Which historical ship is central to Spielberg's Amistad?

The historical ship at the center of Spielberg’s Amistad is La Amistad.

La Amistad was a Spanish schooner involved in an 1839 revolt by Africans who had been kidnapped and illegally transported for sale in Cuba. Led by Sengbe Pieh, later known as Joseph Cinqué, the captives seized control of the vessel but were deceived into sailing toward the United States. The ship was intercepted off Long Island by the U.S. Navy brig USS Washington.

The resulting legal dispute reached the United States Supreme Court in 1841. The Court ruled that the Africans had been unlawfully enslaved and had the right to resist their kidnappers, so they were free to return to Africa. Steven Spielberg’s 1997 film dramatizes the revolt, the imprisonment of the captives, and the courtroom battle, with Anthony Hopkins portraying attorney John Quincy Adams.

La Amistad is often shortened informally to “Amistad,” but the vessel’s name was La Amistad, Spanish for “friendship.” It should not be confused with famous ships such as the Mayflower or HMS Bounty.