At a time historically when conversation is for the most part a lost art, I am amazed that the only people talking are those trapped next to each other on flights or in prison cells on lockdown, or on sinking ships once the last lifeboat is filled. Conversation is not the penalty for isolation, but often it feels such.
What is the Clotilda? Last slave ship to bring humans to US may have been found on Alabama shore
Updated ; Posted
The wreckage of the Clotilda might have possibly been located, thanks to extremely low tides. (Contributed photo/Ben Raines)
By Leada Gore (lgore@al.com)
The Clotilda, the long-lost wreck of the last slave ship to
bring human cargo to the U.S., may have been located, a possible ending
to a historical mystery. The discovery, made by AL.com's Ben Raines, turns attention to the ship and its tragic history.
What is the Clotilda (or the Clotilde?)
The Clotilda is the last know U.S. slave ship to bring humans from
Africa to the U.S. The ship, a two-masted 86-foot long schooner under
the command of Captain William Foster, arrived in Mobile Bay in autumn
of 1859 with as many as 160 slaves on board. At the time, it was illegal
to bring in slaves from Africa, so Foster waited until night to arrive,
transferring his human cargo to a riverboat before burning and sinking
the Clotilda.
The slaves from the ship were distributed among the Clotilda's
investors, including Mobile shipyard owner Timothy Meaher, who lived
outside of Mobile. As many of 30 African Americans were taken to
Meaher's plantation, many of whom remained in the area after they were
freed.
Clotilda or Clotilde?
According to Raines: The ship's name is the Clotilda, not the
Clotilde. Newspaper accounts beginning in 1860 misspelled the name, and
over the years it stuck. But the ship's license and the captain's
journal make clear that Clotilda is correct.
Who was Cujdo Lewis? What is Africatown?
Cudjo "Kazoola" Lewis was among the 30 slaves held by Meaher. He was
the last survivor of the Clotilda journey and was later interviewed for a
1927 article and film by Zora Neale Hurston. Lewis and the others from
Clotilda was one of the leaders in a community called Africatown, an area outside of Mobilepopulated by African Americans and known for its preservation of West African culture.
Lewis died in 1935 at the age of 94. A monument to him can be found at Union Baptist Church in Africatown. Africatown was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. I
Wreck found by reporter may be last American slave ship
"This would be a story of world historical significance, if this is the
Clotilda," said John Sledge, a senior historian with Mobile Historical
Commission.
Where is the Clotilda now?
Raines investigation indicated what could be the Clotilda lies
partially buried in mud alongside an island in the lower Mobile-Tensaw
Delta, a few miles north of the city of Mobile. The wreckage of the ship
was exposed during extremely low tides brought on by the same weather
system that brought the "Bomb Cyclone" to the Eastern Seaboard.
The wreckage appears to date back the mid 1800s and shows signs of
being burned, as the Clotilda reportedly was. Other signs, including
oral histories and measurements of the boat, point to it possibly being
the long-lost ship.
"I'm
quaking with excitement. This would be a story of world historical
significance, if this is the Clotilda," said John Sledge, a senior
historian with Mobile Historical Commission, and author of The Mobile
River, an exhaustive history of the river. "It's certainly in the right
vicinity... We always knew it should be right around there."
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home