Welcome back viewers
This week we will honor two heroes who share a connection
They are:
Francisco Menendez and Joseph Cinqué
Intro:
Francisco Menendez and Joseph Cinqué were two freedom fighters who fought against tyranny. They lived at different times, yet both would rise to the challenge of fighting back against bigotry and winning their freedom. They would both become icons in the fight to end slavery and help shape the future of a growing nation.
Part 1
Francisco Menéndez is believed to have been born in the Gambia, before 1709. Early in his life, he was captured by slave traders and was then shipped to the Carolina territory of North America. At some point, he escaped from his captors and hid in the Spanish Florida territory. For at least a decade, Menéndez hid in the Florida swamps evading slave hunters. He decided to come out of hiding and when he learned that the Spaniards were offering refuge to any escaped slaves who volunteered to serve in their local militia. His services would be instrumental in Spain's coming war with Great Britain.
A nine-year war broke out between Spain and Great Britain in 1738. This conflict would be known as the, "War of the Jenkins' Ear". Although most of the fighting took place around the Caribbean Islands, there were a substantial and pivotal number of battles that took place in the territories of Georgia and Florida. Francisco Menéndez would find himself right in the middle of one of these crucial engagements.
To prove his loyalty to the Spanish Crown, Menéndez was given command of a small outpost (and a garrison of a few dozen former slaves) outside of St. Augustine, Florida. The outpost was named, Fort Mose. In June of 1740 a small British force of 170 regulars and native warriors invaded Florida from Georgia. As the enemy force approached Fort Mose, Menéndez realized he was severely outnumbered. He quickly retreated to St. Augustine and then returned with reinforcements.
At the dawn of June 15, Menéndez and 300 free blacks, Seminole warriors, and even some Spanish regulars returned to Fort Mose. They then launched a brutal attack that caught the British completely off guard. With swords, muskets, war clubs, and tomahawks, the joint force viciously slaughtered more than half of the British force within less than two hours. When it was over, the British casualties were 75 killed and 34 captured. Menéndez's army had lost only 10 killed and 20 wounded. What remained of the British army quickly fled into the marshes in complete disorder.
Part II
Joseph Cinqué was born in the year 1814, in British Sierra Leone. His original name was Sengbe Pieh of the Mende Tribe. He grew up as a rice farmer in the territory before he was illegally kidnapped by African slave traders and sold to the Spanish. He was then imprisoned on a slave ship called, Tecora. He was then taken with hundreds of others, across the Atlantic Ocean and sold to man named, Jose Ruiz. Cinqué (with 52 others) was then transferred to another slave ship called, La Amistad. Although the situation seemed to be dire, Cinqué had no intention of becoming a slave. He intended to regain his freedom or die trying.
On the night of July 1, 1839, Joseph Cinqué used a nail file to pry off their manacles. Once they were free, they armed themselves with cane knives and proceeded to attack the crew. The slaves quickly slaughtered most of the Amistad's crew and took control of the ship. They spared two members of the crew and demanded to be returned to their home continent. However the two surviving Spaniards, tricked the freedmen into sailing north along the coastline of the United States. On August 26, an American cutter (USS Washington) approached and apprehended the Amistad. Cinqué and all the other former slaves were taken into custody in New York.
What followed was a series of legal cases regarding what was to be done with the Amistad, its surviving crew, and the former slaves. Spanish authorities demanded that Cinqué and the others be turned over to Cuba to face punishment for their uprising. The case was known as, United States v. Schooner Amistad. At least three different trials were held in the state of Connecticut. Among those to defend Cinqué was former American President, John Quincy Adams. Finally in March of 1841, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Cinqué and the Mende people. They were officially released on March 9. A year later, Joseph Cinqué and 35 others boarded an American ship and were returned to Africa.
Epilogue
The victory at Fort Mose made a major impact on the British invasion of Spanish Florida. Later in June, the British were soundly defeated at the siege of St. Augustine. Francisco Menéndez was later captured at sea by a British warship. However, he successfully escaped back to Florida and was granted his freedom. In 1759 he returned to the sight of Fort Mose and established the first free black community on American soil. Unfortunately, this did not last very long. In 1763, Great Britain emerged victorious in the Seven Years' War. The treaties that came from that conflict forced Spain to trade Florida to the British. Menéndez and his fellow freedmen were then forced to abandon Fort Mose for good and evacuate to Cuba. From there, Francisco Menéndez disappeared from history.
Joseph Cinqué returned to Sierra Leone in November of 1841. To his horror, he found the most of his family had been killed in his absence. The Mende people had been plunged into civil war that quickly engulfed the country. Cinqué was forced to become a trader along the African coast. Like Menéndez before him, Joseph Cinqué also disappeared from history and is believed to have passed away in the year, 1879. His ultimate fate remains unknown.
Although neither of these men knew it, their courage and valor in fighting for their freedom had had a major impact on the anti-Slavery movement in the United States. Thousands of people across the country heard their stories and were inspired to support the abolishment of slavery. They also inspired other freedmen to get involved as well. Among those that they inspired, were Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. Today, both Francisco Menéndez and Joseph Cinqué continue to inspire millions of people around the world.
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/staugustine/timeline/the-english-menace/
https://myfloridahistory.org/frontiers/article/79https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/menendez-francisco
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/african-americans-many-rivers-to-cross/history/what-was-americas-1st-black-town/
https://spartacus-educational.com/Scinque.htm
http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/amistad/AMI_BCIN.HTM
https://whereilivect.org/the-long-journey-of-sengbe-piehjoseph-cinque/
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