Amistad/Amitie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

L' Amitie (French: "Friendship") was a three-masted, frigate of approximately 400 ton displacement in the late 18th century. The majority of records regarding the ship come from its participation in the eviction of the people who were to become the known as Cajuns. L' Amitie was the fifth of seven ships that took part in the exodus of Acadians to Louisiana in 1785. On August 20 of that year, under the command of Captain Joseph Beltremieux, it departed from the French port of Nantes carrying 68 families, a total of 270 Acadians, to Louisiana. They arrived at Lafourche on November 8, 1785. Six passengers died during the 80 day voyage after sickness spread through the ship.

The ship was called L' Amitie when it embarked from France, but was referred to as La Amistad when it disembarked in Louisiana, which was at that time a Spanish colony. Though L' Amitie was sometimes called by its Spanish name (and the two names have the same meaning) the tonnage of L' Amitie does not match the that of the smaller La Amistad, and the famous slavery case associated with that vessel took place in 1839, over fifty years after the transport of Acadians to Louisiana.

The other six vessels associated with the transport of Acadians to Louisiana are Le Bon Papa, La Bergere, Le Beaumont, Le Saint Remi, La Ville d'Arcangel, and La Caroline.