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The US brigantine Creole, carrying 134 black slaves from Hampton
Roads, Virginia, to New Orleans, was seized by the slaves during the voyage in
November 1841. One white crewman was killed during the mutiny, lead by the
African-American Madison Washington (fl. 1840s). The ship was sailed to the
British port of Nassau in the Bahamas, where the British refused to hand over
the ship or slaves, despite angry protests by the owners and American
southerners. Ignoring the precedent set by the Amistad Mutiny case, US secretary
of state Daniel Webster (1782-1852) demanded the return of the slaves because
they were the property of US citizens. By British law, all the slaves were
freed, except those who actually participated in the mutiny, who were charged
with murder and imprisoned. In 1855, after the case was finally settled by
arbitration between the two countries, Britain awarded $110,330 to the US in
compensation for lost slave property.
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