The Creole Slave Revolt Ben Toland 5 period

In 1841, a slave ship, called the Creole, was transporting 135 slaves from Hampton Roads, Virginia to New Orleans, Louisiana. While approaching the Bahamas, the ships chief mate discovered the slave cook, Madison Washington, in the hold with the female slaves. Washington fought his way out of the hold and rallied 19 other slaves to take over the ship, the crew, and ordered the captain to sail to a the British-controlled Bahamian port of Nassau. According to international law, the revolt was mutiny and not piracy so jurisdiction was given to local authorities. The 19 slaves involved in the revolt were imprisoned while the rest were escorted off the ship by residents local to the area, who demanded freedom be granted to the slaves. Recently, the British Emancipation Act of 1833 was passed and therefore the slaves were freed from slavery. The Creole was sent back empty to New Orleans and the Southerners became angry because of what had happened. The Creole situation became part of the New England arguments of emancipation. They pointed out Washington's kind behavior towards the crew of the Creole. They emphasised his restriction for his people to not harm the crew and to tend to their wounds that were given to them when the slaves revolted. Abolitionists also used the event to attack the slave codes of the South and the Gag rule enforced by Congress. Secretary of State, Daniel Webster, wanted to avoid the Creole event from becoming a crisis and worsening the situation of the northeast boundary with Britain.  He agreed that the slaves shouldn't be tried for Murder or Mutiny since the revolt took place outside of local boundaries. Webster also disagreed that the slaves should be sent back to America because there were not extradition treaties between the British and the United States. As a result the 19 imprisoned slaves were freed. Webster did still feel cheated by the loss of property so he made a treaty with Lord Ashburton of the British settlement called the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. The treaty stated that the British authorities would avoid using "officious interference", and an extradition agreement was added as well. Extradition would be enforced if murder, assault, piracy, forgery, robbery, arson, or the utterance of forged paper were committed. The treaty was agreed upon and mixed responses were felt in America. The South was satisfied but the Northerners were ashamed that Webster would compromise slavery. Similar events happened that were like this one. For example a Spanish ship called the Amistad was illegally transporting slaves from Africa when a revolt on board led to the slaves taking control. The ship landed in Connecticut and the Supreme Court rule that the slaves would be set free because the Spanish had emancipated Slavery. Also the British had freed slaves in other cases on American ships such as the Comet, the Encomium, the Enterprise, and the Formosa.