Clotilde the Last Slave Ship August 2011

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Clotilde: The Last Slave Ship to Land in

America

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United States ConstitutionArticle I, Section. 9

The Migration or Importation of such

Persons as any of the States now existing

shall think proper to admit, shall not be

prohibited by the Congress prior to the

Year one thousand eight hundred and

eight, but a Tax or duty may be imposed

on such Importation, not exceeding ten

dollars for each Person.

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An Act to Prohibit the Importation of Slaves into any Port

or Place Within the Jurisdiction of the United States, Fromand After the First Day of January, in the Year of our Lord

One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eight

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled , Thatfrom and after the first day of January, one thousand eight

hundred and eight, it shall not be lawful to import or bring

into the United States or the territories thereof from any

foreign kingdom, place, or country, any negro, mulatto, orperson of colour, with intent to hold, sell, or dispose of such

negro, mulatto, or person of colour, as a slave, or to be held

to service or labour.

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•The invention of the cotton gin made the production of short-

staple cotton profitable.

•The production of cotton depended on slave labor.

•The price of slaves increased steadily from 1802 to 1860. In

1810, the price of a "prime field hand" was $900; by 1860, that

price had doubled to $1,800.http://www.civilwarhome.com/slavery.htm

•The birth rate of slaves living in the United States prior to 1808

was not sufficient to meet the increasing demand for slaves.

•Between 1810 and 1860, all southern states passed laws

severely restricting the right of slave owners to free their slaves,

even in a will. <http://www.civilwarhome.com/slavery.htm >

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http://www.civilwarhome.com/slavery.htm







Scholars continue to debate the actual number of slaves smuggled

into the United States from 1808 until the last known slave ship,

Clotilde, landed in Mobile, Alabama.

•The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 1996–

250,000 slaves were

imported from 1808-1860

•Freebooters and Smugglers: The Foreign Slave Trade in the United

States after 1808 by Ernest Obadele-Starks - 786,500 slaves were

imported from 1808-1860

•Hugh Thomas gives the total number of African slaves imported into

the US (and British Colonial North America) as 500,000 persons.

Although there is much dispute over the figures, they could be

broken down as follows:

1771-1790 55,750

1790-1800 79,041

1801-1810 114,0901807-1860 app. 50,000, with the majority of these

entering before 1830

Thomas, Hugh. The Slave Trade. The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade:

1440-1870

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Vessel License for SchoonerClotilde, 1855

The Clotilde, commanded by

Captain William Foster, landed

in Mobile in 1859. It was the

last illegal slave ship, and the

descendants of the slavesonboard the ship still live in the

area around Mobile known as

Africatown.

http://www.archives.gov/southeast/exhibit/

popups.php?p=2.5.2

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http://www.archives.gov/southeast/exhibit/popups.php?p=2.5.2






Timothy Meaher said he paid $35,000 for Clotilde, a schooner not

built for slave trade.

The builder and original owner, William Foster, said he converted the

ship to “a low craft with tall masts, long spars, and broad sails like the

wings of a yachting racer.” Meaher and Foster put together a plan to take the ship to Ouidah,

Dahomey, on the west coast of Africa for the purpose of purchasing

Africans.

With the plan to feed a twelve-man crew for four months and

planned acquisition of 130 African for two months, the following items

were loaded on the ship:125 barrels of water

25 casks of rice

30 casks of beef

40 pounds of pork

3 barrels of sugar

25 barrels of flour4 barrels of bread

4 barrels of molasses

Nine thousand dollars in gold and the following trade goods valued at

$3,500 were loaded to use for the purchase of Africans:

80 casks of alcohol

25 cases of dry goods and sundries 7



125 Africans were purchased from the African Akodé

whose title, Chodaton, meant “the king owns

everything.”

110 Africans were on the ship when it landed nearMobile on July 8, 1860.

Foster burned the Clotilde to cover up the evidence of

his and Meaher’s illegal activity.

Approximately 30 Africans were kept by Meaher, and

the rest were distributed to nearby plantations.

The Civil War began in 1861, and slaves were freed as

a result of that war.

Once freed , the Clotilde Africans reunited, purchased

land, and founded their own settlement north of

Mobile called Africatown.

http://www.samepassage.com/news/arti

cles/3684.html

Burned out remains of the

Clotilde

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http://www.samepassage.com/news/articles/3684.html






Among the Africans brought to America on the Clotilde was Cudjo Lewis, also

known by his African name, Kossola. He became the leader of the settlement at

Africatown and married a fellow shipmate.

http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/photo&CISOPTR=4988&CISOBOX=1&REC=1

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http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1403

This picture shows Cudjo Lewis in his home in Africatown. He lived until 1935

and was the last survivor of the Clotilde.

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Cudjo is pictured here with his great-granddaughters. Some descendants

of the Clotilde Africans still live in the area north of Mobile.


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Clotilde the Last Slave Ship August 2011

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