Creole case facts for kids

The Creole case was a famous revolt that happened on an American slave ship called the Creole in November 1841. The ship was carrying 128 enslaved people when they took control of it. They sailed to Nassau in the British colony of the Bahamas, where slavery had already been ended. This event is often called the "most successful slave revolt in US history." Sadly, two people died during the revolt: one enslaved person and one crew member.

The United Kingdom had stopped the slave trade in 1807. They also ended slavery throughout the British Empire in 1833. Because of this, British officials in the Bahamas said that the enslaved people on the Creole were free once they arrived in Nassau. They could choose to stay there as free people.

Nineteen men were thought to be the leaders of the revolt. They were put in prison because of charges of mutiny (rebelling against authority). However, a special court hearing in April 1842 decided that these men had been held illegally as slaves. The court ruled that they had the right to use force to gain their freedom. So, the 17 men who were still alive (two had died in prison) were set free.

When the Creole finally reached New Orleans in December 1841, only three enslaved women and two enslaved children were still on board. They had chosen not to leave the ship. People in the Southern United States were very angry about losing their "property." This caused problems between the United States and Britain for a while. The incident happened during talks for the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842, but it wasn't directly solved by that treaty. Later, in 1853, a new agreement between the US and Britain led to money being paid to the owners of the enslaved people from the Creole and two other American ships.

The Creole Case: A Fight for Freedom

The Ship and Its Journey

In the fall of 1841, a ship called the Creole was owned by Johnson and Eperson from Richmond, Virginia. It was carrying 135 enslaved African-Americans. They were being taken to New Orleans to be sold. New Orleans was a big market for enslaved people in the American South. Most of the enslaved people belonged to Johnson and Eperson. Another 26 people belonged to Thomas McCarg, a slave trader who was also a passenger on the ship.

Even though the United States government had stopped the Atlantic slave trade (bringing enslaved people from Africa) in 1807, it still allowed the buying and selling of enslaved people within the states where slavery was legal. This led to a "coastwise slave trade" in the 1800s. Ships like the Creole moved enslaved African-Americans along the American coast. The Creole also carried tobacco, a crew of ten, the captain's family, and four white passengers.

The Revolt Begins

Madison Washington was the leader of the revolt. He had been born into slavery but had escaped to Canada. However, he was forced back into slavery when he returned to Virginia to find his wife. She was one of the people being taken to New Orleans to be sold.

The enslaved people were kept in the ship's lower part. But Washington found a way to get onto the deck. On November 7, 1841, Washington and eighteen other enslaved men started their rebellion. They took control of the crew. One of the slave traders, John R. Hewell, was killed. The crew and passengers only had one gun, but they didn't use it. The captain was hurt and hid with two crew members. One enslaved person was also badly hurt and later died. Some other crew members were wounded but survived.

The enslaved people demanded that a plantation overseer named William Merritt sail the ship for them. He agreed. At first, they wanted to go to Liberia, a colony in West Africa for freed African-Americans. But Merritt told them the ship didn't have enough food or water for such a long trip. Another leader, Ben Blacksmith, suggested they go to the British West Indies. He knew that enslaved people from another ship, the Hermosa, had found freedom there the year before.

Freedom in the Bahamas

On November 9, 1841, the Creole arrived in Nassau. A local harbor pilot and his crew, who were black Bahamians, came aboard. They told the enslaved people that under Bahamian law, they were free. They advised them to go ashore right away.

The ship's captain, Robert Ensor, was badly wounded. So, the First Mate, Zephaniah Gifford, went to the American consulate to tell the American consul what had happened. The consul asked the governor of the Bahamas to send soldiers to the Creole. These soldiers were meant to stop the men involved in Hewell's death from escaping.

The American consul was worried that British authorities would free the enslaved people. He tried to get American sailors on the island to take back control of the ship. He wanted them to sail the ship out of British waters with the enslaved people still on board. On November 12, the American sailors approached the ship. But a Bahamian shouted a warning to the soldiers on the Creole. The officer in charge of the soldiers threatened to fire at the Americans' boat, so they left.

After an investigation, on November 13, 1841, the Bahamian Attorney-General went aboard. He told the nineteen rebels that they would be imprisoned. He then told the rest of the enslaved people, "You are free, and at liberty to go onshore, and wherever you please." Many small boats filled with local people, who had been waiting nearby, immediately came forward. The Attorney-General warned them not to board the Creole, but said they could help the freed people get ashore. Most of the enslaved people went ashore. However, three women, a young girl, and a boy stayed hidden on board. They eventually sailed with the ship to New Orleans and were sold as slaves.

The Bahamian government arranged for a ship going to Jamaica, another British colony, to take the freed people there for free. Many of the enslaved people from the Creole went to Jamaica. After the Bahamian government arrested the rebels, the United States government stopped asking for all the enslaved people to be returned. At that time, there was no agreement between Britain and the United States about returning people in such situations.

The British authorities decided that the enslaved people had not broken any British or maritime law. Under British law, they were free. This meant they had the right to use force to escape being held illegally as slaves. A special court in Nassau met in April to consider if the men involved in the revolt had committed piracy. The court ruled that their actions were not piracy. On April 16, 1842, the 17 men (two had died earlier) were ordered to be released. A total of 128 people who had been held as slaves gained their freedom. This is why the case is called the "most successful slave revolt in US history."

The Creole had left months earlier for the United States. It reached New Orleans on December 2, 1841. Five people were still aboard. This angered plantation owners and politicians when they learned that the other enslaved people had been freed by the British. The case became a big national issue in the United States and caused a diplomatic argument.

In 1842, an abolitionist (someone who wanted to end slavery) named William E. Channing wrote a pamphlet in Boston. He argued against Southern politicians who said that the "human property" of American slave owners should be protected in foreign ports. The issue was also discussed during the negotiations for the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842 between the US and the United Kingdom. Less than a year later, the Creole was destroyed in a storm while in the harbor at Funchal, Madeira.

Political Impact

The Creole case caused tension between the United Kingdom and the United States. It also created political problems within the United States. Southerners were very angry about losing their "property." This had happened before when British authorities freed enslaved people from American ships that entered their Caribbean ports. The John Tyler administration supported Southerners in trying to get the enslaved people back.

Secretary of State Daniel Webster told the United Kingdom that the enslaved people were legal property of US citizens. He demanded their return.

However, the United Kingdom had ended slavery in August 1834. It rejected the US claim. Britain had told all nations that under its law, ships entering its ports would lose any enslaved people on board. The British government said that Nassau was British territory, so British law applied there. Under British law, the enslaved people on the Creole were considered free passengers. This meant it would be illegal to hold them against their will unless they had broken local or maritime law.

The abolitionist Charles Sumner argued that enslaved people "became free men when taken, by the voluntary action of their owners, beyond the jurisdiction of the slave states." In March 1842, US Representative Joshua Reed Giddings from Ohio introduced several resolutions. He argued against the federal government helping slaveholders. He said that Virginia's slave laws did not apply to enslaved people outside Virginia's waters. He also argued that the federal government had no role in this, and that the coastwise slave trade was unconstitutional. He believed that enslaved people on the high seas were beyond state law and therefore free.

Southerners in the House of Representatives disagreed strongly with Giddings. They officially criticized him for breaking an unofficial "gag rule" that had been in place since 1836. This rule stopped any discussion of slavery in the House. Giddings quickly resigned. But when Ohio held a special election for his seat in May 1842, the voters of Ohio overwhelmingly reelected Giddings.

The success of the Creole revolt encouraged abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery and the coastwise trade. In a newspaper article called "The Hero Mutineers," Madison Washington was called a 'romantic hero.' The article said that Washington showed kindness to the white crew members on the Creole. He stopped other enslaved people from killing all of them when they tried to regain control. It was also said that he personally helped dress the sailors' wounds after the revolt.

The case caused strong feelings on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. This happened while the Webster–Ashburton Treaty of 1842 was being negotiated. This treaty was mainly to settle the borders between the US and Canada, which was a British colony. The New York Courier and Inquirer newspaper reported that Daniel Webster, the Secretary of State, wrote to Lord Ashburton:

The Creole case is presented in strong terms by Mr Webster in a letter (which, when published, will bring all the anti-slavery people about his ears)..." Lord Ashburton replied that since the case happened after he left England, he was "not empowered to treat upon the subject." He repeated that slavery was no longer recognized under British law. Any foreign enslaved person arriving in British lands was automatically considered free. This was also true in American states that did not recognize slavery. However, he promised that British officials in the West Indies would be given "directions" to "do nothing in this respect when it can be properly avoided" for the sake of "good neighbourhood."

Among other things, the Webster-Ashburton Treaty called for a final end to the slave trade on the high seas. Both the US and Britain agreed to enforce this.

Earlier Cases of Freedom

Before the Creole case, there were other similar events. The Comet in 1830 and the Encomium in 1833 were American ships in the coastwise slave trade. Bad weather forced them into British ports in the Caribbean. They were carrying many enslaved people. The British freed the enslaved people from both ships. Britain later paid money for these cases because it had not yet ended slavery in its own territories.

When the British Parliament ended slavery in its territories in 1833, Britain told other countries that slave ships entering its ports would lose the enslaved people without payment. After Britain ended slavery in its colonies (effective 1834), its officials freed enslaved people from the Enterprise (1835) and the Hermosa (1840) without paying compensation.

In 1840, the Hermosa, a US ship carrying 38 enslaved people from Richmond to New Orleans, ran aground on one of the Abacos islands in the Bahamas. After rescuers took the ship to port, the captain refused to let the enslaved people off. He tried to arrange for another ship to take them to the United States. But British officials, with armed force, went onto the Hermosa. They removed the enslaved people and freed them when they reached port. The Americans protested.

The Enterprise and Hermosa cases, along with the Creole case and other claims from 1814, were reviewed under a claims treaty in 1853. In 1855, Britain paid money to the United States for these three cases. In total, nearly 450 American enslaved people gained their freedom because of actions taken in British colonies in these five cases.

Compensation for Losses

After many discussions, the United Kingdom and the United States signed a Treaty of Claims in February 1853. This treaty included claims from slave-owners who had lost money because Britain freed enslaved people in the Enterprise (1835), Hermosa (1840), and Creole incidents. A special group met in London from September 15, 1853, to January 15, 1855. They decided how much money would be paid for all claims under this treaty, which went back to December 1814. In February 1855, the US Congress approved the settlement and set aside money for the US payment.

Related Incidents

British officials might have been told to avoid freeing enslaved people from US ships. But sometimes, private citizens acted on their own. In 1855, the New York Times reported that Jamaicans had removed an enslaved American person from the ship Young America at Savanna-la-Mar and "set at large." Even though private people, not officials, took this action, the newspaper noted that it could cause future problems between the nations. It called for a lasting solution.

In Popular Culture

• In 1852, the famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass published a short novel called The Heroic Slave. It featured Madison Washington and was inspired by the Creole revolt. Douglass focused on the personal side of the enslaved people's rebellion, connecting it to the American revolutionary spirit.

People on the Creole

Here are some of the people involved in the Creole case:

Leaders of the slave rebellion:

• Madison Washington
• Ben Blacksmith (Johnstone)
• Elijah Morris
• Doc Ruffin

Supporters of the rebellion:

• Pompey Garrison
• George Portlock
• Tyler
• Addison
• T. Smallwood
• William Glover
• America Woodis
• George Benton
• Adam Carney
• Reuben Knight
• Jordan Philips

Officers:

• Robert Ensor, from Richmond, VA, captain, wounded
• Zephaniah C. Gifford, first mate, wounded
• Lucius Stevens, second mate

Crew:

• William Devereux, free man of color, cook and steward
• Blinn Curtis, Owls Head, Maine, wounded
• Francis Foxwell
• Jacques Lacombe, Leconte or Lecompte, French helmsman
• Jacob Leitener, Prussian cook
• John Silvy (Antonio)
• Henry Sperk or Speck

Passengers:

• Lewis, an old enslaved servant, "belonging" to Thomas McCargo
• Captain's wife, baby, and niece
• John R. Hewell, slave trader, killed
• Thomas McCargo, slave trader
• Theophilus J. D. McCargo, nephew of Thomas
• William Henry Merritt, slave trader
• Jacob Miller

Giddings's Resolutions

Joshua Giddings introduced these ideas in Congress in 1842. He was criticized for discussing slavery, which went against a rule. He resigned but was quickly re-elected by the people in his home state of Ohio. He soon returned to Congress.

1. Resolved, That, before the United States Constitution was adopted, each state in the Union had full power over slavery within its own area. They could continue or end it as they wished.
2. Resolved, That, by adopting the Constitution, no part of these powers was given to the Federal Government. Instead, they were kept by each of the states.
3. Resolved, That, by the 8th section of the 1st article of the Constitution, each state gave the Federal Government all power over trade and shipping on the open seas.
4. Resolved, That slavery takes away people's natural rights. It can only exist because of specific local laws. It is limited to the area where those laws are in effect.
5. Resolved, That when a ship belonging to citizens of any state leaves that state's waters and goes onto the open seas, the people on board are no longer subject to that state's slave laws. They are then governed by the laws of the United States.
6. Resolved, That when the ship Creole, on its recent trip to New Orleans, left Virginia's waters, Virginia's slave laws no longer applied to the people on board. Those people then became subject only to the laws of the United States.
7. Resolved, That the people on the said ship, by taking back their natural rights to personal freedom, did not break any United States law. They have no legal responsibility and should not be punished.
8. Resolved, That all attempts to get back or re-enslave these people are not allowed by the Constitution or laws of the United States. They are also against our nation's honor.
9. Resolved, That all attempts to use our nation's influence to support the "coastwise slave trade" (the trade of human beings along the coast) or to make our nation seem like it supports "commerce in human beings" go against the rights and feelings of the free states. They are not allowed by the Constitution and harm our national character.