:56:50,633 --> 00:56:52,084
I should take that as a compliment.
514
00:56:53,887 --> 00:56:55,326
'As you may perceive,'
515
00:56:56,472 --> 00:57:00,237
'I wish you to act promptly
before this matter of the Africans'
516
00:57:00,339 --> 00:57:02,466
'becomes a weight
on our two countries.'
517
00:57:02,628 --> 00:57:03,874
'Great countries.'
518
00:57:04,782 --> 00:57:06,553
'Our great countries.'
519
00:57:07,192 --> 00:57:10,737
'After all, the business
of great countries is to do business.'
520
00:57:12,618 --> 00:57:15,653
'Slavery is our pillar of commerce
in the New World.'
521
00:57:16,409 --> 00:57:20,099
'Without it, our goodwill
and excellent trade relations...'
522
00:57:20,506 --> 00:57:23,885
-'Should be imperilled.'
-'Should be imperilled.
523
00:57:24,667 --> 00:57:27,378
'Without it, we might
have been denied the glory
524
00:57:27,462 --> 00:57:30,798
'of aiding you in your virtuous
rebellion against the British.
525
00:57:31,299 --> 00:57:35,215
'As slave-owning nations,
we must together stand firm.
526
00:57:36,770 --> 00:57:40,357
'Speak the words of humaneness for
the masses of your citizens,
527
00:57:40,558 --> 00:57:43,599
'but hold tightly to the power
that protects them.
528
00:57:44,501 --> 00:57:46,705
'That power, of course, is their wealth.'
529
00:57:47,315 --> 00:57:49,844
'The Africans must never go free.'
530
00:57:50,902 --> 00:57:52,820
'With sincerest admiration,'
531
00:57:53,488 --> 00:57:56,772
'Isabella II, Queen of all of Spain.'
532
00:57:57,906 --> 00:58:01,911
I am not about to bend
to the will of some pubescent queen.
533
00:58:02,247 --> 00:58:04,234
Forget about them. They're unimportant.
534
00:58:05,500 --> 00:58:07,877
-Prepubescent.
-What you need to concern yourself with
535
00:58:07,961 --> 00:58:11,089
is what this matter means here,
not an ocean away.
536
00:58:11,150 --> 00:58:13,104
I wish someone would
tell me what it means!
537
00:58:13,675 --> 00:58:15,977
Leder, you yourself
said it was meaningless.
538
00:58:16,594 --> 00:58:17,800
Well, not any more.
539
00:58:21,474 --> 00:58:23,135
John Calhoun paid me a visit.
540
00:58:23,601 --> 00:58:24,384
Oh, God.
541
00:58:25,019 --> 00:58:29,065
To explain to me why this case
is of much greater import,
542
00:58:29,241 --> 00:58:31,943
much greater symbolism,
to use his word,
543
00:58:32,026 --> 00:58:33,569
to the South and the North.
544
00:58:34,768 --> 00:58:37,304
Now, if the Africans are executed,
545
00:58:37,365 --> 00:58:39,307
the abolitionists will
certainly make good use of it.
546
00:58:39,367 --> 00:58:41,744
And, yes, they will make some converts.
547
00:58:41,828 --> 00:58:45,707
If, on the other hand, they are freed,
if that happens,
548
00:58:45,790 --> 00:58:47,709
Calhoun assures me
the Southern states will
549
00:58:47,792 --> 00:58:51,254
so ally themselves against you,
that you can forget about re-election.
550
00:58:52,916 --> 00:58:54,049
Over this?
551
00:58:54,483 --> 00:58:55,502
It's worse than that.
552
00:58:55,730 --> 00:58:58,107
Worse? What could be worse than that?
553
00:58:58,261 --> 00:59:01,472
Calhoun believes, and I am not sure
I can entirely disagree with him,
554
00:59:01,533 --> 00:59:05,370
that this could take us all
one long step closer to civil war.
555
00:59:07,061 --> 00:59:07,846
This?
556
00:59:08,354 --> 00:59:09,411
Yes, Mr. President.
557
00:59:10,691 --> 00:59:11,935
But all is not lost.
558
00:59:13,234 --> 00:59:15,361
Yes, the jury appears
disposed towards freeing them.
559
00:59:15,422 --> 00:59:16,881
But juries can be dismissed.
560
00:59:19,807 --> 00:59:20,743
They can?
561
00:59:22,952 --> 00:59:25,384
But I believe we must go further
and remove the judge.
562
00:59:26,456 --> 00:59:27,533
We can do that?
563
00:59:29,042 --> 00:59:32,574
He could be prevailed upon to recuse
himself for any number of reasons.
564
00:59:34,038 --> 00:59:36,546
And with that in mind,
I've taken the liberty
565
00:59:36,607 --> 00:59:38,509
of exploring possible
replacements,
566
00:59:38,593 --> 00:59:41,181
and I've found one
I strongly believe to be better.
567
00:59:43,563 --> 00:59:47,344
He's young, which means he has
a career before him rather than behind,
568
00:59:47,977 --> 00:59:50,146
which means he has yet
to feel the hankering
569
00:59:50,207 --> 00:59:52,947
for magnanimous last gestures
for the sake of posterity.
570
00:59:53,483 --> 00:59:59,280
And he is monumentally insecure,
particularly about his Catholic heritage.
571
00:59:59,906 --> 01:00:01,959
-He's Catholic?
-His grandfather was Catholic,
572
01:00:02,867 --> 01:00:06,613
which young Mr. Coglin
has striven all his days to keep quiet.
573
01:00:07,455 --> 01:00:09,749
Mr. President, meet Judge Coglin.
574
01:00:09,832 --> 01:00:12,835
Judge Coglin,
we are so pleased to meet you.
575
01:00:12,919 --> 01:00:14,629
Thank you so much for coming.
576
01:00:36,317 --> 01:00:38,038
I've been reading in the papers
577
01:00:38,986 --> 01:00:43,491
the continuing saga of the Amistad.
578
01:00:44,705 --> 01:00:45,643
Real papers.
579
01:00:46,738 --> 01:00:48,910
Real papers. Yes, sir.
580
01:00:51,281 --> 01:00:54,689
Yes. Bad luck,
this last unfolding chapter.
581
01:00:55,795 --> 01:00:56,845
What to do now?
582
01:00:58,032 --> 01:01:01,008
Which is precisely why I came to
Massachusetts and imposed on you, sir.
583
01:01:01,509 --> 01:01:04,065
No imposition, really.
584
01:01:06,036 --> 01:01:07,082
Yeah.
585
01:01:10,763 --> 01:01:12,039
How did that...
586
01:01:13,187 --> 01:01:15,446
How did that young lawyer
take the news?
587
01:01:16,739 --> 01:01:18,970
In stride, sir. In stride.
588
01:01:20,069 --> 01:01:23,044
The thing is, sir, he did everything right.
589
01:01:23,656 --> 01:01:25,867
-He proved the case.
-Did he?
590
01:01:25,950 --> 01:01:28,425
Yes, sir. Surprisingly, he did.
591
01:01:30,683 --> 01:01:31,275
Good.
592
01:01:31,859 --> 01:01:34,091
Well, he'll just have to do it again, then,
won't he?
593
01:01:34,709 --> 01:01:37,378
But like most things, it should be
easier the second time around.
594
01:01:39,338 --> 01:01:41,635
Well, I'm afraid it doesn't matter
what he does now, sir.
595
01:01:43,134 --> 01:01:46,637
Rumour has it our next judge
was hand picked by Van Buren himself.
596
01:01:47,715 --> 01:01:48,621
No!
597
01:01:51,040 --> 01:01:55,252
Well, I'm embarrassed to admit
that I was under the misconception
598
01:01:55,313 --> 01:01:58,566
that our executive
and judicial branches were separate.
599
01:01:59,233 --> 01:02:02,236
No more so than these, Mr. Joadson.
600
01:02:02,987 --> 01:02:04,533
No more so than these.
601
01:02:07,509 --> 01:02:08,465
So now you know.
602
01:02:08,784 --> 01:02:09,555
Yes.
603
01:02:10,870 --> 01:02:12,413
-Sir?
-Yeah?
604
01:02:12,497 --> 01:02:15,377
Mr. President, if it was you
handling the case...
605
01:02:15,750 --> 01:02:18,052
But it isn't me. And thank God for that.
606
01:02:21,255 --> 01:02:22,771
But if it was, sir,
607
01:02:24,509 --> 01:02:25,504
what would you do?
608
01:02:34,361 --> 01:02:40,743
Well, when I was an attorney
a long time ago, young man,
609
01:02:41,234 --> 01:02:45,264
I realized after much trial and error
610
01:02:46,113 --> 01:02:47,490
that in a courtroom
611
01:02:48,926 --> 01:02:51,554
whoever tells the best story wins.
612
01:02:53,855 --> 01:02:59,290
In unlawyer-like fashion, I give you
that scrap of wisdom free of charge.
613
01:03:03,464 --> 01:03:05,529
I'm much obliged for your time, sir.
614
01:03:08,594 --> 01:03:10,360
What is their story, by the way?
615
01:03:13,905 --> 01:03:14,480
Sir?
616
01:03:15,977 --> 01:03:17,190
What is their story?
617
01:03:19,850 --> 01:03:21,278
Why, they're...
618
01:03:25,188 --> 01:03:26,422
They're from West Africa.
619
01:03:27,196 --> 01:03:30,708
No. What is their story?
620
01:03:38,976 --> 01:03:42,919
Mr. Joadson,
you're from where originally?
621
01:03:44,162 --> 01:03:45,818
Why, Georgia, sir.
622
01:03:46,442 --> 01:03:48,139
-Georgia.
-Yes, sir.
623
01:03:48,634 --> 01:03:50,720
Does that pretty much
sum up what you are?
624
01:03:50,781 --> 01:03:53,566
A Georgian? Is that your story?
625
01:03:55,182 --> 01:03:59,478
No. You're an ex-slave
who's devoted his life
626
01:03:59,562 --> 01:04:02,607
to the abolition of slavery,
and overcoming great obstacles
627
01:04:02,690 --> 01:04:05,177
and hardships along the way,
I should imagine.
628
01:04:06,221 --> 01:04:09,006
That's your story, isn't it?
629
01:04:18,874 --> 01:04:23,437
You and this young so-called lawyer
have proven you know what they are.
630
01:04:23,544 --> 01:04:25,712
They're Africans. Congratulations.
631
01:04:27,063 --> 01:04:29,552
What you don't know,
and, as far as I can tell,
632
01:04:29,967 --> 01:04:33,596
I haven't bothered in the least
to discover is who they are.
633
01:04:37,967 --> 01:04:38,699
Right?
634
01:04:52,979 --> 01:04:54,132
Seven.
635
01:04:56,077 --> 01:04:56,890
Eight.
636
01:05:00,526 --> 01:05:01,527
Nine.
637
01:05:02,707 --> 01:05:04,314
And 10.
638
01:05:04,960 --> 01:05:07,430
Now, how about you, Mr. Baldwin?
639
01:05:08,047 --> 01:05:10,294
Would you like to count from one to 10?
640
01:05:10,716 --> 01:05:12,193
One to 10 in Mende.
641
01:05:14,975 --> 01:05:15,587
One.
642
01:05:16,764 --> 01:05:17,454
Two.
643
01:05:18,851 --> 01:05:19,644
Three.
644
01:05:21,111 --> 01:05:21,999
Four.
645
01:05:24,083 --> 01:05:25,850
Right. Five.
646
01:05:43,958 --> 01:05:47,799
Fresh fruit! Fresh fruit!
Straight from the Caribbean!
647
01:07:13,899 --> 01:07:15,250
What's happened here?
648
01:07:16,041 --> 01:07:17,959
I don't know.
One of them died last night.
649
01:07:18,052 --> 01:07:20,218
We tried to take
the body away to bury it.
650
01:07:20,687 --> 01:07:23,015
Well, what do they want?
They want to live with it?
651
01:07:39,740 --> 01:07:41,205
They want to bury him.
652
01:07:42,235 --> 01:07:44,997
They have to bury him
according to their Poro beliefs.
653
01:07:45,246 --> 01:07:47,228
Otherwise, his soul
will haunt them forever.
654
01:08:19,218 --> 01:08:21,458
If I were you, if I ran this place,
655
01:08:22,575 --> 01:08:25,367
I'd set protocol aside just this once
and let them bury him.
656
01:08:30,666 --> 01:08:32,648
I was thinking the same thing.
657
01:09:26,046 --> 01:09:28,455
My name is Kai Nyagua -
658
01:09:29,141 --> 01:09:30,469
My name is Kai Nyagua -
and James Covey.
659
01:09:31,518 --> 01:09:34,588
I speak Mende and English -
his language.
660
01:09:35,871 --> 01:09:40,297
You and he will talk to each other through me.
661
01:09:42,816 --> 01:09:43,921
The clothes?
662
01:09:44,740 --> 01:09:45,866
And the names.
663
01:09:46,825 --> 01:09:48,856
I was rescued off a slave
ship by the British Navy.
664
01:09:49,876 --> 01:09:51,215
I never went back.
665
01:09:57,044 --> 01:09:58,246
A problem has arisen.
666
01:10:00,756 --> 01:10:03,467
The judge we had, who believed,
I believe,
667
01:10:03,550 --> 01:10:06,720
that you should be freed,
has been dismissed.
668
01:10:07,721 --> 01:10:11,475
A new judge has been called upon
to hear the case,
669
01:10:11,558 --> 01:10:13,102
this time without a jury.
670
01:10:23,612 --> 01:10:26,490
How is that possible?
A chief cannot be replaced.
671
01:10:26,573 --> 01:10:29,817
I can't explain it in any way
that you would understand, Cinque.
672
01:10:30,160 --> 01:10:34,000
Or me, for that matter.
Only that, well, it has happened.
673
01:10:40,796 --> 01:10:44,758
I am not a great orator
or advisor, Cinque.
674
01:10:45,949 --> 01:10:48,252
I'm not a big man in my profession.
675
01:10:48,595 --> 01:10:52,266
I don't know that I alone can convince
this next judge to set you free.
676
01:10:54,727 --> 01:10:55,762
I need your help.
677
01:10:58,772 --> 01:11:02,890
When we go to court,
I need you to speak.
678
01:11:10,593 --> 01:11:12,313
I'm not an advisor of any kind.
679
01:11:13,035 --> 01:11:14,445
I cannot speak for the others.
680
01:11:15,205 --> 01:11:17,413
Cinque, the others, they say you can.
681
01:11:17,474 --> 01:11:20,426
They say you're the big man here.
682
01:11:23,314 --> 01:11:24,328
I am not.
683
01:11:31,140 --> 01:11:32,752
What's this I hear about a lion?
684
01:11:36,769 --> 01:11:39,938
They say you alone, alone, Cinque,
685
01:11:39,999 --> 01:11:43,792
slew the most terrifying beast
anyone has ever seen.
686
01:11:44,109 --> 01:11:45,479
Is it not true?
687
01:12:30,389 --> 01:12:32,192
It had killed several people.
688
01:12:35,335 --> 01:12:36,564
Even hunters among us.
689
01:12:38,373 --> 01:12:40,474
Everyone, including me, was afraid.
690
01:12:43,168 --> 01:12:47,361
I was lying down with my family
when out of nowhere it appeared.
691
01:12:49,369 --> 01:12:50,533
As it came for me,
692
01:12:52,510 --> 01:12:55,315
I picked up this big rock and I threw it.
693
01:13:00,144 --> 01:13:03,939
And by some miracle, you see, I hit it.
694
01:13:08,320 --> 01:13:10,192
He don't know how that killed it,
but it did.
695
01:13:16,216 --> 01:13:16,985
A rock.
696
01:13:20,622 --> 01:13:21,405
A rock.
697
01:13:43,061 --> 01:13:45,439
I received the gratitude
of everyone in the village.
698
01:13:51,945 --> 01:13:53,335
I was given respect.
699
01:13:57,326 --> 01:13:59,348
They treated me as if I was a prince.
700
01:14:04,333 --> 01:14:06,379
They gave me the fine country cloth.
701
01:14:17,095 --> 01:14:19,443
All these things they gave me,
I took them all.
702
01:14:25,509 --> 01:14:27,089
But I knew I didn't deserve it.
703
01:14:33,605 --> 01:14:35,396
For when I threw that rock at that beast
704
01:14:36,490 --> 01:14:37,622
if I had missed him...
705
01:14:38,412 --> 01:14:39,623
He said he wouldn't be
sitting here today
706
01:14:39,684 --> 01:14:42,100
trying to explain these things
to you or me or...
707
01:14:42,454 --> 01:14:43,608
He'd just be dead.
708
01:14:49,169 --> 01:14:50,121
Understand?
709
01:14:56,898 --> 01:14:58,055
You understand?
710
01:15:13,819 --> 01:15:18,323
I'm not a big man, just a lucky one.
711
01:15:28,382 --> 01:15:32,665
I might agree with you, Cinque,
except you're forgetting something.
712
01:15:37,978 --> 01:15:39,122
The other lion.
713
01:15:43,015 --> 01:15:45,029
The Amistad, Cinque. The insurrection.
714
01:15:45,634 --> 01:15:47,955
That, too, was an accident?
I hardly think so.
715
01:15:55,694 --> 01:15:56,790
That wasn't bravery.
716
01:16:03,452 --> 01:16:05,954
Any man would do the same
to get back to his family.
717
01:16:07,414 --> 01:16:08,883
You yourself would do it.
718
01:16:20,664 --> 01:16:22,491
Someone said that might be yours.
719
01:16:28,953 --> 01:16:30,335
My wife gave it to me.
720
01:16:39,675 --> 01:16:40,764
To keep me safe.
721
01:16:42,920 --> 01:16:47,642
Cinque, I need you to tell me
how you got here.
722
01:17:20,646 --> 01:17:23,315
I'll hit you in the head again if you talk.
723
01:17:23,630 --> 01:17:26,954
I'll share the profit of my harvest.
I'll give you all of it if you -
724
01:17:47,993 --> 01:17:50,248
Lomboko Slave Fortress
725
01:22:14,228 --> 01:22:18,352
This one's sick, don't give him any.
726
01:22:26,793 --> 01:22:27,946
Her.
727
01:22:28,461 --> 01:22:29,286
Not her.
728
01:22:30,770 --> 01:22:31,689
Her.
729
01:24:06,446 --> 01:24:09,535
Havana, Cuba
730
01:25:31,227 --> 01:25:32,523
Bernardo.
731
01:26:09,891 --> 01:26:11,360
I wanted to kill them, too.
732
01:26:14,479 --> 01:26:17,414
For they convinced some of us
that they would take us back home.
733
01:26:25,198 --> 01:26:26,252
Thank you, sir.
734
01:26:34,374 --> 01:26:35,468
Mr. Holabird.
735
01:26:41,839 --> 01:26:42,840
Quite a tale.
736
01:26:43,805 --> 01:26:45,755
Intrigue, abduction,
737
01:26:46,261 --> 01:26:49,389
courage in the face
of unspeakable suffering.
738
01:26:49,597 --> 01:26:53,267
And all true. All right.
Now tell me if this is true.
739
01:26:53,351 --> 01:26:55,853
Certain tribes in Africa,
for hundreds of years,
740
01:26:55,914 --> 01:26:59,042
thousands, perhaps,
have owned slaves.
741
01:27:03,069 --> 01:27:04,112
Translate.
742
01:27:12,738 --> 01:27:13,590
Yes.
743
01:27:13,788 --> 01:27:16,708
And under what circumstances
might one become a slave,
744
01:27:16,769 --> 01:27:18,985
say, among the Mende,
of which you claim to belong?
745
01:27:21,754 --> 01:27:22,546
Translate.
746
01:27:32,403 --> 01:27:34,278
Wars, debts.
747
01:27:34,891 --> 01:27:35,832
I see.
748
01:27:36,310 --> 01:27:38,490
And how many men
are indebted to you?
749
01:27:38,771 --> 01:27:40,331
-I don't think you do see.
-Excuse me?
750
01:27:40,440 --> 01:27:42,048
-Your Honour, Mr. Holabird...
-It's different.
751
01:27:42,108 --> 01:27:43,708
...is trying to intimidate my colleague.
752
01:27:43,776 --> 01:27:46,821
The Mende word for 'slave'
is closer in meaning to 'worker.'
753
01:27:46,904 --> 01:27:49,128
Do these workers
own the land they work on?
754
01:27:49,449 --> 01:27:50,816
Do they receive wages?
755
01:27:51,451 --> 01:27:55,038
Are these workers free to
not work for you, if they so choose?
756
01:27:55,121 --> 01:27:57,040
Your Honour,
he's questioning the translator.
757
01:27:57,123 --> 01:27:59,482
No, the translator is answering
for the witness, Your Honour.
758
01:27:59,542 --> 01:28:02,211
-The witness isn't being given a chance.
-Mr. Baldwin!
759
01:28:02,295 --> 01:28:04,672
Fine, fine, Mr. Baldwin!
760
01:28:05,298 --> 01:28:08,051
Slavery, indentured servitude.
761
01:28:08,134 --> 01:28:10,303
Whatever they want to call it,
I don't mind.
762
01:28:10,386 --> 01:28:12,180
The concept is the same.
763
01:28:12,263 --> 01:28:15,266
Now, he is familiar with the concept.
764
01:28:16,309 --> 01:28:19,021
After all, when you come down to it,
it's all about money, isn't it?
765
01:28:19,225 --> 01:28:22,770
Slaves, production, money.
I mean, that's the idea of it.
766
01:28:22,940 --> 01:28:25,902
Whether it's here or there. I'm confused.
767
01:28:28,321 --> 01:28:33,367
Do your people
routinely slaughter their slaves
768
01:28:33,493 --> 01:28:36,746
in the manner that you just
so vividly described to us?
769
01:28:39,813 --> 01:28:43,102
Of course they don't.
What would be the point of that?
770
01:28:43,841 --> 01:28:46,938
I mean, killing your own slaves is rather
like burning down your own house
771
01:28:47,412 --> 01:28:49,092
or hut, isn't it?
772
01:28:52,149 --> 01:28:54,088
How do you explain that paradox?
773
01:29:00,615 --> 01:29:02,357
I don't understand what you mean.
774
01:29:02,682 --> 01:29:05,865
Sure you do. As does everyone here.
775
01:29:06,692 --> 01:29:09,445
The behaviour you attribute
to your tormentors,
776
01:29:09,529 --> 01:29:11,447
your victims, to be more precise,
777
01:29:11,531 --> 01:29:14,665
and therefore every other
aspect of your testimony,
778
01:29:15,034 --> 01:29:18,204
makes no sense.
779
01:29:20,081 --> 01:29:21,285
Not even to you.
780
01:29:22,208 --> 01:29:23,403
But thank you for it.
781
01:29:23,654 --> 01:29:26,491
Like all good works of fiction,
it was entertaining.
782
01:29:27,046 --> 01:29:28,006
Nothing more.
783
01:29:39,600 --> 01:29:41,394
Captain Fitzgerald, please explain to us
784
01:29:41,455 --> 01:29:43,593
your primary duties
in Her Majesty's navy.
785
01:29:44,303 --> 01:29:47,222
To patrol the Ivory Coast for slave ships.
786
01:29:47,400 --> 01:29:48,279
Because?
787
01:29:49,464 --> 01:29:52,926
Because slavery is banned
in British law, sir.
788
01:29:53,364 --> 01:29:56,325
Yet the abduction of free men from
the British protectorate of Sierra Leone
789
01:29:56,409 --> 01:29:58,786
and their illegal transportation
to the New World,
790
01:29:58,870 --> 01:30:01,122
as described by Cinque,
is not unheard of, is it?
791
01:30:01,664 --> 01:30:04,198
Not even unusual, regrettably.
792
01:30:04,708 --> 01:30:09,838
Well, what, if anything, in his account
of his ordeal do you find believable?
793
01:30:11,257 --> 01:30:15,067
His description of the slave fortress,
for one thing.
794
01:30:16,115 --> 01:30:17,537
There is such a place.
795
01:30:17,972 --> 01:30:18,936
You've seen it?
796
01:30:20,266 --> 01:30:22,685
No, sir. We've not managed to locate it,
797
01:30:22,768 --> 01:30:25,696
but there is overwhelming evidence
that it is real.
798
01:30:25,897 --> 01:30:28,191
What evidence, exactly? Rumour?
799
01:30:30,109 --> 01:30:31,579
Reports.
800
01:30:32,196 --> 01:30:36,369
By 'reports' you mean of the variety
Cinque shared with us today?
801
01:30:37,575 --> 01:30:41,162
Its existence, sir, has been reported.
802
01:30:41,495 --> 01:30:43,372
Cinque describes
the cold-blooded murder
803
01:30:43,456 --> 01:30:45,917
of a significant portion of the people
on board the Tecora.
804
01:30:46,000 --> 01:30:49,267
Mr. Holabird sees this as a paradox.
Do you, sir?
805
01:30:50,421 --> 01:30:55,384
Often when slavers are intercepted,
or believe they may be,
806
01:30:55,468 --> 01:30:57,762
they simply throw all
their prisoners overboard
807
01:30:57,845 --> 01:31:01,121
and thereby rid themselves
of the evidence of their crime.
808
01:31:01,953 --> 01:31:03,710
Drown hundreds of people?
809
01:31:04,435 --> 01:31:05,179
Yes.
810
01:31:06,562 --> 01:31:10,481
It hardly seems a lucrative business
to me, this slave-trading.
811
01:31:10,733 --> 01:31:12,610
Going to all that trouble
rounding everybody up
812
01:31:12,693 --> 01:31:14,111
only to throw them overboard.
813
01:31:14,445 --> 01:31:16,614
No, it's very lucrative.
814
01:31:17,507 --> 01:31:20,303
If only we could corroborate
Cinque's story somehow
815
01:31:23,497 --> 01:31:25,396
with evidence of some kind.
816
01:31:25,653 --> 01:31:26,717
The inventory.
817
01:31:32,421 --> 01:31:35,424
This? From the Tecora?
818
01:31:35,758 --> 01:31:39,345
If you look,
there's a notation made on May 10
819
01:31:39,428 --> 01:31:43,474
correcting the number of slaves on
board, reducing their number by 50.
820
01:31:43,557 --> 01:31:44,729
What does that mean?
821
01:31:45,893 --> 01:31:48,771
Well, if you look at it
in conjunction with Cinque's testimony,
822
01:31:48,854 --> 01:31:50,613
I would say that it means this.
823
01:31:51,565 --> 01:31:54,068
The Tecora crew,
having greatly underestimated
824
01:31:54,151 --> 01:31:56,790
the amount of provisions
required for their journey,
825
01:31:57,405 --> 01:32:00,154
solved the problem
by throwing 50 people overboard.
826
01:32:49,026 --> 01:32:51,612
I'm looking at the same
inventory, Captain,
827
01:32:51,673 --> 01:32:54,759
and I'm sorry, I don't see where it says,
828
01:32:54,920 --> 01:32:57,563
'This morning,
we threw 50 slaves overboard.'
829
01:32:58,090 --> 01:32:59,679
On May 10 or any other day.
830
01:33:00,360 --> 01:33:01,963
As of course you would not.
831
01:33:16,173 --> 01:33:18,435
I do see that the cargo weight changed.
832
01:33:19,028 --> 01:33:22,229
They reduced the poundage, I see,
but that is all.
833
01:33:38,506 --> 01:33:40,825
It's simple, ghastly arithmetic.
834
01:33:42,347 --> 01:33:43,605
Well, for you, perhaps.
835
01:33:45,096 --> 01:33:48,029
I may need a quill and parchment
and a better imagination.
836
01:33:48,828 --> 01:33:53,308
And what poundage do you imagine
the entry may refer to, sir?
837
01:33:54,663 --> 01:33:56,623
A mast and sails, perhaps?
838
01:33:57,570 --> 01:33:59,627
Give us, us free.
839
01:34:05,241 --> 01:34:09,091
Give us free.
840
01:34:12,249 --> 01:34:14,164
Give us, us free.
841
01:34:19,130 --> 01:34:22,893
Give us free.
842
01:34:24,301 --> 01:34:26,675
Your Honour,
please instruct the defendant
843
01:34:27,035 --> 01:34:29,512
that he cannot disrupt
these proceedings with such outbursts.
844
01:34:29,573 --> 01:34:31,715
Give us, us free!
845
01:34:33,352 --> 01:34:36,217
If we are to have any semblance
of order in this court, Your Honour...
846
01:34:36,278 --> 01:34:40,199
-Give us, us free! Give us, us free!
-He cannot keep crying out...
847
01:34:40,272 --> 01:34:43,108
Cannot keep crying out, 'Give us free,'
848
01:34:43,169 --> 01:34:45,303
-or anything else...
-Give us, us free!
849
01:34:45,364 --> 01:34:47,834
...while I am trying
to question this witness!
850
01:34:47,895 --> 01:34:50,231
Give us, us free!
851
01:34:52,580 --> 01:34:54,959
Give us, us free!
852
01:35:56,061 --> 01:35:59,400
You don't have to pretend
to be interested in that.
853
01:36:01,140 --> 01:36:02,995
Nobody's watching but me.
854
01:36:04,735 --> 01:36:07,446
I'm not pretending.
I'm beginning to understand it.
855
01:36:24,770 --> 01:36:27,906
Their people have suffered more than ours...
Their lives were full of suffering.
856
01:36:31,339 --> 01:36:35,968
Then he was born and everything changed.
857
01:36:45,264 --> 01:36:46,230
Who is he?
858
01:36:46,837 --> 01:36:52,587
I don't know, but everywhere he goes,
he is followed by the sun.
859
01:37:00,418 --> 01:37:02,830
Here he is healing people with his hands.
860
01:37:10,134 --> 01:37:11,216
Protecting them...
861
01:37:17,460 --> 01:37:18,951
Being given children...
862
01:37:29,267 --> 01:37:30,231
What's this?
863
01:37:31,631 --> 01:37:33,282
He could also walk across the sea.
864
01:37:41,099 --> 01:37:42,695
But then something happened...
865
01:37:45,184 --> 01:37:47,029
He was captured. Accused of some crime.
866
01:37:49,905 --> 01:37:51,502
Here he is with his hands tied.
867
01:37:57,370 --> 01:37:58,482
He must have done something.
868
01:37:59,028 --> 01:38:01,466
Why? What did we do?
869
01:38:02,665 --> 01:38:08,963
Whatever it was, it was serious enough
to kill him for it.
870
01:38:10,027 --> 01:38:12,030
Do you want to see how they killed him?
871
01:38:21,580 --> 01:38:23,126
This is just a story, Yamba.
872
01:38:23,916 --> 01:38:26,460
But look. That's not the end of it.
873
01:38:31,258 --> 01:38:35,220
His people took his body down
from this... thing... this...
874
01:38:45,729 --> 01:38:50,598
They took him into a cave.
They wrapped him in a cloth, like we do.
875
01:38:52,945 --> 01:38:58,850
They thought he was dead, but he appeared
before his people again... and spoke to them.
876
01:39:01,602 --> 01:39:07,285
Then, finally, he rose into the sky.
877
01:39:20,055 --> 01:39:24,497
This is where the soul goes when you die here.
878
01:39:28,241 --> 01:39:31,830
This is where we're going when they kill us.
879
01:39:37,307 --> 01:39:38,535
It doesn't look so bad.
880
01:40:23,470 --> 01:40:24,280
Buakei...
881
01:40:25,496 --> 01:40:26,690
Buakei... Hold your head up.
882
01:41:00,713 --> 01:41:02,183
All rise.
883
01:42:03,499 --> 01:42:06,319
After careful review
and thorough reflection,
884
01:42:09,005 --> 01:42:13,081
I find it impossible to deny
the power of the government's position.
885
01:42:15,534 --> 01:42:19,240
There is no doubt in my mind
that District Attorney Holabird,
886
01:42:20,986 --> 01:42:23,716
Her Catholic Majesty, Isabella of Spain,
887
01:42:24,823 --> 01:42:27,910
and her trusted minister,
Se? or Calderon,
888
01:42:27,993 --> 01:42:30,913
have all proceeded with the utmost faith
889
01:42:31,997 --> 01:42:33,899
in the soundness of their case.
890
01:42:37,252 --> 01:42:42,013
I also believe
that Se? ors Ruiz and Montes
891
01:42:42,140 --> 01:42:45,628
may have misrepresented
892
01:42:45,697 --> 01:42:48,182
the origin of the prisoners.
893
01:42:50,223 --> 01:42:52,684
An issue which weighs crucially
upon their fate,
894
01:42:54,144 --> 01:42:55,929
and that of the Spaniards as well.
895
01:43:02,736 --> 01:43:05,822
Were they born in Africa?
896
01:43:13,497 --> 01:43:15,916
But since the answer
to that fundamental question
897
01:43:15,999 --> 01:43:18,335
shall so heavily govern every
determination of this court,
898
01:43:18,418 --> 01:43:19,598
I ask it again.
899
01:43:22,959 --> 01:43:24,748
Were they born in Africa?
900
01:43:39,653 --> 01:43:40,857
I believe they were.
901
01:43:48,073 --> 01:43:53,168
As such, Her Catholic Majesty's
claims of ownership have no merit.
902
01:43:55,664 --> 01:43:57,582
Neither, of course, do those for salvage
903
01:43:57,666 --> 01:43:59,960
made by Lieutenants Meade
and Gedney.
904
01:44:00,293 --> 01:44:01,406
This is outrageous!
905
01:44:02,087 --> 01:44:07,605
I hereby order the immediate arrest and
detention of Senors Ruiz and Montes
906
01:44:10,632 --> 01:44:14,344
by federal marshals
907
01:44:14,599 --> 01:44:17,488
on the charge of slave-trading!
908
01:44:17,889 --> 01:44:18,758
Yes!
909
01:44:23,567 --> 01:44:25,666
The release of the Africans
910
01:44:25,803 --> 01:44:28,693
and their conveyance,
by this government
911
01:44:28,913 --> 01:44:31,415
at her earliest convenience
and expense,
912
01:44:31,537 --> 01:44:34,061
back to their homes in Africa!
913
01:44:34,345 --> 01:44:35,272
Yes!
914
01:44:44,915 --> 01:44:47,947
We've done it, Joadson!
We've done it! Yes!
915
01:44:48,954 --> 01:44:51,511
-Covey, tell them! Tell them now!
-I think they know.
916
01:44:58,319 --> 01:44:59,374
Look at 'em.
917
01:45:56,076 --> 01:45:58,615
What's most bewildering to Her Majesty
918
01:45:58,766 --> 01:46:02,883
is this arrogant independence
of the American courts.
919
01:46:03,375 --> 01:46:06,984
After all, if you cannot rule the courts,
you cannot rule.
920
01:46:07,251 --> 01:46:09,837
Senor Calderon,
as any true American will tell you,
921
01:46:10,006 --> 01:46:12,190
it's the independence of our courts
that keeps us free.
922
01:46:22,367 --> 01:46:25,162
John, glad you're here.
923
01:46:25,230 --> 01:46:27,270
-Mr. Forsyth.
-The President...
924
01:46:27,821 --> 01:46:30,197
Mr. President? Senator Calhoun is here.
925
01:46:30,873 --> 01:46:31,895
John!
926
01:46:33,419 --> 01:46:36,141
I was afraid you weren't
going to be able to join us.
927
01:46:36,584 --> 01:46:38,545
You may put that fear to rest,
Mr. President.
928
01:46:38,660 --> 01:46:40,495
Thank you. Please.
929
01:46:40,579 --> 01:46:43,915
I'd like you to meet Se? or Calderon,
ambassador from Spain.
930
01:46:49,588 --> 01:46:51,131
I thought you said he wasn't coming.
931
01:46:51,214 --> 01:46:52,454
He said he wasn't.
932
01:46:53,990 --> 01:46:55,934
You see, Se? or Calderon,
933
01:46:56,910 --> 01:47:00,082
there's a growing number of people
in this part of the country
934
01:47:00,932 --> 01:47:02,995
that regard us in the South
935
01:47:04,245 --> 01:47:06,639
as not only geographically
beneath them.
936
01:47:09,441 --> 01:47:10,716
They ignore the fact
937
01:47:10,777 --> 01:47:15,157
that slavery is so interwoven
into the fabric of this society,
938
01:47:15,436 --> 01:47:19,124
that to destroy it would be
to destroy us as a people.
939
01:47:21,176 --> 01:47:23,748
It's immoral. That's all they know.
940
01:47:25,248 --> 01:47:27,575
Therefore, so are we.
941
01:47:28,960 --> 01:47:31,640
Immoral and inferior.
942
01:47:34,592 --> 01:47:37,406
We are inferior in one area.
943
01:47:38,345 --> 01:47:41,307
We're not as proficient in the art of gain.
944
01:47:42,221 --> 01:47:45,201
We're not as wealthy
as our northern neighbours.
945
01:47:46,353 --> 01:47:47,724
We're still struggling.
946
01:47:49,564 --> 01:47:51,648
Take away our life's blood now...
947
01:47:54,653 --> 01:47:58,169
Well, we all know what happens then,
948
01:47:59,157 --> 01:48:00,479
North and South.
949
01:48:02,744 --> 01:48:06,456
They become the masters,
and we the slaves.
950
01:48:08,291 --> 01:48:09,700
But not without a fight.
951
01:48:14,506 --> 01:48:16,750
Senator Calhoun is being modest.
952
01:48:17,175 --> 01:48:21,054
He's not inferior in another area.
The art of exaggeration.
953
01:48:25,684 --> 01:48:27,771
Ask yourself, Senor Calderon,
954
01:48:29,330 --> 01:48:33,158
what court wants to be responsible for
the spark that ignites the fire storm?
955
01:48:35,818 --> 01:48:38,778
What President wants to be in office
956
01:48:40,115 --> 01:48:41,926
when it comes crashing
down around him?
957
01:48:45,370 --> 01:48:47,320
Certainly no court before this one.
958
01:48:49,971 --> 01:48:52,518
Certainly no President before this one.
959
01:48:55,338 --> 01:48:55,923
So,
960
01:48:57,132 --> 01:48:59,124
judge us not too harshly, sir,
961
01:49:01,052 --> 01:49:02,749
and bid Her Majesty like,
962
01:49:05,102 --> 01:49:08,778
because the real determination our
courts and our President must make
963
01:49:10,026 --> 01:49:13,134
is not whether
this ragtag group of Africans
964
01:49:13,398 --> 01:49:15,434
raised swords against their enemy,
965
01:49:16,411 --> 01:49:19,534
but rather, must we?
966
01:49:47,932 --> 01:49:49,446
Come along, Mr. Joadson.
967
01:49:50,848 --> 01:49:52,109
This news...
968
01:49:53,772 --> 01:49:55,719
Well, of course,
it's bad news, but...
969
01:49:56,891 --> 01:50:01,234
the truth is they may be more valuable
to our struggle in death than in life.
970
01:50:06,618 --> 01:50:08,284
Martyrdom, Mr. Joadson.
971
01:50:09,738 --> 01:50:14,237
From the dawn of Christianity, we have
seen no stronger power for change.
972
01:50:16,345 --> 01:50:17,538
Well, you know it's true.
973
01:50:20,840 --> 01:50:22,877
What is true, Mr. Tappan,
974
01:50:24,141 --> 01:50:26,654
and believe me when I tell you
I've seen this,
975
01:50:28,223 --> 01:50:30,767
is that there are some men
whose hatred of slavery
976
01:50:30,850 --> 01:50:32,300
is stronger than anything
977
01:50:34,668 --> 01:50:36,607
except for the slave himself.
978
01:50:40,554 --> 01:50:43,697
If you wish to inspire such hatred
in a man, Mr. Joadson,
979
01:50:44,695 --> 01:50:47,428
speak to him in that fashion
and it may come true.
980
01:51:19,399 --> 01:51:23,667
Our President, our big, big man,
981
01:51:24,560 --> 01:51:27,146
has appealed the decision
to our Supreme Court.
982
01:51:33,978 --> 01:51:35,114
What does that mean?
983
01:51:39,002 --> 01:51:40,605
We have to try the case again.
984
01:51:49,137 --> 01:51:51,594
Now, I know it's hard
to understand, Cinque.
985
01:51:51,931 --> 01:51:53,725
I don't understand, for that matter.
986
01:51:57,176 --> 01:51:58,451
You said there would be a judgement,
987
01:51:58,605 --> 01:52:00,607
and if we won the judgement
we would go free!
988
01:52:00,690 --> 01:52:04,068
No, no. What I said is that
we won it at the state level.
989
01:52:04,152 --> 01:52:06,696
-No, no, no.
-That's what you said!
990
01:52:06,795 --> 01:52:10,390
What I said, that if we won it
at the state level, we then go on.
991
01:52:11,271 --> 01:52:13,119
That's what you said!
That's what you said!
992
01:52:13,194 --> 01:52:16,453
-That's what you said.
-All right, yeah. Yes, I said it!
993
01:52:16,514 --> 01:52:19,190
I said it, but I shouldn't have.
What I should've said...
994
01:52:21,878 --> 01:52:23,570
-I can't translate that.
-You can't translate what?
995
01:52:23,630 --> 01:52:24,765
I can't translate 'should.'
996
01:52:25,110 --> 01:52:26,630
You saying
there's no word in Mende for 'should'?
997
01:52:26,691 --> 01:52:28,740
No. Either you do something,
or you don't do it.
998
01:52:29,677 --> 01:52:32,680
What I meant to say...
What I meant to say?
999
01:52:32,764 --> 01:52:34,644
Not in the way you mean it.
1000
01:52:38,978 --> 01:52:39,887
Try and understand me.
1001
01:52:40,104 --> 01:52:43,232
'Meant' is the same as 'should.'
You're misunderstanding the language.
1002
01:52:43,607 --> 01:52:45,360
Cinque, Cinque. Cinque!
1003
01:52:45,443 --> 01:52:48,106
Listen to me. Listen to me.
Understand what I'm saying.
1004
01:52:48,279 --> 01:52:51,082
What I said to you
before the judgement...
1005
01:52:52,283 --> 01:52:56,037
What I said to you before the judgement
is almost how it works here.
1006
01:52:56,120 --> 01:52:57,415
Almost.
1007
01:53:01,709 --> 01:53:02,402
Almost.
1008
01:53:03,192 --> 01:53:05,278
Yes, Cinque. But not always.
1009
01:53:08,049 --> 01:53:10,840
Yes. And that's what's happened.
1010
01:53:21,816 --> 01:53:23,313
What kind of place is this?
1011
01:53:29,536 --> 01:53:32,355
Where you almost mean what you say?
Where laws almost work?
1012
01:53:33,825 --> 01:53:35,559
How can you live like that?
1013
01:54:50,568 --> 01:54:53,727
'To His Excellency,
John Quincy Adams,
1014
01:54:53,787 --> 01:54:57,188
'Massachusetts member,
House of Representatives.
1015
01:54:58,199 --> 01:55:00,096
'I have understood from Mr. Joadson
1016
01:55:00,157 --> 01:55:03,864
'that you are acquainted with
the plight of the Amistad Africans.
1017
01:55:04,749 --> 01:55:07,919
'If that is true, then you
are aware that we have been,
1018
01:55:08,002 --> 01:55:11,339
'at every step, successful in
our presentation of their case.
1019
01:55:11,492 --> 01:55:12,685
'Yet despite this,
1020
01:55:12,801 --> 01:55:16,305
'and despite the unlikelihood
of President Van Buren's re-election,
1021
01:55:16,481 --> 01:55:19,610
'he has appealed our most recent
favourable decision
1022
01:55:19,764 --> 01:55:21,849
'to the highest court in the land.
1023
01:55:22,684 --> 01:55:24,562
'As I'm sure you are well aware,'
1024
01:55:25,186 --> 01:55:27,355
'seven of nine of these
Supreme Court justices'
1025
01:55:27,438 --> 01:55:29,703
'are themselves Southern slave owners.'
1026
01:55:38,532 --> 01:55:40,894
'Sir, we need you.'
1027
01:55:41,770 --> 01:55:45,650
'If ever there was a time for a man
to cast aside his daily trappings'
1028
01:55:45,813 --> 01:55:48,899
'and array himself for battle,
that time has come.'
1029
01:55:48,960 --> 01:55:49,813
Thank you.
1030
01:55:51,754 --> 01:55:55,117
'Cicero once said, appealing to
Claudius in defence of the Republic,
1031
01:55:55,717 --> 01:55:57,552
'that the whole result of this entire war
1032
01:55:57,635 --> 01:56:00,448
'depends on the life of one
most brave and excellent man.
1033
01:56:01,097 --> 01:56:04,966
'In our time, in this instance,
I believe it depends on two.'
1034
01:56:05,546 --> 01:56:08,841
'A courageous man, at present in irons
in New Haven, named Cinque,'
1035
01:56:09,398 --> 01:56:10,942
'and you, sir.'
1036
01:56:18,749 --> 01:56:21,210
'Sincerely, Roger S. Baldwin,
attorney-at-law.'
1037
01:56:31,794 --> 01:56:34,063
Mr. Tippings, excuse me
a moment, please.
1038
01:56:41,966 --> 01:56:43,795
-Any word from Mr. Adams?
-What did Cinque say?
1039
01:56:45,589 --> 01:56:46,729
He won't talk to you.
1040
01:56:48,103 --> 01:56:49,339
He won't talk to me?
1041
01:56:50,516 --> 01:56:51,173
No.
1042
01:56:56,402 --> 01:56:57,560
How's your English coming?
1043
01:56:58,404 --> 01:57:00,129
No better than my Mende, I suppose.
1044
01:57:02,613 --> 01:57:04,494
You know, Cinque,
I realize this isn't something
1045
01:57:04,577 --> 01:57:06,788
you necessarily want to think about,
1046
01:57:06,871 --> 01:57:10,833
but has it occurred to you
that I'm all you've got?
1047
01:57:11,709 --> 01:57:13,127
Because as it happens,
1048
01:57:13,211 --> 01:57:16,297
since my practice has completely
deteriorated in the past months,
1049
01:57:16,380 --> 01:57:17,716
you're all I've got.
1050
01:57:28,288 --> 01:57:30,957
See, this is me. You see?
1051
01:57:31,734 --> 01:57:33,672
You see? You see how this works?
1052
01:57:33,773 --> 01:57:38,171
And this here, Cinque, is for me.
1053
01:57:41,981 --> 01:57:42,787
More death threats.
1054
01:57:43,991 --> 01:57:47,098
Some of them signed.
By my own clients, no less.
1055
01:57:48,329 --> 01:57:50,342
I should say former clients, shouldn't I?
1056
01:57:57,588 --> 01:58:01,587
There is one more consequence
to having no clientele to speak of.
1057
01:58:04,900 --> 01:58:06,234
I am now free
1058
01:58:06,556 --> 01:58:10,500
to sit here as long as it takes
for you to acknowledge me.
1059
01:58:10,955 --> 01:58:14,524
Yes, you understood that word,
didn't you? 'Free.'
1060
01:58:16,474 --> 01:58:17,461
All right.
1061
01:58:22,284 --> 01:58:24,397
Then we'll just sit.
1062
01:58:27,410 --> 01:58:28,197
Caesar.
1063
01:58:31,863 --> 01:58:34,792
Cicero's appeal was to Julius Caesar,
not Claudius.
1064
01:58:34,883 --> 01:58:37,529
Claudius would not be born
for another hundred years.
1065
01:58:38,258 --> 01:58:40,208
You were right, there was one of them.
1066
01:58:42,275 --> 01:58:43,070
Is that him?
1067
01:58:43,634 --> 01:58:44,834
Yes, Mr. President.
1068
01:58:46,773 --> 01:58:48,190
Please unlock this door.
1069
01:58:48,389 --> 01:58:51,225
Adams has flirted with
the abolitionists for 15 years,
1070
01:58:51,286 --> 01:58:53,006
but has yet to take one
home from the dance.
1071
01:58:53,102 --> 01:58:54,677
How old is he anyway?
1072
01:58:55,146 --> 01:58:58,232
Old enough to know he's too old
to take anyone home from the dance.
1073
01:58:58,316 --> 01:59:00,842
I hear he sleeps through three-quarters
of the sessions on the Hill.
1074
01:59:00,902 --> 01:59:04,071
Let's see. President, slumbering
congressman from Massachusetts,
1075
01:59:04,155 --> 01:59:08,326
jail-house lawyer, one waits
with great anticipation for what's next.
1076
01:59:09,076 --> 01:59:11,704
-Well, what must that be like?
-What?
1077
01:59:11,787 --> 01:59:15,166
Knowing all your life,
whatever your accomplishments,
1078
01:59:15,249 --> 01:59:17,952
you'll only be remembered
as the son of a great father.
1079
01:59:18,137 --> 01:59:20,556
The only thing John Quincy Adams
will be remembered for
1080
01:59:20,671 --> 01:59:22,131
is his middle name.
1081
01:59:25,343 --> 01:59:29,388
I wonder, is there anything
as pathetic as an ex-President?
1082
01:59:35,728 --> 01:59:37,187
I was talking about John...
1083
02:00:06,691 --> 02:00:08,413
-Sir.
-Yes?
1084
02:00:09,278 --> 02:00:13,057
Cinque has asked me to ask you
1085
02:00:13,140 --> 02:00:15,774
whether you have thought about
the question of jurisdiction.
1086
02:00:16,488 --> 02:00:17,206
What?
1087
02:00:17,603 --> 02:00:22,066
That since they took over the ship
far out to sea,
1088
02:00:23,150 --> 02:00:26,232
and since neither Spain
nor America owns the sea,
1089
02:00:26,445 --> 02:00:28,059
how is it that the treaty applies?
1090
02:00:31,450 --> 02:00:34,816
Tell him the treaty recognizes
no jurisdictional limitations.
1091
02:00:37,123 --> 02:00:39,024
-Well?
-He will ask me why.
1092
02:00:40,376 --> 02:00:42,045
Because I said so.
1093
02:00:55,500 --> 02:00:56,612
Excuse me, sir.
1094
02:00:57,236 --> 02:00:58,195
Yes?
1095
02:00:58,936 --> 02:01:00,665
Cinque would like to know
1096
02:01:01,230 --> 02:01:04,442
that if he is the legal property
of Ruiz and Montes,
1097
02:01:04,664 --> 02:01:08,086
then how does the treaty apply,
since it is between America and Spain?
1098
02:01:09,167 --> 02:01:10,871
Or their citizens.
1099
02:01:11,949 --> 02:01:16,182
'Or their citizens' is included
in the language, if he must know.
1100
02:01:16,867 --> 02:01:17,980
Thank you, sir.
1101
02:01:22,571 --> 02:01:23,919
It's a good point, though.
1102
02:01:32,386 --> 02:01:35,056
Does Great Britain have
any treaties with West Africa
1103
02:01:35,139 --> 02:01:37,349
which may override those
between Spain and America?
1104
02:01:37,433 --> 02:01:38,190
No.
1105
02:01:38,809 --> 02:01:40,710
Does Great Britain have
any treaties with America
1106
02:01:40,770 --> 02:01:42,646
which might override
those between Spain and...
1107
02:01:42,730 --> 02:01:43,434
No.
1108
02:01:44,273 --> 02:01:46,382
Does the American government have
any treaties with West Africa?
1109
02:01:46,587 --> 02:01:47,401
No.
1110
02:01:47,485 --> 02:01:49,093
Does Spain have
any treaties with West Africa?
1111
02:01:49,153 --> 02:01:50,154
No!
1112
02:01:50,215 --> 02:01:52,930
Does the Commonwealth of Connecticut
have any treaties with West Africa?
1113
02:01:52,990 --> 02:01:56,302
No, no, no, no! Now stop this!
1114
02:02:02,500 --> 02:02:03,785
Unshackle him.
1115
02:02:05,044 --> 02:02:07,463
I'm sorry, sir.
I'm under strict orders to ensure the...
1116
02:02:07,546 --> 02:02:09,867
Unshackle him, please.
1117
02:02:12,676 --> 02:02:13,858
Yes, Mr. President.
1118
02:02:23,554 --> 02:02:28,379
This is a Phalaenopsis, moth orchid,
I brought over from China.
1119
02:02:29,950 --> 02:02:32,830
And this is a primrose
from an English garden.
1120
02:02:34,698 --> 02:02:39,662
And this spear lily,
from the south of France.
1121
02:02:42,832 --> 02:02:45,626
This is my rose, Blush Noisette.
1122
02:02:45,687 --> 02:02:49,316
This came all the way
from Washington DC,
1123
02:02:49,377 --> 02:02:51,785
but don't tell anyone.
1124
02:03:05,588 --> 02:03:06,789
Go on, go on.
1125
02:03:22,862 --> 02:03:26,064
African violet. I can't tell you
how difficult that was to come by.
1126
02:03:40,890 --> 02:03:45,102
Now, you understand
you're going to the Supreme Court.
1127
02:03:46,854 --> 02:03:48,010
Do you know why?
1128
02:03:56,238 --> 02:03:58,286
It is the place where they finally kill us.
1129
02:03:58,824 --> 02:04:01,697
No. Well, yes, that may be true, too.
1130
02:04:04,226 --> 02:04:05,179
That's not what I meant.
1131
02:04:05,664 --> 02:04:08,834
No, there is another reason
and a more important reason.
1132
02:04:08,918 --> 02:04:13,839
Although, I'll admit that
perhaps more so to us than you.
1133
02:04:14,882 --> 02:04:16,761
All right, don't... Yeah.
1134
02:04:18,315 --> 02:04:19,167
Cinque.
1135
02:04:22,394 --> 02:04:27,122
Do you know who I am?
Has anyone told you about me?
1136
02:04:31,982 --> 02:04:32,710
Yes.
1137
02:04:33,246 --> 02:04:34,524
What have they told you?
1138
02:04:39,608 --> 02:04:40,616
That you are a chief.
1139
02:04:41,313 --> 02:04:42,617
I was a chief, yes.
1140
02:04:49,788 --> 02:04:53,375
A chief cannot become anything
less than a chief, even in death.
1141
02:04:55,297 --> 02:04:58,089
How I wish such were true here, Cinque.
1142
02:04:58,968 --> 02:05:00,304
You've no idea.
1143
02:05:02,912 --> 02:05:05,566
One tries to govern wisely,
strongly, but...
1144
02:05:06,767 --> 02:05:10,394
One tries to govern in a way that
betters the lives of one's villagers.
1145
02:05:13,190 --> 02:05:16,561
One tries to kill the lion.
1146
02:05:19,753 --> 02:05:24,356
Unfortunately, one isn't always
wise enough or strong enough.
1147
02:05:27,535 --> 02:05:29,093
Time passes
1148
02:05:31,088 --> 02:05:32,373
and the moment is gone.
1149
02:05:36,154 --> 02:05:39,374
Now, listen, Cinque. Listen.
1150
02:05:39,867 --> 02:05:44,241
We're about to bring your case
1151
02:05:45,146 --> 02:05:47,487
before the highest court in our land.
1152
02:05:47,868 --> 02:05:50,644
We're about to do battle with a lion
1153
02:05:50,728 --> 02:05:53,967
that is threatening
to rip our country in two.
1154
02:05:56,268 --> 02:06:00,569
And all we have on our side is a rock.
1155
02:06:04,066 --> 02:06:07,269
Of course, you didn't ask
to be at the centre
1156
02:06:07,745 --> 02:06:09,728
of this historic conflagration
any more than I did,
1157
02:06:09,904 --> 02:06:12,041
but we find ourselves here nonetheless
1158
02:06:12,220 --> 02:06:15,919
by some mysterious mix
of circumstances
1159
02:06:16,711 --> 02:06:18,565
and all the world watching.
1160
02:06:19,099 --> 02:06:21,642
So, what are we to do?
1161
02:06:27,363 --> 02:06:30,570
Is he going to help? He has far
many more questions than answers.
1162
02:06:33,187 --> 02:06:36,722
-What'd he just say?
-Sorry. I didn't catch it.
1163
02:06:36,783 --> 02:06:41,287
Cinque, look. I'm being honest with you.
1164
02:06:41,361 --> 02:06:44,155
Anything less would be disrespectful.
1165
02:06:46,241 --> 02:06:49,202
I'm telling you, I'm preparing you,
1166
02:06:49,820 --> 02:06:52,266
I suppose I'm explaining to you
1167
02:06:53,683 --> 02:06:56,433
that the test ahead of us is
an exceptionally difficult one.
1168
02:07:03,550 --> 02:07:05,052
We won't be going in there alone.
1169
02:07:05,511 --> 02:07:07,805
Alone? Indeed not. No.
We have right at our side.
1170
02:07:07,888 --> 02:07:09,539
We have righteousness at our side.
1171
02:07:10,140 --> 02:07:11,667
We have Mr. Baldwin over there.
1172
02:07:19,817 --> 02:07:21,414
I meant my ancestors.
1173
02:07:26,699 --> 02:07:27,751
I will call into the past,
1174
02:07:30,661 --> 02:07:32,663
far back to the beginning of time,
1175
02:07:33,901 --> 02:07:35,555
and beg them to come and help me
1176
02:07:38,303 --> 02:07:39,424
at the judgement.
1177
02:07:41,046 --> 02:07:43,060
I will reach back and draw them into me.
1178
02:07:46,510 --> 02:07:47,699
And they must come,
1179
02:07:49,471 --> 02:07:52,879
for at this moment, I am the
whole reason they have existed at all.
1180
02:08:31,020 --> 02:08:31,994
Thank you.
1181
02:08:36,303 --> 02:08:37,234
Your Honours,
1182
02:08:40,731 --> 02:08:42,691
I derive much consolation
1183
02:08:42,774 --> 02:08:47,070
from the fact that my colleague,
Mr. Baldwin here,
1184
02:08:49,031 --> 02:08:51,476
has argued the case
1185
02:08:52,117 --> 02:08:55,464
in so able and so complete a manner
1186
02:08:58,031 --> 02:09:00,827
as to leave me scarcely anything to say.
1187
02:09:02,794 --> 02:09:03,558
However,
1188
02:09:06,667 --> 02:09:07,714
why are we here?
1189
02:09:10,302 --> 02:09:14,188
How is it that a simple,
plain property issue
1190
02:09:14,249 --> 02:09:17,851
should now find itself so ennobled
as to be argued before
1191
02:09:17,935 --> 02:09:19,771
the Supreme Court of
the United States of America?
1192
02:09:21,104 --> 02:09:23,982
I mean, do we fear the lower courts,
which found for us easily,
1193
02:09:24,066 --> 02:09:25,692
somehow missed the truth? Is that it?
1194
02:09:25,776 --> 02:09:29,638
Or is it, rather, our great
and consuming fear of civil war
1195
02:09:30,697 --> 02:09:32,783
that has allowed us to heap symbolism
1196
02:09:32,866 --> 02:09:34,552
upon a simple case
that never asked for it?
1197
02:09:35,619 --> 02:09:37,562
And now would have us disregard truth
1198
02:09:38,664 --> 02:09:41,619
even as it stands before us,
tall and proud as a mountain.
1199
02:09:43,670 --> 02:09:44,404
The truth,
1200
02:09:46,046 --> 02:09:50,770
in truth, has been driven
from this case like a slave,
1201
02:09:52,010 --> 02:09:55,494
flogged from court to court,
wretched and destitute.
1202
02:09:57,099 --> 02:10:01,311
And not by any great legal acumen
1203
02:10:01,395 --> 02:10:03,192
on the part of the opposition,
I might add.
1204
02:10:05,816 --> 02:10:10,070
But through the long,
powerful arm of the executive office.
1205
02:10:11,321 --> 02:10:14,001
Yea, this is no mere property case.
Gentlemen, I put it to you thus.
1206
02:10:14,074 --> 02:10:16,562
This is the most important case
ever to come before this court.
1207
02:10:17,661 --> 02:10:21,357
Because what it in fact concerns
1208
02:10:23,330 --> 02:10:24,981
is the very nature of man.
1209
02:10:29,435 --> 02:10:30,422
These are...
1210
02:10:35,887 --> 02:10:37,681
These are transcriptions of letters
1211
02:10:37,764 --> 02:10:42,236
written between our
Secretary of State, John Forsyth,
1212
02:10:43,186 --> 02:10:45,467
and the Queen of Spain, Isabella II.
1213
02:10:47,691 --> 02:10:48,816
Now, I ask that you
1214
02:10:50,694 --> 02:10:53,225
accept their perusal
as part of your deliberations.
1215
02:10:54,531 --> 02:10:55,740
Thank you, sir.
1216
02:10:57,993 --> 02:11:00,158
I would not touch on them now
except to notice
1217
02:11:00,662 --> 02:11:03,321
a curious phrase
which is much repeated.
1218
02:11:05,375 --> 02:11:09,880
The Queen again and again
refers to our 'incompetent courts.'
1219
02:11:11,333 --> 02:11:13,416
Now what, I wonder,
would be more to her liking?
1220
02:11:16,553 --> 02:11:19,004
A court that finds against the Africans?
1221
02:11:20,390 --> 02:11:21,483
Well, I think not.
1222
02:11:23,894 --> 02:11:25,262
And here is the fine point of it.
1223
02:11:27,314 --> 02:11:30,845
What Her Majesty wants is a court
that behaves just like her courts,
1224
02:11:31,959 --> 02:11:35,648
the courts
this 11-year-old child plays with
1225
02:11:35,739 --> 02:11:38,003
in her magical kingdom called Spain.
1226
02:11:38,909 --> 02:11:40,793
A court that will do what it is told.
1227
02:11:40,994 --> 02:11:44,416
A court that can be toyed with
like a doll.
1228
02:11:45,749 --> 02:11:49,932
A court, as it happens,
of which our own President,
1229
02:11:52,089 --> 02:11:54,197
Martin Van Buren, would be most proud.
1230
02:11:54,567 --> 02:11:55,501
Thank you.
1231
02:11:56,955 --> 02:11:59,971
This is a publication
of the office of the President.
1232
02:12:00,514 --> 02:12:05,435
It's called The Executive Review,
and I'm sure you all read it.
1233
02:12:06,353 --> 02:12:09,176
At least I'm sure
the President hopes you all read it.
1234
02:12:10,107 --> 02:12:11,608
This is a recent issue,
1235
02:12:12,218 --> 02:12:13,919
and there's an article
1236
02:12:14,505 --> 02:12:17,805
in here written by 'a keen
mind of the South,' who...
1237
02:12:20,367 --> 02:12:23,270
My former Vice President,
John Calhoun, perhaps.
1238
02:12:23,995 --> 02:12:25,216
Could it be?
1239
02:12:26,164 --> 02:12:29,084
Who asserts that 'there has never
existed a civilized society'
1240
02:12:29,167 --> 02:12:34,256
'in which one segment did not
thrive upon the labour of another.
1241
02:12:35,168 --> 02:12:37,191
'As far back as one chooses to look,
1242
02:12:37,342 --> 02:12:39,977
'to ancient times, to biblical times,
1243
02:12:40,461 --> 02:12:42,053
'history bears this out.
1244
02:12:43,390 --> 02:12:46,599
'In Eden, where only two were created,'
1245
02:12:47,227 --> 02:12:50,639
'even there, one was pronounced
subordinate to the other.'
1246
02:12:52,771 --> 02:12:57,859
'Slavery has always been with us
and is neither sinful nor immoral.'
1247
02:13:00,500 --> 02:13:05,000
'Rather, as war and antagonism
are the natural states of man,'
1248
02:13:05,662 --> 02:13:09,898
'so, too, slavery,
as natural as it is inevitable.'
1249
02:13:13,086 --> 02:13:16,708
Well, gentlemen, I must say I differ
with the keen minds of the South
1250
02:13:17,215 --> 02:13:19,897
and with our President,
who apparently shares their views,
1251
02:13:19,958 --> 02:13:22,877
offering that the natural state
of mankind is instead,
1252
02:13:22,938 --> 02:13:25,684
and I know this is a controversial idea,
1253
02:13:26,740 --> 02:13:27,919
is freedom.
1254
02:13:31,591 --> 02:13:32,476
Is freedom.
1255
02:13:35,233 --> 02:13:37,486
And the proof is the length
to which a man,
1256
02:13:37,569 --> 02:13:40,071
woman or child will go
to regain it, once taken.
1257
02:13:40,864 --> 02:13:43,617
He will break loose his chains.
1258
02:13:43,700 --> 02:13:46,578
He will decimate his enemies.
1259
02:13:46,661 --> 02:13:49,441
He will try and try and try,
1260
02:13:50,161 --> 02:13:52,997
against all odds, against all prejudices,
1261
02:13:54,851 --> 02:13:55,908
to get home.
1262
02:14:00,276 --> 02:14:03,142
Cinque, would you stand up,
if you would,
1263
02:14:05,263 --> 02:14:06,712
so everyone can see you.
1264
02:14:10,770 --> 02:14:12,143
This man is black.
1265
02:14:12,646 --> 02:14:14,136
We can all see that.
1266
02:14:15,607 --> 02:14:19,314
But can we also see as easily
that which is equally true?
1267
02:14:20,487 --> 02:14:23,860
That he is the only
true hero in this room.
1268
02:14:25,242 --> 02:14:28,286
Now, if he were white, he wouldn't be
standing before this court,
1269
02:14:28,370 --> 02:14:29,537
fighting for his life.
1270
02:14:30,038 --> 02:14:32,165
If he were white
and his enslavers were British,
1271
02:14:32,249 --> 02:14:33,946
he wouldn't be able to stand,
1272
02:14:34,251 --> 02:14:36,086
so heavy the weight of
the medals and honours
1273
02:14:36,169 --> 02:14:37,882
we would bestow upon him.
1274
02:14:39,089 --> 02:14:40,959
Songs would be written about him.
1275
02:14:42,425 --> 02:14:45,720
The great authors of our times
would fill books about him.
1276
02:14:46,066 --> 02:14:47,595
His story would be told
1277
02:14:48,236 --> 02:14:51,152
and retold in our classrooms.
1278
02:14:53,687 --> 02:14:57,353
Our children,
because we would make sure of it,
1279
02:14:58,149 --> 02:15:01,186
would know his name
as well as they know Patrick Henry's.
1280
02:15:03,632 --> 02:15:05,249
Yet, if the South is right,
1281
02:15:06,045 --> 02:15:09,588
what are we to do with that
embarrassing, annoying document,
1282
02:15:10,871 --> 02:15:13,270
the Declaration of Independence?
1283
02:15:13,874 --> 02:15:16,149
What of its conceits?
1284
02:15:18,096 --> 02:15:20,380
'All men created equal,'
'inalienable rights,'
1285
02:15:20,463 --> 02:15:22,814
'life, liberty,' and so on and so forth?
1286
02:15:25,552 --> 02:15:26,931
What on Earth are we to do with this?
1287
02:15:28,445 --> 02:15:30,126
I have a modest suggestion.
1288
02:15:50,903 --> 02:15:54,547
The other night I was talking
with my friend Cinque.
1289
02:15:55,537 --> 02:15:59,104
He was over at my place, and we were
out in the greenhouse together.
1290
02:15:59,920 --> 02:16:03,002
And he was explaining to me
how when a member of the Mende,
1291
02:16:04,611 --> 02:16:05,853
that's his people...
1292
02:16:07,218 --> 02:16:09,846
How when a member of the Mende
encounters a situation
1293
02:16:09,930 --> 02:16:11,839
where there appears no hope at all,
1294
02:16:13,651 --> 02:16:16,236
he invokes his ancestors.
1295
02:16:17,345 --> 02:16:18,127
Tradition.
1296
02:16:23,119 --> 02:16:26,988
See, the Mende believe that if one can
summon the spirit of one's ancestors,
1297
02:16:27,049 --> 02:16:28,352
then they have never left,
1298
02:16:30,617 --> 02:16:34,257
and the wisdom and strength
they fathered and inspired
1299
02:16:35,121 --> 02:16:36,604
will come to his aid.
1300
02:16:45,442 --> 02:16:48,369
James Madison, Alexander Hamilton,
1301
02:16:49,302 --> 02:16:50,504
Benjamin Franklin,
1302
02:16:52,179 --> 02:16:53,351
Thomas Jefferson,
1303
02:16:56,207 --> 02:16:57,099
George Washington,
1304
02:17:01,468 --> 02:17:02,451
John Adams.
1305
02:17:11,790 --> 02:17:14,678
We have long resisted
asking you for guidance.
1306
02:17:15,452 --> 02:17:17,693
Perhaps we have feared in doing so,
1307
02:17:18,495 --> 02:17:20,710
we might acknowledge
that our individuality,
1308
02:17:20,771 --> 02:17:25,192
which we so, so revere,
is not entirely our own.
1309
02:17:27,090 --> 02:17:28,621
Perhaps we've feared
1310
02:17:29,467 --> 02:17:31,778
an appeal to you
might be taken for weakness.
1311
02:17:34,097 --> 02:17:39,149
But we've come to understand, finally,
that this is not so.
1312
02:17:41,395 --> 02:17:43,026
We understand now,
1313
02:17:44,566 --> 02:17:46,736
we've been made to understand
1314
02:17:48,381 --> 02:17:49,677
and to embrace the understanding
1315
02:17:54,202 --> 02:18:00,056
that who we are is who we were.
1316
02:18:09,347 --> 02:18:11,925
We desperately need
your strength and wisdom
1317
02:18:12,303 --> 02:18:17,182
to triumph over our fears,
our prejudices, ourselves.
1318
02:18:18,227 --> 02:18:20,684
Give us the courage to do what is right.
1319
02:18:21,603 --> 02:18:25,523
And if it means civil war,
then let it come.
1320
02:18:27,233 --> 02:18:28,428
And when it does,
1321
02:18:29,750 --> 02:18:31,086
may it be, finally,
1322
02:18:32,155 --> 02:18:34,663
the last battle
of the American Revolution.
1323
02:18:44,210 --> 02:18:45,616
That's all I have to say.
1324
02:19:32,092 --> 02:19:36,744
In the case of The United States
of America v. The Amistad Africans,
1325
02:19:38,056 --> 02:19:40,149
it is the opinion of this court
1326
02:19:40,969 --> 02:19:44,767
that our treaty of 1795 with Spain,
1327
02:19:45,520 --> 02:19:49,443
on which the prosecution has
primarily based its arguments,
1328
02:19:50,295 --> 02:19:51,760
is inapplicable.
1329
02:19:53,087 --> 02:19:56,082
While it is clearly stipulated in Article 9
1330
02:19:56,523 --> 02:20:00,863
that, and I quote,
seized ships and cargo
1331
02:20:01,241 --> 02:20:04,911
are to be returned entirely
to their proprietary,
1332
02:20:05,516 --> 02:20:06,604
the end of quote,
1333
02:20:07,038 --> 02:20:09,957
it has not been shown
to the court's satisfaction
1334
02:20:10,565 --> 02:20:14,361
that these particular Africans
fit that description.
1335
02:20:15,550 --> 02:20:17,762
We are then left with the alternative,
1336
02:20:18,598 --> 02:20:20,293
that they are not slaves
1337
02:20:21,389 --> 02:20:24,726
and therefore cannot
be considered merchandise
1338
02:20:25,863 --> 02:20:29,162
but are, rather, free individuals
1339
02:20:29,762 --> 02:20:32,515
with certain legal and moral rights,
1340
02:20:33,276 --> 02:20:36,315
including the right
to engage in insurrection
1341
02:20:37,071 --> 02:20:40,391
against those who would
deny them their freedom.
1342
02:20:41,696 --> 02:20:44,284
And therefore, over one dissent,
1343
02:20:45,288 --> 02:20:46,873
it is the court's judgement
1344
02:20:47,438 --> 02:20:51,567
that the defendants are to be
released from custody at once
1345
02:20:52,612 --> 02:20:54,552
and, if they so choose,
1346
02:20:55,006 --> 02:20:58,439
to be returned to their homes in Africa.
1347
02:21:16,350 --> 02:21:17,447
Good job.
1348
02:21:18,347 --> 02:21:19,191
Thank you.
1349
02:21:26,663 --> 02:21:27,348
Well...
1350
02:21:33,465 --> 02:21:34,628
What did you say to them?
1351
02:21:39,552 --> 02:21:42,287
What words did you use
to persuade them?
1352
02:21:44,893 --> 02:21:45,757
Yours.
1353
02:22:29,287 --> 02:22:30,666
To keep you safe.
1354
02:23:07,450 --> 02:23:12,997
Thank you, Baldwin.
1355
02:23:57,876 --> 02:24:02,263
The Liberation of Lomboko Slave Fortress
1356
02:24:06,582 --> 02:24:07,305
Fire!
1357
02:24:09,450 --> 02:24:12,166
Let's get a move on! Lively now!
1358
02:24:42,451 --> 02:24:43,684
All clear, sir.
1359
02:24:44,640 --> 02:24:46,616
-Fire.
-Fire!
1360
02:24:51,103 --> 02:24:52,972
-Fire.
-Fire!
1361
02:24:57,623 --> 02:24:58,861
Fire.
1362
02:25:02,492 --> 02:25:03,245
Fire.
1363
02:25:04,797 --> 02:25:05,597
Fire.
1364
02:25:12,722 --> 02:25:15,777
William Henry Harrison
defeated Martin Van Buren
1365
02:25:15,838 --> 02:25:19,080
to become the ninth President
of the United States.
1366
02:25:24,108 --> 02:25:25,520
Take a letter, Ensign.
1367
02:25:26,777 --> 02:25:30,458
To His Honour, the United States
Secretary of State, Mr. John Forsyth.
1368
02:25:31,532 --> 02:25:33,033
'My dear Mr. Forsyth,'
1369
02:25:33,409 --> 02:25:37,181
'it is my great pleasure to inform you
that you are, in fact, correct.'
1370
02:25:38,414 --> 02:25:42,756
'The slave fortress in Sierra Leone
does not exist.'
1371
02:26:45,898 --> 02:26:48,615
Queen Isabella of Spain
continued to argue
1372
02:26:48,676 --> 02:26:52,214
the Amistad matter with seven
more American Presidents.
1373
02:27:00,204 --> 02:27:03,667
In 1864, her hopes of
'compensation' finally collapsed
1374
02:27:03,728 --> 02:27:06,687
with the Confederate
Army's defeat at Atlanta.
1375
02:27:10,506 --> 02:27:16,679
Cinque returned to Sierra Leone
to find his own people engaged in civil war.
1376
02:27:17,430 --> 02:27:21,517
His village was destroyed and his family gone.
1377
02:27:22,393 --> 02:27:26,564
It is believed they were sold into slavery.
106971
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