The Amistad Drama

Some of eastern Long Island's most amazing history is the result of the simple fact that it sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean. The story of the Amistad mutiny is a case in point.

A group of captives, abducted from Sierra Leone and destined to be sold into slavery, overcame the crew of the schooner Amistad off the coast of Cuba. Hoping to return home, they steered east during the day. During the night, however, the two crew members spared turned the boat north. Way off course, the Amistad finally anchored off Fort Pond Bay in Montauk. The year was 1839.

The captives turned captors were arrested and charged with mutiny and murder. The trial that followed in Connecticut, and the successful defense of the mutineers by former President John Quincy Adams, strengthened the abolitionist movement.

Until now, East Enders have been proprietary about the story of the Amistad. It was in Montauk, after all, that Cinque and his fellow Africans first stepped on United States soil. It was local history.

Recently, however, it's been hard to open a magazine or newspaper without reading about it. Steven Spielberg's movie opened this week on schedule, after a Federal District Court Judge refused to enjoin its opening as requested by Barbara Chase-Riboud. Ms. Chase-Riboud, the author of one of several books about the Amistad, is suing Dreamworks SKG, of which Mr. Spielberg is a partner, claiming the script used material she had copyrighted.

Whatever the outcome of the lawsuit, the film will help spread the story of this dramatic episode in the struggle for freedom to millions of Americans. That's as it should be.