In 1829, 400 enslaved African(s) were “liberated” in a state-run scheme usually resulting in involuntary indentures, conscription, or re-enslavement. Under the jurisdiction of 4, Case ID LA-E-3891 occurred via the British and Spanish Court of Mixed Commission, Havana
| RegID | LA-E-3891 |
|---|---|
| Case Name | Midas |
| Year | 1829 |
| Government Department | Courts of Mixed Commission |
| Court | British and Spanish Court of Mixed Commission, Havana |
| Trial Outcome | Condemned |
| Enslaved Total | 562 |
| Liberated Africans Total | 400 |
| Registered Total | 208 |
| Notes | This Spanish brig, under the command of Ildefonso Martinez, began its voyage at Havana and set sail for Bonny on 25 November 1828 loaded with aguardiente, money and other merchandise. On 1 May 1829, the ship sailed from Africa with 562 people on board and 162 individuals died during the middle passage. On 27 June, the HMS schooner Monkey, under the command of Joseph Sherer, detained this slave vessel off the Bahamas Bank around 25°55'0" N. and 79°12'0" W. The two ships engaged for 35 minutes, whereby the rigging was "cut to pieces." After the battle, only 369 enslaved Africans were accounted for and three crew were wounded. William John Huggins (artist and publisher) and Edward Duncan (engraver) made an aquatint, which is housed at the Maritime Museum Greenwich. This print depicts the Monkey and Midas firing upon one another on a cloudy day. There is a third unidentified ship far with sails lowered in the distance and dolphin in the foreground. Afterwards, the Midas was anchored on the Bahamas Bank for several days due to "unfavorable winds and the small force of the Monkey." During this time, 9 others had "thrown themselves overboard... [and] 69 others also died of the small pox and the other diseases which have been owing to the confinement on board." After the Midas reached Havana, these people were "in a most dreadful state, reduced to about 253 and those so ill and emaciated that it has hitherto been impossible to make out those descriptions of their persons and marks that are inserted in their certificates of emancipation." On 14 July, the court condemned this ship for sale and quarantined people infected with small pox to El Vedado to prevent "the ravages that might be occasioned by a disease so contagious." The court issued emancipation certificates for 208 people. |
| Sources | "Declaration of the Captor of the Gallito," 17 Nov. 1829, in “Class A. Correspondence with the British Commissioners at Sierra Leone, the Havannah, Rio de Janeiro, and Surinam, relating to the Slave Trade, 1829-1830,” in T. P. O'Neill, T. F. Turley, et al., eds., Irish University Press Series of British Parliamentary Papers: Slave Trade, vol. 12 (Shannon: Irish University Press, 1968-1969), 77-78; Henry B. Lovejoy, “The Registers of Liberated Africans of the Havana Slave Trade Commission: Implementation and Policy, 1824-1841,” Slavery & Abolition 37, no. 1 (2016): 23-44; Henry B. Lovejoy, “The Registers of Liberated Africans of the Havana Slave Trade Commission: Transcription Methodology and Statistical Analysis,” African Economic History 38 (2010): 107-135. |
| Cite as |
| X Capture | -8816503.670827268 |
|---|---|
| Y Capture | 2988763.408796294 |
| Ship Status | Liberated Africans |
| Date of departure from a place or port in Africa generally following the purchase of enslaved people. Include YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | |
| Region of departure from Africa. Required entry. For more information about the geographical hierarchy used in this digital resource, please refer to AfricanRegions.org. | Eastern Bight |
| Place or port of departure from Africa, if known. A controlled vocabulary for place names are associated with geographic coordinates using Google Maps Global Mercator EPSG:900913. See https://epsg.io/transform#s_srs=4326&t_srs=900913&x=NaN&y=NaN | Bonny |
| Capture date at sea or on land, if known. Date of the sentence. Include YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | 1829-06-27 |
| Location | 25°55'0" N., 79°12'0" W. |
| Navy | Britain |
| Ship | Monkey |
| Captain | Sherer |
| Supporting Ships | |
| Sentence Date | 1829-07-14 |
| Date of arrival to the place where the trial, purchase, or asylum occurred, resulting in "liberation" and indenture. Includes YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | 1829-07-08 |
| Region of arrival around the world. Required field. For more information about the geographical hierarchy used in this digital resource, please refer to AfricanRegions.org. Other regions outside of Africa include, Western Europe, East Coast of North America, etc. | Caribbean |
| Place or port of arrival around the world. Required field. A controlled vocabulary for place names are associated with geographic coordinates using Google Maps Global Mercator EPSG:900913. See https://epsg.io/transform#s_srs=4326&t_srs=900913&x=NaN&y=NaN | Havana |