Mutiny on the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave Revolt and Its Impact on American Abolition, Law, and Diplomacy (Paperback)

by Howard Jones (Author) "In early April 1839 the Portuguese slave merchants at Lomboko, on the west coast of Africa, were loading their human cargo onto the Tecora, in..." (more)
Key Phrases: district court proceedings, sound negroes, executive interference, United States, Van Buren, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
In this well-crafted narrative Jones has fleshed out what was heretofore a footnote in the history of the American antislavery movement. The cause of the small band of black slaves who had mutinied during transport off Cuba and eventually washed up on Long Island (1839) temporarily united disparate factions of the fledgling abolitionist movement. Besides raising fundamental legal questions about the relevance of slavery and race to the American conception of liberty, the Amistad affair adversely affected relations between the United States and Spain and forced President Van Buren into improper interference with the judicial process. A key volume for scholars of 19th-century America and for specialists in the abolitionist movement. Thomas E. Schott, Office of History, Engineering Installation Division, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"A nearly flawless historical study of an important episode in American diplomatic, legal, political, and ethnic history; Mutiny on the Amistad raises important questions in all of these fields and is highly recommended reading."--Journal of American Ethnic History
"Mutiny on the Amistad is based on thorough research and provides excellent and detailed coverage of its subject. It makes important contributions both to the history of slavery and to abolition, especially on the legal aspects of each."--Journal of Southern History
"[A] well-documented study of the Amistad affair....Lively."--The New York Review of Books
"An analysis of an important moment in American history that casts a light upon politics and society during the preceding half-century, back to the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, and similarly illumines the approaching Civil War."--The National Review
"An impressive piece of work....A well organized book, handsomely illustrated, generously documented....Valuable and illuminating."--Civil War History
"A rousing and satisfying tale, and it is well worth hearing it again in this careful and thoughtful telling."--American Heritage


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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195038290
• ISBN-13: 978-0195038293
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #399,201 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional historical account of the Amistad., January 6, 1999

By A Customer

Mutiny on the Amistad by Dr. Howard Jones is an exceptional piece of historical research. For the reader who wishes to read an exceptional historical treatise buy the book. One fully comprehends the the roles of Spain, England, the United States and the cruelty of the slave trade. After reading this book one can comprehend how race initially was and still is a significant factor in the cultural life and politics of the United States. Dr. Jones is to be congratulated for a balance historical presentation and insightful view of cultural history as well...if you are seriously interested in the events of the Amistad and the world that created this incident, you will greatly appreciate Dr. Jones' scholarship. I am grateful that a serious historian has given us such a fine account of the Amistad.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very factual and accurate, but dry, November 30, 1998

By A Customer

I have not seen the movie yet, but I plan to to get a better idea of the events. Jones' accounting of the legal procceedings seems very repetitive, and overshadows the human element in the story. He could have done much more with the facts than simply repeat them, using barely any adjectives. But his account is very accurate and gives a good picture of the government's feeling toward slavery at that time.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dry, but informative., May 7, 2000

By	James Yanni (Bellefontaine Neighbors, Mo. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mutiny on the Amistad (Library Binding)

I saw the movie, and it performed its function well: it piqued my interest. But, of course, being a dramatization, it was not bound by little things like facts; it took the basic story, and made it as interesting and dramatic as possible.

This caused me to develop an interest in the subject, and a curiosity as to what the actual truth of the story was, and this book served admirably to answer that question.

If you're interested in an entertaining story that has drama, characterization, and closure, see the movie. But if you're interested in historical facts, and literal truth rather than symbolic truth, read this book.