Chapter 4 a story on a two-masted ship

Brother Lu, hello! It was a pleasure to hear from you.You said in your letter that you read reports about the American film industry, saying that the world-renowned film director Spielberg, after "Schindler's List", has shot another historical blockbuster this year, which happens to be It is related to the history of anti-slavery after the establishment of the United States.You said that you have watched "Schindler's List" and experienced the director's ability to artistically shape historical themes. I believe the movie will be very attractive.Since the content of our recent communication chat happened to be this period of American history, I really wanted me to introduce what kind of historical background and historical facts are behind this artistic new film.In this way, when watching this movie in the future, there may be greater gains.

The movie you mentioned is called "Armstad".Spielberg is indeed a very discerning director. The subject he chose is a very important one in American history. According to Americans, it is a "milestone case".Your question is also very reasonable. Information Domain (Domainsofinformation) American philosopher of science Sharpie, movies can reproduce a period of history very vividly, so that people have a strong feeling of being there. This is my letter and any book of history Books can't do it.But movies are the result of art after all, and it sometimes makes you feel confused and unsatisfied when you really want to know the historical facts.It has its own advantages and limitations.Answering your question can just make up for such a deficiency.

It is said that Spielberg is a very discerning director, not only because of the historical facts on which this film is based, which very typically reflects the anti-slavery issue during the period from the founding of the United States to the Civil War. situation, but also because the events themselves were so dramatic, even emotional.You must still remember that I mentioned in my last letter that this period of historical evolution in the United States is full of too many spiritual struggles and emotional turmoil. This is also a historical event that not only attracted some documentary directors, but also moved A master director of feature films.Without being moved by real history, Spielberg would not have such a creative impulse.

Before telling the real "Armstad" incident, I have to talk about the historical background at that time, and then I will talk about it after my last letter. Last time I wrote that in the formulation of the U.S. Constitution, the North and the South reached three compromises on the issue of slavery.These three compromises can be summed up and can actually be divided into two parts.One part, Mao Zedong's speech at the Chinese Communist Party's National Propaganda Work Conference in 1957, gave the South a twenty-year reprieve on the issue of banning the importation of slaves.The second part is that on how and when to solve the problem of slavery left over from the colonial period, the federal recognition has no power to make mandatory rulings on the states, but to legislate for the states themselves.

As I mentioned in my last letter, this compromise was based on the South's recognition of the principle of abolition.The South claims it only needs a buffer period to achieve this goal.On the other hand, the only two extreme Southern states that seemed stubborn at the time were South Carolina and Georgia.Under such circumstances, the north felt that since everyone in this new country established on the principle of "equality and freedom" recognized this principle, even in the south, it was entirely unreasonable for humanity to win, or even win quickly. It's okay to have confidence.

It should be said that such confidence reflects the general trend of advocating the spirit of freedom and equality when the United States was founded.One proof, though, is that not all states abolished slavery before independence, as Massachusetts and Pennsylvania did.But at least, before the 1808 deadline set by the U.S. Constitution for prohibiting the import of slaves, almost all states had enacted legislation to prohibit the import of slaves.Moreover, the legislative time of most states is far before the deadline, and some legislation is even shortly before or after the entry into force of the Federal Constitution.Many states had actually stopped the slave trade long before legislation was enacted.However, only these two extreme southern states still had illegal importation of slaves after the legislation.

Another proof is that when the northern states legislated against the importation of slaves, they took the next step, passing legislation prohibiting the internal slave trade and outright abolishing slavery. It seems that a newly born United States can gradually solve the problems left over from the colonial period relatively smoothly, and start to write a new page of its own history.However, the river of history flows in another direction. There is a reason, perhaps, that the North seems to be far from underestimating the energy of the two extreme slave states, South Carolina and Georgia.

Here, there is another episode, which is an unexpected technological invention, which further strengthened the South's determination to maintain slavery.This is how the cotton gin was born.In the past, cotton production in the south was limited by the speed of manual cotton ginning. It was meaningless to plant too much, and anyway, there was too much time to gin.The demand for labor is also limited.The birth of the cotton gin made cotton a white gold mine in the American South. Southern planters at that time heard the news of the cotton gin as a man felt when he heard that a rich gold mine had been discovered on his land.The only difference from real gold mining is that the cotton fields require a huge amount of cheap labor to "dig for gold", because the land is almost infinite compared with the population at that time.Especially for a place like Georgia, which has been poor for several generations, saying that he wants to abolish slavery at this critical moment, in his opinion, is the same as the meaning of the next order not allowing him to open his own gold mine .

Another situation was not thought of when the country was founded.That is, from 1796 to 1821, in just twenty-five years, the United States, which had only thirteen states when it was founded, had eight regions entered the federation and gradually became new independent states of the United States.The United States expanded by more than half at once. The problem is that these new independent states joined also include some areas formed by the gradual westward migration of extreme southern slave-holding state residents.Their attitudes and conditions are very similar to those of the two extreme southern states.That is, the expansion of extreme slavery power.As a result, in the early days of the founding of the United States, the balance of power in the attitude towards slavery underwent a fundamental change.Gradually formed a balance of power that both sides can contend with.The development trend, which seemed to be relatively sure, suddenly became suspended.

As a result, the North finally discovered that slavery was a legacy of the colony that was expected to be gradually resolved by the states themselves under the spirit of freedom and founding that everyone recognized.However, seeing the South taking advantage of the autonomy granted to the states by the Constitution, not only does it not intend to solve this problem after a time buffer.Instead, make the most of this time to try to consolidate the system and legitimize it for a long time. In other words, due to the insistence of the extreme southern states and the joining of new slave-holding states, the nature of slavery in this land has undergone another essential change compared with the state of the United States when it became independent.It is no longer a "colonial historical relic" that is expected to die, it has become the biggest real problem of the new country itself.

At this time, the North, which represents the dominance of the American spirit, finally realized that the United States has inevitably left this stain on history, and the spirit of freedom in the United States cannot but be permanently humiliated by it.Although most of the states in the north, before and after the founding of the country, relied on their own abilities to clean up the stains left by the colony.However, they cannot deny that the South is also part of the United States.Although under the state of partition, each state has its own basic sovereignty and they are responsible for their own actions. Not only the North has no right to interfere, but even the federal government has no right to interfere. After the whole situation became clear, the American spiritual mainstream represented by the North no longer had any illusions about the South, and they made up their minds to start a new long journey against slavery.Prior to this, the anti-slavery process in the North was basically a "self-revolution".Starting now, it is a contest between a righteous force and an evil force under the name of the United States of America. However, the anti-slavery forces were in a completely different situation than in colonial times.Because this country already has a clearly recognized founding spirit of "all men are created equal".The Constitution has also provided a strict democratic system, an independent judiciary system and a sound legislative system, providing them with practical rules and regulations to achieve their goals step by step.It all depends on how they use the system. To be honest, observing how they use the entire system to operate is the part that interests me the most, making the struggle against such an inhumane system seem rational, logical, and well thought out. The "Amstad" incident happened against such a historical background.It was 1839, fifty-six years after the birth of the United States. "Armstad" was the name of a two-masted ship, which later became the name of the incident caused by the ship.Originally, there was no American on this ship.This is a cargo ship, its captain is a Spaniard, and the two cargo owners are also Spaniards.Its port of departure is Havana, the capital of Cuba today, and its destination is another place in Cuba—Puto Principe. The voyage is not too far.Generally speaking, three or four days is enough. The reason why most of the captain and crew are Spanish is because Cuba was still a Spanish colony at that time.It should be said that this is a ship that has nothing to do with the United States. No matter what happens on the ship, this is also a story that has nothing to do with the United States.However, two months after she set sail, she anchored, weary and dilapidated, near Long Island, New York, to drop the boat and seek provisions.It broke into the sight of the telescope of the United States Coast Guard, and just like that, "Armstad" also drifted into the history of the United States. Yes, I was not mistaken, this brig which should have arrived at its destination in a few days, indeed drifted at sea for two full months.This was not one of the usual stormy shipwrecks, but a thrilling riot aboard the little brig.In Spielberg's "Armstad" movie, the riots are depicted in strong pen and ink from the beginning.It turned out that this was a slave ship. So, what was the state of slavery in Cuba at the time?You must remember that it was Portugal and Spain that first carried out the slave trade throughout the American colonies.Later, it joined the British Empire. However, in the era of "Armster", not only the United States, but also the United Kingdom also emerged a strong force against slavery.Their first goal is to legislate against the slave trade, and through international agreements, completely cut off the slave trade route from Africa.This is not only because this is the cruelest part of the entire slavery system, but at the same time, it is necessary to cut off new sources of slavery so that the original slavery system is limited to the scope left over from history, so that it is possible to solve it as soon as possible. In such a historical trend, the Spanish dynasty was also under international pressure and signed an agreement with Britain in 1817 to prohibit the purchase of slaves from Africa.And there is an "anti-slave trade law" in Cuba. However, on legislative issues, this has been the case so far.That is, whether it is an international agreement or a country's own laws, there are basically two situations. A legal source is the result of the country, region or group's thinking and reflection on a proposition.They therefore make a rule and are willing to abide by it together.Violators will be severely punished according to regulations.Such a law is logical and the process of implementation is relatively clear.Admittedly, such a law will still have historical limitations, because human beings' understanding at a certain stage is always limited.However, it is a step by step step by step, perhaps a slow pace of progress, but a solid one.This kind of law, I often use the vernacular to call it "the law of sincerity". Another legal source is the result of compromise with external pressure.In some regions, they themselves have not produced a basis of understanding that is compatible with this law, but due to various pressures, such a law has to be born.In this case, the whole system has a strong impulse to "break the law" from the beginning.For such a law, its goals can be set very high, and it can look more "beautiful" than those "sincere laws".But when it comes to reality, it's completely unrecognizable.I call it a "false law". The "Anti-Slave Trade Law" implemented by the Spanish colonial authorities in Cuba at that time was a false law. The "Amstad" incident is a bad result of such a false law. That is to say, in fact, the Cuban authorities at that time did not reflect on slavery at all, and this law signed under external pressure was in vain.The authorities actually supported the slave trade.Officials also colluded with slave traders to share profits.In Cuba, the illegal slave trade from Africa is an open secret. Under such a general situation, in April 1839, a Portuguese slave ship named "Tigra" loaded a ship of slaves at the largest slave market in West Africa called "Lumpoko" and shipped them to Cuba.On this ship, there were the main members of the riot on the "Armstad" a few months later, and Xin Gai, the leader of the riot, was also among them.Thus, the voyage of the "Tigera" to Africa kicked off the "Amstad" incident a few months later. In the movie, the huge castles and stone-built slave market buildings of "Lumbola" in West Africa that you see are all real.Because, I once saw its remains in a documentary.The sellers in the slave market in the movie are all local black leaders in West Africa, which is also true. Such a historical fact still troubles the descendants of many black slaves who were sold to America.They can understand the fact that white slave owners bought and enslaved their ancestors because it can be blamed on racism and greed.Moreover, it is psychologically easier to accept the sins of another race.However, they are emotionally unwilling to accept "Lumpola" and the fact that the "black brothers" of their ancestors are also part of the creation of this human tragedy, and the reason is also greed.Some black scholars once conducted research and believed that the existence of the "Lumpola" phenomenon was because the black sellers at the time did not know how miserable the slaves sold by him might encounter. I still think that the captains of the white slave ships were more morally responsible than the black chiefs of the "Lumpola" because they were more "evolved" and actually "understood".However, I have doubts about the above research results of black scholars.I suspect these black vendors will be less controlled by greed just because they are black. The existence of "Lumpola" actually proves that the division of good and evil, the inner struggle between human nature and animal nature, exists in any human race. It can be confirmed that another detail in the movie is also historically true.It was Xin Gai, the leader of the "Amstad" riot, who was kidnapped by his black neighbors on the way to his rice fields, and then forced to walk for three days to the coast of West Africa, where he was sold to "Lumbola". "Foreclosed. The slave supply of "Lumpola" was basically captured and provided by similar black kidnappers in the same way. Some whites and blacks, guided by the same greed, joined hands to bury their own kind.This is how a tragedy begins.In the scene on the slave ship in the movie, Spielberg is forcing human beings to understand themselves and how bestiality can be brought into full play. The historical basis of the scene of the slave ship in the movie is that during the nearly two-month voyage from West Africa to the Americas, more than one-third of the black people on the "Tigra" where Xin Gai was on board were in poor conditions. down to death.Moreover, such a "attrition rate" is not uncommon in the African slave trade for hundreds of years. It was already June when the Tegra reached the waters adjacent to Cuba.It feels like an almost endless voyage, finally approaching the end.However, the "Tigora" dropped anchor under the captain's order, and stopped quietly under the scorching sun of June.The captain didn't dare to go in rashly, he was still afraid.What is he afraid of? It was not the Spanish colonial authorities in Cuba that he feared, but the British.What's going on here?It is precisely because the Cuban authorities have only a "false law" to restrict the slave trade, and they do not seriously enforce the law at all.Therefore, the slave ship is still rampant.Under such circumstances, the British anti-slavery forces organized some ships to try their best to surround Cuba in the waters as close as possible to Cuba, and put on the momentum of "you don't catch us", which is indeed enough deterrence strength. Because according to the agreement between Britain and Spain in 1817, anyone who violated the ban on slave trade from Africa could be sentenced to the death penalty.Here, you must find that even a "false law" produced under pressure is a huge improvement over "no law" at all.Because, after all, such an opportunity may arise, according to the law, strive for a substantive, even if it is a small victory. The Tigra waited until nightfall.Then, quietly sneaked into the coast of Cuba.Xin Gai and other blacks were quickly unloaded from the boat and dragged into the bushes.After a period of nocturnal travel, he was locked up in a warehouse for more than ten days.On another June night, they were eventually taken to a slave market in Havana.Arriving here, the captain of the "Tigora" can finally breathe a sigh of relief.Because, in Cuba, although the import of slaves is illegal, the domestic slave trade is still legal.Moreover, Cuban officials have always turned a blind eye to the fact that a large number of illegally imported slaves are being sold in the domestic slave market. On one day in late June, the two Spanish protagonists of the "Armstad" incident appeared in the slave market in Havana.They were Montaign, who was fifty-eight, and Luiz, who was only twenty-five.They are two estate owners in another place called Pudo Principe in Cuba.They traveled together and came here from a long distance to buy in Havana.The problem is that their goods purchase list also includes such a "goods" as slaves. As I mentioned earlier, the slave markets in Havana, where illegally imported African slaves are sold daily, are an open secret in this country.Therefore, Montaigne and Luiz came to the door familiarly, and accompanied by the Portuguese captain of the "Tigra" who had just brought in the "fresh cargo", they walked into one of the courtyards of the slave market.Montai selected Xin Gai and dozens of other blacks who came on the same boat, a total of forty-nine, all male.Luiz, on the other hand, did not appear to have deep pockets, and he could not afford adult black male slaves, which cost $450 each.So he went to visit the yards belonging to several other captains, and eventually brought back four black children in their teens, three of whom were girls. After the money and goods were settled, they quickly went to the customs authorities in Havana to obtain a pass.On their passes, it was noted that the cargo they were traveling with included 53 "Black Latinos."What does it mean?Due to the long period of slavery, there have been a large number of blacks living here for a long time in Cuba, even blacks born in Cuba, so the local government recognizes that they are naturalized natives.Because the Spaniards are Latino, these blacks are called "Latino Negroes". It seems that this is just a simple proof of passage at sea.However, for these black identities, it is a substantive conceptual shift. If they are "immigrants" who have just arrived from Africa, then there is an issue of immigration status.Because at that time, there were no large numbers of normal immigrants from Africa at all.Therefore, their identity should be defined as victims who were illegally brought into Cuba by slave traders.However, after these two Spanish consignors had such a "cargo" certificate, all these blacks, according to Cuba's legal slavery, became "Latino blacks" who had lived here for a long time and became legal slaves.The process from people to "goods" is completed by this certificate. The identification of these black conditions should actually be extremely simple.However, precisely because the Slave Trade Act was a bogus law for Cuba, these officials could be very confident in illegally assisting buyers and sellers in the slave trade on this issue.Because they understand that they will not be investigated and dealt with by higher-level officials.Of course, these officials are more aware of the benefits of this pass to the "cargo owner", so they also lose no time in profiting from it.For the sake of legal integrity, on this pass, all blacks, like the real Latino blacks who have lived in Cuba for a long time, have a Spanish name. On June 28, 1839, when Montaigne and Louise escorted the 53 blacks onto the "Armstad" brig they rented, the drama of this incident officially began. The curtain has been drawn. This is a typical small transport ship built for transporting slaves offshore.Therefore, there are not many employees on board.The captain only took two sailors, both of whom were Spaniards, and this was considered the main force of the boat.At the same time, the captain also has a sixteen-year-old black slave who works as a handyman. He is a real black Latino with his own Spanish name, Antonio.In addition, there is a mulatto cook.Nearly $40,000 in cargo and provisions were also loaded on board. For Singhe and the blacks, it was the last leg of a long mile that had lasted more than two months.Afterwards, like countless black slaves who have experienced the same experience, they will be put into tropical sugar cane plantations and gradually become a "Latino black".Their descendants will never know what kind of land Africa is. However, as Spielberg successfully demonstrated in the "Armstad" movie, since these blacks were captured, they have been in extreme panic and panic from beginning to end. It is conceivable that no matter how many blacks were sold to America during these hundreds of years, no one ever returned.No one knows what happened to the blacks who boarded the decks of the slave ships and left the shore.Of course it was clear that there would be no good results, but no one knew exactly how bad it could be. So, for everyone else on the Amstad, it was just a normal excursion.However, for Xin Gai and his companions, the more they felt that they were approaching their final destination, the more they felt that disaster was approaching, and they could hardly bear this final mental pressure. No one thought that it was the cook on board who seemed the most irrelevant to the overall situation, who broke the last string of spiritual endurance of the black people. The cook was a mulatto.Traditionally, people regard mulatto people as black people.Therefore, it is reasonable that this cook should have more sympathy for the black people on the "Armstad".However, the fact happens that this is not the case. Xin Gai is a more caring person.He has been trying to find answers to his burning questions.When he was able to go up to the deck by chance, he seized the opportunity to gesture to the chef, asking how they would be treated after arriving at their destination.A mischievous idea suddenly came up, and the cook gave a sly grin, and then answered with a gesture of his hand: They will be killed, cured into bacon, dried, and eaten.Seeing the sudden change in Xin Gai's face, the cook thought that he had just successfully made a vicious joke.He didn't know that, in fact, he had already opened a road to hell for himself while making gestures. On July 1, 1839, it was already the night of the third day of sailing.Xin Gai decided to get rid of this fate of being slaughtered before arriving no matter what.This is the opening shot of the film "Armstad," a real stormy night in history without fiction.During the storm, Singay managed to break free from his chains, leading the Negroes to several boxes containing sugarcane knives in the ship's cargo.They waited until the early morning after the storm passed. In the darkness covered by dark clouds and the moon, after a brief struggle, the deck was dripping with scarlet blood. The movie's thrilling portrayal of this slave riot is not fictional, and there were casualties on both sides.The historical fact is that after fighting, the only two Spanish sailors knew that they would lose to a large number of blacks, so they were so scared that they jumped into the sea and disappeared.The captain and the cook were killed by blacks during the riot.When the captain resisted, he killed a black man.Several other black people were injured in the chaos.In the end, when the brig lost its pilot and was wandering on the cloud-covered black ocean like drunk, there were only three people left on the captain's side: the captain's little black slave Antonio, and several wounded Spanish consignors, Montai and Luiz. The survival of Monty and Louise was determined by the condition of the "Armstad" because the blacks had no driving experience.So the blacks kept the men under the knife, leaving them to steer the boat.Xin Gai pointed to the sun just like in the movie, and shouted in his own language: Go back to Africa! They only know that the direction of the sun is their hometown, and they are desperate to go home.Little did they know, the ship was not entirely sea-going, nor was it equipped for a long-distance journey at all when it set out.Fortunately, Meng Dai was lucky enough to survive, and he actually had sailing experience. But how did they come to America?It seems to be a dramatic plot in the movie, but what it tells is completely historically true: when two Spaniards were sailing a boat, they took advantage of blacks' ignorance of navigation.The moment they took over the steering, they made a decision in Spanish, which the blacks couldn't understand.Go to neighboring America for help. This decision comes naturally to them.They don't have any reason to go to distant Africa. Besides, the reason for their survival today is their driving skills. Once they arrive in Africa, why should they believe that they will not be killed?However, they could not disobey Xin Gai.So, they played a little trick.During the day, they headed towards the sun, and at night, they tried to turn the bow of the ship and approach the direction of the United States.It is such a weird way of walking two steps back and three steps, zigzagging this part of the voyage for two full months. The two-month voyage of the "Armstad" at sea can be called a real adventure.All the people could only use the limited supplies on the ship. Although it included the things that the two Spanish cargo owners purchased in Havana and planned to bring back to the manor, it was still far from enough.Therefore, after two months of difficult voyage, under the scorching heat, sickness and starvation, about ten more black people died on the way. I would like to remind you of a detail, that is, there is actually a black man on this ship who knows this sailing trick, and he is Antonio, the former captain's little black slave.Although he is also a black man and a slave, during the whole process, whether it is himself or the blacks, when "dividing camps", he is positioned on the side of the Spaniards.Therefore, throughout the voyage, he fully cooperated with the Spaniard's plan. You see in the movies, the tense scenes where they pass other ships.In the real incident, the "Amstad" did encounter other ships several times in the waters of the United States, and it was true that under the strict protection of the blacks, the two Spaniards never had a chance to call for help.However, some people who saw the "Armstad" were puzzled by the abnormal scene above and reported to the naval base near New York at that time.They have also sent two ships to look for the suspicious brig at sea.However, the sea is boundless, and the search has not yielded any results. In the end, the Spaniard's plan finally succeeded. It was already late August.One day, as I have already said, the Armstar anchored, exhausted, off Long Island, New York.In fact, this is not the first time that black people put down their small boats and seek supplies from the land.Because even if there is enough food on board, every opportunity must be used to replenish fresh water.However, in the past, they either used the night or were in some remote places.This time, the situation is obviously different. As soon as the black people in the boat landed, they met an American sailor named Green and his four sailor friends. The blacks in "Amstad" began to talk to them with gestures, willing to exchange the entire "Amstad" and the goods on board to send them to Africa.Green, on the other hand, was only thinking about how to benefit from this strange ship.The two sides agreed to make a decision the next day.When they discussed again the next day, they came into the watchful eye of a coastal defense member named Meade.Under the command of Meade's superior, Lieutenant Genie, he took the men aboard the "Armstad". The scene on the boat was horrifying.On the dilapidated and messy deck stood dozens of ragged or even naked black men, some armed with cane knives.They looked very horny, and there were even four black kids mixed in, who didn't look like they were twelve years old.Meade disarmed the blacks, and they did not resist.On the mottled body of the ship under long-term sun exposure, Mead can still vaguely read the name of the ship - "Armstad". Mead felt a little absurd, because he knew a little Spanish and knew that it meant "friendship". . The two Spaniards were not discovered until Meade's men inspected the cabin.Once on deck, they knelt and cried for help in Spanish.In the end, it was Luiz, who could speak English, who roughly told the story of the "black slave riot" on the "Armstad".Mead found that all blacks could only speak an unfamiliar vernacular.Therefore, he may hear only one of the two opposing parties.However, in any case, Meade could at least judge that this was not a ship in normal operation by any means.And it seems that something extraordinary happened on the ship involving a murder. So, after the arrival of reinforcements led by Lieutenant Gini, they took all the passengers of the "Amstad", together with the blacks in two small boats led by Xin Gai after returning from the beach, to the coast defense team. on board.During this process, Xin Gai did jump into the sea almost instinctively to try to escape as described in the movie, but he was finally exhausted and was pulled onto the boat again. At this time, there was another small episode.As you must remember, it happened on Long Island, New York.It stands to reason that as soon as the ship docks, it is New York.However, Lieutenant Genie of the Coast Guard ordered the ship to sail to Connecticut, which is adjacent to New York.Why does he want to stay away? It turns out that everyone who ate "Ocean Rice" at that time knew that there was such a "Maritime Rescue Bonus" agreement.Sea navigation was especially unsafe in that era.Not only because of the backwardness of various equipment and poor ability to withstand wind and waves, but also because of rampant pirates.Therefore, if someone can save a ship in distress at sea, the rescuer can get a part of the cargo on the ship as a reward according to law.The percentage of rewards is generally quite large.It should be said that this is also fair.Because not only the rescuer often has to take great risks, but also for the owner of the cargo, if there is no rescuer, he may lose all the cargo, and even his own life. Therefore, when things were basically calmed down, Lieutenant Genie had already started to think about it.Whether the ship was carrying much valuable cargo, he did not know.However, it was a slave ship, and there were black slaves on board, that was an obvious fact.In slavery, the slave was a part of the property of the master and was treated as "cargo" on the ship.Therefore, assuming that there is nothing of value on board, these dozens of black slaves are a huge fortune.Therefore, Lieutenant Genie immediately made a decisive decision and quickly took the fortune he had come across with great difficulty out of New York. why?This was the state of America that I mentioned earlier: the South was completely on the wrong side of slavery, and the North was making mixed progress on outright abolition legislation.此刻，纽约已是一个自由州，而同为北方的康乃迪克州，在北方属于废奴过程比较缓慢的。它是在“阿姆斯达”事件发生的九年之后，才立法彻底废奴的。所以，如果吉尼中尉和他的海防队想要得到的货物奖励中，也包括黑奴的话，他必须速速带着他们的“战利品”，离开自由的纽约。 美国在这个时候，奴隶制问题所造成的分裂与矛盾，已经到了非常严重的关口。因为，正如我前面向你谈到的，以极端南方为代表的坚持奴隶制的一方，已经一改在美国独立前后所表达的愿意顺应立国精神，逐步废奴的主张，转而坚决主张蓄奴。 南方也知道，转这么大的弯子，彻底与大家当初讲好的联盟基础背道而驰，是必须对美国这个“联盟”有所交代的。于是，就出现了所谓“后奴隶主义”的理论。 “后奴隶主义”说穿了其实很简单。就是它不再承认奴隶制与“自由平等”的立国精神相违背，也就不再需要承诺废奴。那么，从道理上怎么“顺”过来呢？他们采用的方式，就是把奴隶制彻底地与种族属性相联系。记得我以前告诉过你，北美的蓄奴历史上，有过大量的白人奴隶。然而现在，后奴隶主义者一口咬定奴隶就必须是黑人。 他们的依据就是“种族差异”。他们把黑人定位在半人半兽的位置上。他们宣称，黑人的种族禀性就是与白人不同的。他们天生野蛮，倾向于暴力，无法教化。因此，把他们留在奴隶的社会层次上是合适的，他们不适合享有自由。否则将会产生灾难性的后果，就象把野兽从笼子里放出来的道理是一样的。因此，他们辩称，奴隶制与美国自由平等的立国精神并不违背，因为，只有真正的人才能够享有自由平等，黑人并不在此范围之内。 现在看来，这和法西斯的理论差不多，几乎不值一驳。然而，在一百五十年前，这样的“理论”可以“振振有辞”地提出来，就是因为当时在整个世界范围内，大多数人对于种族差异的认知，都还有着极大的局限性。多元文化的概念还根本没有产生。“南蛮北夷”，“吃人生番”的讲法，在到处都很流行。你一定还记得我讲过的康有为遇到黑人的反应吧？对于种族差异的偏激反应，那个时候在多数地区都出现过，只是冲突的机会大小，程度的深浅不同而已。 问题是，美国南方提出这些论点的人，并不一定都是认知问题。相信有一些人仅仅是利用了当时大多数人程度不同的认知局限。而在那个时候，这种认知局限确实是普遍存在的的。比如，当时在美国，即使是在强烈反对奴隶制的北方，依然有大量的人认为，应该解放奴隶，这是毫无疑问的。可是，解放以后的黑人，则必须另外为他们找一个居住的地方，让他们自己生活。因为，许多人依然无法想象，如何与一群尚未“开化”的“野蛮人”共同相处，更不要说去想象给他们以同样的政治权利了。 结果，当时的“后奴隶主义”者，倒是很简单，理论也很“清楚”。然而，反对奴隶制的人们，反而显得十分复杂，他们的思考出发点各不相同，也有着各种各样的认知差异。原因就在于，在多元文化的概念诞生之前，人们实在不知道如何处理种族差异所带来的巨大的文化鸿沟。但是，有一个最基本的东西，在冥冥之中维系着这些背景不同，构成复杂，宗教信仰各异的反对奴隶制的人们，那就是他们对于起码人性的理解。这些人成为当时自由北方的基础。 在他们中间，有一批人是在反奴隶制的运动中站在最前沿的。他们被称为是激进的反奴隶主义者。这就是你在电影里将会看到的，那个为黑人辩护的律师的形象。 你设想一下就会发现，“阿姆斯达”是一个与美国毫无关系的事件。不管它上面发生了什么事情，都是古巴和西班牙人的事情。它漂来美国，也只是一个误入境的情况。它可能在美国根本无声无息，根据惯例，连人带船让古巴领回去，一切让他们自己去处理。海防队“海难救助奖金”的判定，也只不过是一个小法庭的小小民事案件，简简单单就可以解决。确实是这样，如果没有北方这批激进的反奴隶主义者，“阿姆斯达”事件将会是完全另一种面貌。 然而，历史注定了“阿姆斯达”事件将成为美国的一个里程碑案件。因为当时的美国南北双方，在奴隶制问题的“战场”上，已经开始了“寸土必争”的公开较量。每一个相关事件都会成为导火索。所以，“阿姆斯达”号的闯入，根本不可能被北方死守前线的激进反奴隶主义者“忽略过去”。 海防队的吉尼中尉，把他的“阿姆斯达”号俘虏带到了康乃迪克州一个叫做新伦敦的港口小城。有趣的是，当时美国虽然只成立了五十年，还是一个非常落后的农业国。然而，由于它的建国方式，致使它的许多基本状态已经和今天十分相象。例如，这些黑人一到，首先引起了当地新闻界的强烈骚动。各种报纸，不仅发出新闻性的报道，还就相关的奴隶制的问题，发出了种种评论。 这些反应都是必然的。一方面奴隶制问题已经成了当时美国的头号问题，另一方面，我前面提到过，在此九年之后，康乃迪克州就自己立法彻底废奴了。因此，这个州本身，当时也处在两种力量抗争的最后紧张阶段。因此，当你在电影中所看到的，这一群外海漂来的黑人，被押着走在小城的街上，无疑象是一块天外巨石，轰然砸向一片平静的水面。 使我感到非常有意思的部分是，尽管是发生在一百五十年前，它的处理程序却基本就象美国今天会产生的反应一样。在美国宪法的基本设计下，相关的各个部门，有条不紊地自动进入固定的程序，几乎一步都不会错。 虽然吉尼中尉出于自己的考虑，把人带到了远离纽约的小城新伦敦。可是，他还是必须按照程序，立即向位于纽约州纽黑文市的联邦海防队的上司报告。 海防队的官员的逻辑是这样的：尽管“阿姆斯达”号的乘客已经被带往新伦敦，但是，这并不是发生在这个小城的地方案件，因此，应该把案子交到联邦地区法庭，而不是交给州或市的地方法庭。同时，又由于涉案人都已带到属于康乃迪克州的新伦敦，所以，在选择报案法庭的时候，选择的应该是管辖并且也位于康乃迪克州的联邦地区法庭。 所以，案子就这样到了康乃迪克州的联邦地区法官裘迪森那里。裘迪森法官在接到报案之后，当天就前往新伦敦调查。司法的程序就这样开始启动了。 你已经看到，“阿姆斯达”号的乘客分为两个部分，一边是黑人，可是谁也听不懂他们的语言。另一边就是两名西班牙货主和原来属于船长的小黑奴安东尼奥。法官一开始只可能向一方取证。他们的供词是一致的：他们是在西班牙法律下，合法运送奴隶。运送过程中，奴隶非法劫持该船（这一条可涉及海盗罪），并涉嫌谋杀。 法官在无法取得另一方证词的情况下，先检查船上的合法文件。古巴当局发给蒙岱和路易兹的通行证，也从书面上支持了他们的基本供词。就是他们合法拥有这些奴隶，合法运送。 这样，法官初步判断，黑人的首犯辛盖就可能是一个谋杀案的高危险嫌疑犯。在这时，裘迪森法官才命令将辛盖戴上镣铐，单独囚禁。历史记载上，在上镣的时候，辛盖显得很平静。他还笑了一笑，用手比划了一个被吊死的动作。你想想，对于辛盖，这不是太简单太明白了：这当然是最自然，甚至是唯一可能的结果。他杀了白人，抢了船，又落到了白人手里。不等着被吊死，还能等出什么别的结果来呢？ 两名西班牙货主提出，要求法官立即将“阿姆斯达”号，船上的货物，以及黑人送往波士顿的西班牙使馆，因为所有这一切，都是他们的财产。可是，法官迄今为止听到的只是“一面之词”，尽管听上去相当可信。然而，即使在一百五十年前，这样的单方面取证也是不能在美国作数。法官按照司法程序，不可能根据这样的“一面之词”就采取什么结论性的动作。 所以，裘迪森法官当时能够作出的决定只可能是：根据司法程序，法庭将会开庭，对两名西班牙人的财产申诉作出一个裁决。也将考虑是否应该对黑人提出海盗罪和谋杀罪的起诉。 然而，被告方的“不会说话”，始终是个大问题。当时已是八月底，裘迪森法官决定至少暂时把这39名黑人留到九月联邦巡回法庭大陪审团会议。对于没有参与暴动嫌疑的安东尼奥和四名黑人孩子，也必须作为证人确保到时候出庭，但是鉴于无人出面为他们签据保书，所以也只能暂时拘押。 同时，另一个申诉进入了此案的司法程序。就是吉尼中尉，代表参与“阿姆斯达”号救难行动的全体人员，基于“海难救助”的有关法律，对船上的货物提出分成要求。在这种情况下，一笔财产已经有了两个“主权申诉”者。所以，司法程序也已经限定了“阿姆斯达”号必须经过法庭裁定，才有可能“开出去”了。 当时，“阿姆斯达”号的嫌疑犯在新伦敦的关押地点，是海防队在码头的简陋的临时看守所，显然不可能这样关下去。所以，裘迪森法官决定，让海防队把他们送往队部所在的纽黑文市监狱。 就在执行这个转监命令的时候，正准备离开的裘迪森法官突然皱起了眉头，他注意到一个不正常的情况。当海防队员拿着哈瓦那当局签发的那份通行证，按照上面的西班牙姓名，大声地对黑人一一点名的时候，所有的黑人对“自己的名字”都一概毫无反应。 就在黑人们茫然地看着那些对他们大叫着什么的白人，感到莫名其妙和惊恐不已的时候，他们决不会想到，远在纽约，也有一群他们素不相识的白人，已经开始酝酿一个艰巨的营救计划。营救的目标，就是他们这些来自远方，在这里无亲无故的陌生黑人。 这封信太长，很抱歉只能先写到这里了。下一次再接着给你介绍“阿姆斯达”事件在美国的“重头戏”。盼来信！ wish it is good! Linda