Amistad, a case and an incident, revolves around one of the biggest controversies at the time, slavery. It dealt with the ownership of the captured slaves and brought into light the question of their freedom. In 1839, a slave ship, La Amistad, was overthrown by the slaves on board and was brought to America to consider the rightful ownership of them. However, this led to a court case between the owners, the Spanish government and the United States. Under the condition at which they were found, many laws and acts were used in the arguments of both sides, but nonetheless, the Supreme Court ruled the slaves as freedmen and to be returned back to their home in Africa. Based on historical events, a movie was made to portray this with inconsequential differences.

The movie does not focus on the issue of slavery but rather the birthplace of the slaves to determine whether they will be charged with murder or be brought back to Africa. Amistad portrays the historic event starting with the overthrow and continues with the legal battle between the slaves and the courts. Between court battles, flashbacks are revealed to uncover how the slaves came to where they are now.

As accurately as the film portrays this incident, there are still minor differences between the film and the actual incident. This case is as complicated as it already is, it included some people who were not portrayed in the movie. Henry Green and Pelatiah Fordham, who was not associated with Washington, were involved. They encountered the slaves who came ashore and during the court cases, they argued for salvage rights since they helped rescue the cargo of the ship by capturing the slaves. Not included in the movie was the trial in the Circuit Court. After listening to the testimony, Judge Judson referred the case for trial in Circuit Court. In this trial, Judge Smith Thompson focused on jurisdictional grounds in which he concluded that the court had no jurisdiction over criminal charges because the alleged murders occurred in international waters and did not involve U.S. citizens. Three days into the Circuit Court trial, the judge referred the case to the U.S. District Court. It was after the District Court Trial where the Administration appealed to the Supreme Court. The argument presented in the movie was the captives’ inalienable right to freedom, however, the decision of the Court focused on the legality of the slave trade. Despite the difference in argument, nevertheless, the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Africans and releases them to return back to Sri Lanka.