The Creole, a slave ship carrying 19 and 135 servants, set sail on October 7, 1841. Madison Washington, who was on deck when the ship approached Bahamas, called for other slaves to resist him. Washington led by other slaves, 18 slaves took part in the takeover of the ship. The British colony of Bahamas, Nassau was their destination. This was a slave revolt according to international law. The crime fell under local jurisdiction. The Creole arrived at Nassau, and the British authorities detained the 18 slave rebellion participants. Local British residents demanded that the British release the remaining slaves from the ship.
How much, if anything, were these violent incidents? Washington was the one who started the Creole revolution. This led to violence. Washington overtook a deck with his slaves by placing them in a forward-facing hold. Washington and 17 other soldiers used violence to overwhelm the crew of the captainaEUR ™ and take over their ranks. In the end, they killed one slave trader. The uprising also injured the captain on board the ship. Other crew members sustained minor injuries, but they survived. The outcome was not good. Washington, along with eighteen other conspirators, were taken by the British to be held under charges for mutiny. The Admiralty Court of Nassau ordered that Washington and the other 17 slaves be released. After taking control the slave trading vessel and sailing to the Bahamas, 128 slaves were freed. This led to tension between American and British Colonial forces. The number of slaves freed by the Creole revolt made it the most successful slave rebellion.
How did it impact sectional difference? Sectional differences were influenced by the Creole case. The Americans wanted freedom and had just released Amistad Africans. They were outraged that British had liberated Creole Blacks. The United States demanded that compensation be paid. The British actions were criticized by common citizens who claimed that they encouraged mutiny, murder and other wrongdoings. Britain did free the slaves. This raised concerns from Southern planters that Britain would be a safe haven to runaway slaves. The American South believed slavery was necessary to maintain its income source and financial situation. Therefore, they supported slavery’s establishment. In 1839, the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society was established. They were particularly concerned about American slavery.
What connections do you see between the Amistad and the incident you’re researching? This case was very similar to the Amistad, a Spanish slave ship. In 1839, 53 slaves had been illegally taken from Africa by the Amistad. They were transported from Havana through another Cuban port. Cinque, a slave of the ship’s crew, led the rebellion against Spanish authorities and the ship was finally found in Connecticut. Due to Spain’s prohibition of slave trade in 1820 Spain, the Supreme Court ruled for the release of slaves. The Creole was a legal slave purchase in Virginia that was being legally transported from another American port. The British in Nassau ruled the Creole was subject to local laws. Slavery had been abolished in Britain by the British Emancipation Act of 1803, which ended slavery within the British empire.
