Slave ship Clotilda: 5 quick facts ahead of Netflix documentary Descendant

Netflix's upcoming documentary about the slave ship Clotilda, titled Descendent, is set to premiere on October 21, 2022. The Margaret Brown-directed film will center around Clotilda, the last recorded vessel to bring enslaved people into the United States in 1860. The ship was discovered in a remote arm of Alabama's Mobile River after a year of intense search by marine archaeologists.Clotilda was captained by shipbuilder William Foster and brought about 110 African men, women, and children to Mobile from Benin in Africa. After the discovery of the ship, the Alabama Historical Commission said in a statement:&quot;Residents of Africatown have carried the memory of their ancestors who were forcefully and violently migrated from Africa to the shores of Alabama. Since then, the final chapter of the Clotilda story has been shrouded in mystery.&quot;Reel and Roll Films - Jupe &amp; Jobu Tupaki Freak@reelandrollMargaret Brown’s Descendant, out on Netflix this Friday, affirms the powerful capacity of the documentary form in its rectification of Black erasure by white America, through reclamation of Black history by descendants of the oppressed and silenced in Africatown, Alabama.284Margaret Brown’s Descendant, out on Netflix this Friday, affirms the powerful capacity of the documentary form in its rectification of Black erasure by white America, through reclamation of Black history by descendants of the oppressed and silenced in Africatown, Alabama. https://t.co/cEExyH7rLODescendant aims to rewrite the history of the community, which vehemently protested to reclaim its culture and show it in a new light. Ahead of the documentary's release, here are five quick facts about the slave ship Clotilda.Five facts about the slave ship Clotilda1) Clotilda was initially designed for the lumber tradeAla Historical Com@AlaHisComThursday, May 5, The Resolve dive team continued picking up disarticulated timbers from outside the wreck. The maritime archaeological team continued measuring and recording all the items that were recovered before submerging the timbers in the tank on the barge.#clotilda64Thursday, May 5, The Resolve dive team continued picking up disarticulated timbers from outside the wreck. The maritime archaeological team continued measuring and recording all the items that were recovered before submerging the timbers in the tank on the barge.#clotilda https://t.co/y921K40HKyAccording to sources, Clotilda was initially designed for the lumber trade by Timothy Meaher, a wealthy Mobile shipyard owner and steamboat captain. The Captain of Clotilda, William Foster, worked for Meaher when he carried out the assignment and brought the enslaved people to the United States.Moreover, the story of Clotilda allegedly began with a bet after Meaher bet several Northern businessmen a thousand dollars that he could smuggle a group of enslaved people into the United States under the nose of federal officers.2) Foster bought the enslaved people for $9,000After a war between tribes in West Africa, the King of Benin was willing to sell enemy prisoners as enslaved people. Foster carried $9,000 in gold and offered to pay $100 each for the 125 enslaved people he bought. Later, research revealed that they were originally Takpa people, a band of Yoruba people from the interiors of present-day Nigeria.3) Clotilda was the best-documented slave ship in the history(BA) Kupollee@bryanallyn_baThis is a book about the story of the last known slave ship to come to the US #Clotilda featured on #60Minutes tonight!227This is a book about the story of the last known slave ship to come to the US #Clotilda featured on #60Minutes tonight! https://t.co/4YhzVpspt9Despite its unfortunate history, this is the only slave ship that was wholly documented, bringing in a treasure trove of historical knowledge, previously unknown to people. Diouf, the author of Dreams of Africa in Alabama, said:&quot;It’s the best documented story of a slave voyage in the Western Hemisphere...The captives were sketched, interviewed, even filmed,...The person who organized the trip talked about it. The captain of the ship wrote about it. So we have the story from several perspectives. I haven’t seen anything of that sort anywhere else.&quot;4) The people traded in through Clotilda worked as enslaved people for the next five yearsNkechi Taifa@Nkechi_TaifaToday’s #HumanRightsandJustice topic is AfricaTown: Past, Present &amp; Future, featuring #Clotilda direct descendant Darron Patterson &amp; Dr Afia Zakiya, new ED of #AfricaTown Heritage Preservation Foundation! Listen live wpfwfm.org 5-6 (EST). ⁦@AfricanaCarr⁩12Today’s #HumanRightsandJustice topic is AfricaTown: Past, Present &amp; Future, featuring #Clotilda direct descendant Darron Patterson &amp; Dr Afia Zakiya, new ED of #AfricaTown Heritage Preservation Foundation! Listen live wpfwfm.org 5-6 (EST). ⁦@AfricanaCarr⁩ https://t.co/h3Hv8K97xRWith the American civil war in full flow, the Africans spent the next five years employed as enslaved people. It was only after the South won that they were freed. Unable to return home, many bought lands in and around the area giving birth to Africatown.5) Alabama was granted ownership of the shipwreckA Federal Judge awarded the ownership of the shipwreck of the Clotilda to the state of Alabama. This also means that the state will have a complete say about what to do with the ship and how to preserve it in the future.The upcoming documentary Descendant will premiere on Netflix on October 21, 2022.

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