After a landmark legal battle in the United States, the formerly enslaved Africans who had taken control of the Spanish schooner La Amistad set sail for Sierra Leone aboard the ship Gentleman on November 27, 1841.

These individuals, mostly Mende people from present-day Sierra Leone, had been illegally kidnapped and sold into slavery. In 1839, they revolted aboard the Amistad, killing the captain and taking control of the ship. After being captured near Long Island, New York, they faced a legal trial that became a national and international cause célèbre.

The U.S. Supreme Court, with former President John Quincy Adams arguing on their behalf, ruled in 1841 that the Africans had been illegally enslaved and had the right to fight for their freedom. The decision led to their release and eventual return to Africa.