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Amistad (1997)
Amistad was released in 1997 and was produced by Steven Spielberg. It is a courtroom drama that captures the story of a Spanish slave ship La Amistad. In the movie, we see people from the Mende tribe were captured to be traded as slaves. They managed to gain control of the ship during their journey and worked against their captors. They sailed on the Cuban coast, leading to a bitter international legal battle after their capture by Washington. This case was resolved in the United States Supreme Court, and the movie centers on the issues surrounding the case and how things unfolded. This analysis will evaluate the principles of separation of powers demonstrated through the case, with a focus on the courtroom scenes.
La Amistad transported enslaved Africans from the Cuban coast to the United States. This was the period when slavery was still rampant in the United States. The leader of the enslaved Africans, Joseph Cinqué, managed to inspire a revolt among the people, overpowering the captors. After taking control of the ship, they decided to preserve the captors' lives to assist them in sailing back to Africa. However, the ship owners misdirect them and sail the ship toward America (Jeffrey 77). When the American Navy captured the ship, the Africans were imprisoned as runaway slaves. They were taken through a legal battle, although they could not speak any English. Through the case, the Attorney brought charges regarding murder and piracy. On the other hand, the secretary of state argued that the slaves belonged to the Spanish government (Foner). The other two naval officers noted that the slaves were salvaged and property to none. However, the navigators produced proof that they had purchased the slaves.
In order to save the enslaved people, the one abolitionist, Lewis Tappan, hired a lawyer to represent them in the legal battle. Baldwin, the lawyer representing the slaves, argues that the Africans were kidnapped against their will from Sierra Leone, which was a British colony. The intention of the Spanish captors, as Baldwin reveals, was to sell the slaves to the Americas unlawfully (Jones 382). This was proved through documents that were retrieved from the ship. Through the documents, Baldwin demonstrated that the slaves belonged to Tecora, a slave ship of Portuguese origin. In this regard, the Africans should be regarded as free citizens of Sierra Leone. Since the evidence was apparent, the judge overseeing the case was changed through the influence of the President, Van Buren. Judge Coglin was perceived to be swayed by the executive arm t...