[ HORNS HONKING ] [ HORN HONKS ] [ MEN SINGING "AMISTAD KATA KATA" ] UNTIL I CAME OUT WITH THAT PAMPHLET THAT WAS COMMISSIONED BY THE UNITED STATES INFORMATION SERVICE AND SO ON, NOBODY KNEW A THING.

NOBODY EVER KNEW A THING ABOUT IT.

[ SINGING CONTINUES ] A LOT OF PEOPLE CAME UP TO ME AND SAID, "THIS AMISTAD THING -- UM, I CAN'T REALLY BELIEVE THAT."

AND I SAID, "WELL, WHY NOT?"

AND THEY WOULD SAY, "WELL, IT'S TOO BIG."

[ SINGING CONTINUES ] THE STORY OF THE AMISTAD IS A STORY INSIDE A STORY.

IT IS A STORY THAT NEEDS TO BE TOLD FOR US TO UNDERSTAND THAT.

[ SINGING CONTINUES ] [ CONVERSING IN MENDE ] [ MEN SPEAKING MENDE ] WE ARE HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THIS REGION.

THIS IS PART OF A PROJECT ON A HISTORY OF THE AMISTAD REBELLION.

ALL OF THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS REBELLION WERE FROM THE GALLINAS REGION.

A LONG TIME AGO, IN THE ERA OF YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDFATHERS, IN SLAVERY TIMES, A GROUP OF PEOPLE WERE TAKEN FROM HERE TO LOMBOKO ON THE GALLINAS COAST AND PUT ON SLAVE SHIPS.

SOME OF THESE PEOPLE WERE CAPTURED IN A WAR, SOME WERE KIDNAPPED, AND THEY WERE SOLD TO KING SIAKA WHO THEN SOLD THEM TO A SPANISH SLAVE TRADER.

THESE PEOPLE WERE TAKEN TO CUBA, SOLD, THEN LOADED ON TO ANOTHER SHIP CALLED AMISTAD.

THESE MEN -- MOSTLY MEN, FOUR CHILDREN -- MADE A REVOLT ON BOARD THE SHIP AND CAPTURED IT.

THE SHIP SAILED TO THE NORTH, TO THE UNITED STATES, WHERE THEY WERE CAPTURED AND PUT IN JAIL.

THEY WENT TO COURT, AND THE QUESTION WAS, SHOULD THEY BE SENT AS SLAVES BACK TO CUBA, OR SHOULD THEY GAIN THEIR FREEDOM?

IT WAS A BIG SURPRISE -- THE AMERICAN COURT RULED THAT THEY SHOULD BE FREE.

EIGHT MONTHS LATER, THEY RETURNED TO FREETOWN, AND MANY OF THEM RETURNED TO THEIR FAMILIES.

THIS WAS A VERY BIG EVENT IN THE STRUGGLE AGAINST SLAVERY.

WE WANT TO KNOW IF YOU OR THE ELDERS KNOW ABOUT SENGBE PIEH...

I'M A TRADITIONAL HISTORIAN WHO WORKS WITH DOCUMENTS.

ALMOST ALL THE DOCUMENTS ABOUT THE AMISTAD CASE ARE HERE IN THE UNITED STATES.

SO, TO DO THE BOOK THAT I DID IN A FAIRLY TRADITIONAL WAY, IT DIDN'T REQUIRE A TRIP TO SIERRA LEONE.

HAVING STUDIED THE EVENT, I THEN KNEW THAT I HAD TO REALLY FIGURE OUT WHO THESE PEOPLE WERE.

WHERE HAD THEY COME FROM IN SIERRA LEONE?

WHAT WERE THEIR EXPERIENCES IN SIERRA LEONE?

WHAT KINDS OF THINGS HAD HAPPENED TO THEM BACK THERE THAT EQUIPPED THEM TO CAPTURE THE SLAVE SHIP?

BETWEEN 1750 AND 1850, SLAVERS FORCED A QUARTER OF A MILLION PEOPLE ABOARD SLAVE SHIPS IN THE PORTS OF SIERRA LEONE, GHOSTLY VESSELS FULL OF LOST SOULS BOUND FOR THE PLANTATIONS OF THE AMERICAS.

A PERSON VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT THAT COUNTRY, KONRAD TUCHSCHERER OF ST. JOHN'S UNIVERSITY, SAID, "LET'S TAKE THE BOOK TO SIERRA LEONE AND TALK TO PEOPLE THERE ABOUT IT."

IT WAS NEARLY 60 DAYS.

Rediker: WE RECRUITED HIS COLLEAGUE PHILIP MISEVICH, ANOTHER SIERRA LEONE SPECIALIST, TO JOIN US.

BOTH KONRAD AND PHIL HAD HELPED ME A GREAT DEAL IN WRITING THE BOOK, PUBLISHED IN 2012.

NOW THEY HELPED TO ORGANIZE OUR TRIP TO SIERRA LEONE.

WE HAVE A GUEST HOUSE IN WATERLOO?

YEAH, WE CAN SLEEP IN WATERLOO IF YOU WANT.

YOU CAN'T JUST SHOW UP THERE AND START THAT KIND OF WORK.

WE NEEDED CONNECTIONS.

WE NEEDED A CONNECTION TO SOMEONE LIKE TAZIFF KOROMA, LECTURER IN LINGUISTICS AT FOURAH BAY COLLEGE.

TAZIFF HIMSELF WAS FROM THIS REGION -- SOUTHERN SIERRA LEONE.

HE KNOWS ALL THE CHIEFS.

HE STAYS IN TOUCH WITH THEM.

WE CAME INTO A SITUATION IN WHICH WE WERE TRUSTED.

Misevich: TAZIFF IS AN AMAZING ON-THE-GROUND GUY.

HE KNOWS HOW TO ADDRESS PROBLEMS THAT COME UP IN THE MIDST OF FIELD WORK, WHICH ARE FREQUENT.

HE HAS ESSENTIALLY PLAYED SOME AND OFTEN A GREAT ROLE IN EVERY SCHOLAR WHO'S DONE SOME SORT OF WORK ON SIERRA LEONE FOR THE PAST, PROBABLY, THREE DECADES.

Rediker: WE WERE ALSO VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE TWO SKILLED AND KNOWLEDGEABLE DRIVERS, CHERNOR AND GIBRILLA, AND A VERY WELL-KNOWN FILMMAKER FROM FREETOWN NAMED IDRISS KPANGE.

[ FREETONG PLAYERS SINGING "FREETOWN" ] WOW.

GOOD LORD.

[ CHUCKLES ] [ LAUGHTER ] Man: YOU MIGHT STILL HAVE ONE.

[ SINGING CONTINUES ] Rediker: WE WENT TO SIERRA LEONE TO RECOVER A LOST HISTORY FROM BELOW.

WE WANTED TO DEEPEN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE UPRISING OF 1839, ESPECIALLY THE AMISTAD REBELS THEMSELVES.

WE WANTED TO MAKE THEM REAL AS PEOPLE, AS MAKERS OF HISTORY.

WE WANTED A VISUAL SENSE OF THE COUNTRYSIDE, A FEELING FOR PLACE, THEIR PLACE, THEIR WORLD BEFORE THE ORDEAL OF ENSLAVEMENT.

WE WANTED TO RESTORE THE ESSENTIAL AFRICAN SIDE OF THE STORY.

THAT WAS OUR OBJECTIVE.

WE WANTED TO FIND LOMBOKO, THE SLAVE-TRADING FACTORY WHERE THE GHASTLY VOYAGE INTO SLAVERY BEGAN, AND WE WANTED TO FIND THE HOME VILLAGES OF THE AMISTAD AFRICANS.

EVERY TIME WE WENT TO A NEW REGION, WE HAD TO GET AUTHORIZATION TO SPEAK TO PEOPLE FROM A PARAMOUNT CHIEF AND A SECTION CHIEF.

THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR WELL-BEING AS VISITORS, AND THEY NEEDED TO KNOW OUR PURPOSES.

AS WE SHOWED RESPECT FOR THE CHIEFS AND SOUGHT THEIR GOODWILL, WE WERE, IN FACT, SHOWING RESPECT TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE REGION.

EVEN THOUGH WE HAD CREDIBILITY GIVEN TO US BY TAZIFF, AND EVEN THOUGH WE HAD THE PERMISSION OF VARIOUS CHIEFS TO BE THERE, WE WERE STILL UNCERTAIN HOW WE WOULD BE RECEIVED WHEN THIS GROUP OF OUTSIDERS ROLLED INTO A VILLAGE WITH MANY QUESTIONS.

DISCUSSIONS WITH THE ELDERS WERE CHALLENGING.

WE HAD TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPLEXITIES OF MENDE CULTURE AND APPROACH THEM ACCORDINGLY.

SO, WE'RE INTERESTED IN THE HISTORY OF THIS VILLAGE... Koroma: [ SPEAKING MENDE ] Misevich: WE HAD ALL BEEN TALKING ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO ASK WHAT WE OFTEN CALL THESE KIND OF OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS.

YOU KNOW, INSTEAD OF SAYING, "WE WANT TO TALK RIGHT ABOUT THE AMISTAD" -- TAZIFF WAS GREAT, IN PARTICULAR IN THIS CASE.

YOU START WITH QUESTIONS LIKE, "WELL, TELL ME ABOUT THE HISTORY OF YOUR TOWN.

TELL ME ABOUT THE LEADERS WHO FOUNDED THE TOWN."

AND IF YOU CAN GET THEM TO GIVE UP INFORMATION THAT COINCIDES WITH, THAT SUPPORTS THE EVIDENCE FROM THE AMISTAD CASE, THAT'S A SUREFIRE WAY OF BUILDING UP A STRONGER CASE OF EVIDENCE.

BUT IF YOU FEED THEM INFORMATION, YOU'RE NEVER REALLY SURE WHETHER THEY'RE TELLING YOU WHAT THEY THINK YOU WANT TO HEAR OR SOMETHING ELSE ENTIRELY.

Rediker: WE WERE IN SEARCH OF SENGBE'S HOME VILLAGE, AND KONRAD HAD THE EXCEPTIONAL IDEA THAT HE SHOULD TALK TO PEOPLE WHO REALLY KNEW THIS COUNTRY BY DRIVING AROUND IN IT.

Tuchscherer: WE CONSULTED LORRY DRIVERS AND TOOK A MAP, WENT TO A LOCAL STATION IN KENEMA, AND HAD THE HELP OF SOME 20 LORRY DRIVERS WHO ALL, YOU KNOW, PUT THE POINTS FOR US AND SHOWED US WHERE WE WOULD LOOK.

Rediker: AND I THINK THIS WAS ACTUALLY THE KEY TO FIGURING OUT WHICH REGION SENGBE CAME FROM.

WE STILL HAVE MORE WORK TO DO ON THIS, BUT I DO FEEL THAT WE ELIMINATED SOME OF THE OTHER SITES OF THE SAME NAME AND THAT WE WERE REALLY IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

[ GOAT BLEATING ] [ SPEAKING MENDE ] [ SPEAKING MENDE ] DOES SHE KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THIS MAN EVENTUALLY?

WHAT DID SHE SAY?

Koroma: SHE SAID THAT... Rediker: THE REGION WHERE WE WERE TRAVELING WAS A HOT SPOT FOR THE CIVIL WAR IN SIERRA LEONE BETWEEN 1991 AND 2002, AND IN FACT, WE SAW THE EFFECTS OF THIS DAILY.

WE SAW IT IN VILLAGE POVERTY, IN RECENTLY FILLED CEMETERIES, EVEN IN THE ROADS, WHICH WERE RUTTED AND BOMBED OUT TO PREVENT THE TRANSPORT OF GOVERNMENT TROOPS.

LONG-STANDING POVERTY CAUSED BY THE SLAVE TRADE AND BRITISH IMPERIALISM HAD BEEN MADE WORSE BY WAR.

IT WAS HOT.

WE WERE ON THE ROAD VERY LONG HOURS.

AND AT TIMES, WE HAD GREAT FRUSTRATION BECAUSE WE COULDN'T FIND WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR.

[ CONVERSING IN MENDE ] MM-HMM.

Man: NO, NO, NO.

NOT POSSIBLE.

YEAH.

SO WE'LL GO TO DARU.

THAT SOUNDS GOOD.

OKAY.

Tuchscherer: WE'RE GOING TO PAY A QUICK VISIT TO THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF.

SO, JUST YOU GOING?

NO, WE ALL -- HE WANTS ALL OF US TO GO.

THERE'S NO WAY TO DENY THAT REQUEST.

HE'S -- THE PARAMOUNT CHIEF'S HERE IN SEGBWEMA, TOO.

THERE WAS NO WAY OUR MAP READING WAS GOING TO BE ANYTHING OTHER THAN A COMMUNAL EVENT.

I...YEP.

SO, UH, WE -- WE LEARNED SOMETHING.

Rediker: SENGBE'S VILLAGE HAD BEEN COMPLETELY DESTROYED BY THE WARS OF SLAVERY TIMES, SO WE WERE EAGER TO ASK PEOPLE ABOUT A PLACE AN AMERICAN SCRIBE WROTE DOWN AS "MANI."

THANK YOU FOR GREETING US IN YOUR VILLAGE.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] [ APPLAUSE ] DID ANYONE EVER HEAR OF A VILLAGE AROUND HERE THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN DESTROYED IN WAR CALLED MANI?

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] FEBRUARY.

Rediker: THIS BRINGS TO MIND THE FAMOUS WORDS SPOKEN BY THE AFRICAN SAGE AMADOU HAMPâTé Bâ -- "IN AFRICA, WHEN AN ELDER DIES, A LIBRARY BURNS DOWN."

BUT IF THEY HAD KNOWN ANYTHING HERE THAT MADE US THINK THIS WAS THE REGION, BUT THERE WAS NOTHING.

THERE WAS NOTHING.

IT'S CLEAR THIS IS A RELATIVELY NEW TOWN.

WHEN THEY WERE RECITING THE GENEALOGY, IT WENT ABOUT THREE GENERATIONS.

PHIL HAD BROUGHT A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE TO THIS PROJECT, BECAUSE HE UNDERSTANDS HOW AFRICAN NAMES ARE OFTEN TRANSCRIBED, AND NOT JUST TRANSCRIBED BY OUTSIDERS BUT TRANSCRIBED BY OUTSIDERS ACCORDING TO WHERE THEY COME FROM AND WHAT KINDS OF TRADITIONS OF TRANSCRIPTION THEY HAVE IN THEIR HOME COUNTRIES.

AND I THINK THAT, FOR OTHERS, THEY MIGHT MISS THOSE THINGS IF THEY DON'T HAVE A DEEP KNOWLEDGE OF MENDE.

RIGHT.

SO, WHAT TAZIFF WOULD FREQUENTLY DO IS SOUND OUT THE NAME SEVERAL DIFFERENT WAYS.

IT COULD BE THIS.

IT COULD BE THAT.

KARAMBU OR KARAMBO OR KURABO.

BUNGE OR BONGE.

MANI OR MAINA.

MAINA.

MAINA IS HERE?

Rediker: WE CONDUCTED NUMEROUS INTERVIEWS IN THE GALLINAS REGION.

THIS WAS THE HOME, THE SEAT OF POWER, OF THE GREAT VAI KING SIAKA, THE LEADING SLAVE TRADER IN THE ENTIRE REGION.

SO, I'LL BEGIN NOW IN A SYSTEMATIC ORDER.

OH!

[ MAN LAUGHS ] OKAY.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] OKAY.

[ CHUCKLES ] BY...?

TAZIFF, COULD YOU SAY SOMETHING ABOUT WHY THOSE PEOPLE WERE SO SUSPICIOUS OF US?

BECAUSE THEY DID TALK TO US, BUT THERE WAS A TENSION THERE THAT WE DIDN'T FIND, REALLY, ANYWHERE ELSE.

WHICH IS STILL A POWERFUL FAMILY.

YEAH.

HOW DOES -- HOW DO THE PEOPLE OF THIS VILLAGE FEEL ABOUT KING SIAKA?

[ ALL CHUCKLE ] OKAY.

Rediker: WHAT WE FOUND IN THE VILLAGE OF BLAMA IS A CANNON THAT WAS SENT HERE BY KING SIAKA IN ORDER TO FORTIFY THIS VILLAGE.

HE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN THIS CANNON FROM PEDRO BLANCO.

SO THIS CANNON PROBABLY GOES BACK TO THE 1830s, RIGHT AROUND THE TIME THAT THE AMISTAD AFRICANS WERE CAPTURED AND SHIPPED OUT OF LOMBOKO, WHICH WAS OWNED BY PEDRO BLANCO, THE MAN WHO PROVIDED THIS CANNON.

SO, THIS DEMONSTRATES THE DYNAMICS OF THE TRADE.

ASK THE SPEAKER IF THERE ARE ANY OTHER THINGS IN THE VILLAGE FROM KING SIAKA'S TIME.

OH!

INTERESTING.

INTERESTING.

THE PROVERB -- YOU SHOULD -- YOU SHOULD TELL IT.

TELL THIS MAN RIGHT HERE THE PROVERB.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] Rediker: IT IS AN ANCIENT TRADITION IN MANY PARTS OF AFRICA FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO COME IN SEARCH OF SOMETHING TO PROVIDE A GIFT TO THOSE THEY VISIT.

IT IS A COURTESY.

IT SHOWS RESPECT FOR KNOWLEDGE AND APPRECIATION FOR THEIR WILLINGNESS TO SHARE IT WITH US.

IT ALSO SENT A MESSAGE TO ALL OF THE YOUNGER PEOPLE OF THE VILLAGE.

"LOOK AT THESE PEOPLE WHO HAVE COME SUCH A GREAT DISTANCE TO SPEAK TO OUR ELDERS."

Misevich: GENDEMA, WHICH WAS THE SEAT OF SIAKA'S SORT OF EMPIRE, WAS INCREDIBLY WEALTHY BASED OFF OF THE SLAVE TRADE.

AND ONE OF THE INTERESTING POINTS ABOUT VISITING IT NOW -- IT WAS -- I MEAN, IT WAS SO INACCESSIBLE.

ROADS THAT WERE VIRTUALLY CLOSED, DRIVING THROUGH HIGH GRASSLAND AREA WHERE YOU COULDN'T EVEN SEE THE ROAD AHEAD OF YOU, AND UPON ARRIVAL, JUST THE -- I MEAN, THE ABSOLUTE FEELING OF POVERTY IN THAT AREA.

NOW, PART OF THAT, OF COURSE, IS FROM THE MORE RECENT CIVIL WAR, BUT I THINK THERE'S A DEEPER STORY TO BE TOLD ABOUT THE TRANSITION AWAY FROM THE SLAVE TRADE IN THE 19th CENTURY, WHICH ULTIMATELY LED TOWARD THE DECLINE OF GENDEMA.

Rediker: WE ARE IN A PLACE THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE AMISTAD STORY AT THIS MOMENT.

THIS IS REALLY THE CENTER OF POWER FOR THE SLAVE TRADE AS IT EXISTED IN 1839.

KING SIAKA'S ARMIES WOULD GO OUT INTO DIFFERENT REGIONS.

THEY WOULD CAPTURE ENTIRE VILLAGES.

THEY WOULD ALL END UP AT LOMBOKO.

AND AS HE EXPANDED HIS EMPIRE INTO THE INTERIOR IN THE 1830s, THIS IS THE POINT AT WHICH THOSE PEOPLE WHO WOULD EVENTUALLY BE ON THE AMISTAD WERE CAUGHT IN ITS CATCHMENT AREA.

[ CHICKENS CLUCKING ] [ MAN SPEAKING MENDE ] Tuchscherer: GENDEMA -- THE FAMOUS GENDEMA -- WAS DESOLATE, AND TO SEE KING SIAKA'S GRAVE OVERGROWN... [ MAN SPEAKING MENDE ] Rediker: AS KING SIAKA EXPANDED HIS INFLUENCE, HE CAME INTO CONFLICT WITH OTHER CHIEFS.

ONE OF THEM WAS HIS OWN STEPSON, AMALAU.

SENGBE AND AT LEAST ONE OTHER MAN AMONG THE AMISTAD AFRICANS FOUGHT WITH AMALAU AGAINST SIAKA.

[ MAN SPEAKING MENDE ] Koroma: YOU HAVE TO WALK.

YOU HAVE GOOD SHOES.

[ REDIKER LAUGHS ] Koroma: YOU ALSO HAVE GOOD SHOES.

I DON'T HAVE GOOD SHOES.

Rediker: IN DOING HISTORY FROM BELOW, WHAT I ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW IS HOW DO WORKING-CLASS PEOPLE EXPERIENCE HISTORY, HOW DO THEY SHAPE IT, HOW DO THEY CONTRIBUTE TO THE ACTIVE MAKING OF HISTORY?

AND THE AMISTAD CASE IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF THAT.

CAPTURING A SLAVE SHIP WAS VERY HARD TO DO.

HUNDREDS UPON HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE HAD TRIED TO DO THAT, AND THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THEM FAILED.

SO, WHY WERE THEY SUCCESSFUL?

HOW DID THEY DO IT?

SO, THE VERY FIRST THING THEY WOULD HAVE DONE IS TO ELECT A LEADER.

Rediker: PROFESSOR ERNEST NDOMAHINA IS A SENIOR MEMBER OF THE WUNDE, THE MENDE SECRET WARRIOR SOCIETY, AND A REPOSITORY OF EXTRAORDINARY KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE CULTURE OF MENDE WARRIORS.

THEY COULD HAVE ASKED QUESTIONS AROUND.

SO, "WHO AMONG US HAS ANY WAR EXPERIENCE?"

WHAT WOULD BE THE QUALITIES OR THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A GREAT MENDE WARRIOR?

Mustapha: [ SPEAKING MENDE ] WHATEVER DECISION YOU TAKE... Koroma: YOU DON'T REVERSE IT.

...YOU DON'T REVERSE IT AT ALL.

OKAY.

LIKE, EVEN THIS LAST WAR THAT WE -- IN SIERRA LEONE -- WE ARE HAVING SOME MUSLIMS THAT THEY CAN GO AND... MAKE THESE CHARMS.

CHARMS.

CULTURAL PERFORMANCES ON YOUR BODY, ON A SHIRT.

THEY GIVE YOU SOME CERTAIN THINGS IF YOU HAVE IT.

THEY CAN EVEN POINT GUN AT YOU.

NOTHING WILL HAPPEN TO YOU.

MM-HMM.

SO, FIRST, IN THE OLDEN DAYS, THEY WERE HAVING ALMOST THE SAME THING.

Rediker: THE MOST EXPERIENCED PERSON IN WAR WOULD BE CHOSEN AS THE LEADER?

AS THE LEADER.

YES.

WELL, THIS WAS SENGBE.

HE WAS THE LEADER OF THE REBELLION FROM THE FIRST MOMENT.

Rediker: WHAT DOES CHIEF WAMIN SEE IN THIS IMAGE?

WHAT DOES HE THINK ABOUT THIS MAN?

Mustapha: THEY FEEL SO HAPPY AND PROUD WHENEVER THEY SEE SUCH A MAN.

ALTHOUGH HE'S NOT ALIVE NOW, BUT WE FEEL PROUD OF HIM.

ALL OF THE HISTORICAL EVIDENCE SAYS THAT SENGBE WAS A GREAT SPEAKER.

YEAH.

A GREAT ORATOR.

AND SOMETIMES, HE WOULD SPEAK BEFORE A GREAT CROWD OF AMERICANS... [ SPEAKING MENDE ] ...AND HE WOULD SPEAK IN MENDE... AND EVEN THOUGH THE AMERICANS COULDN'T UNDERSTAND HIM, THEY STILL SAID HE WAS A GREAT SPEAKER.

[ LAUGHS ] [ SPEAKING MENDE ] THAT IS AN ASSUMPTION YOU'RE MAKING.

THE GBANDI, THE GOLA -- THEY WILL SPEAK MENDE.

THE SHERBROS WILL SPEAK MENDE ALL RIGHT, AND SOME KONOS WILL SPEAK MENDE.

BUT THERE IS ONE OTHER COMMON STRAND YOU'VE NOT SEEN.

THEY ARE ALL MEMBERS OF THE PORO.

BEING A MEMBER OF THE PORO SOCIETY -- IS A SECRET SOCIETY, BUT IT GOES ACROSS TRIBES.

AND ALL THE TRIBES YOU'VE CALLED ALL HAVE IT.

THEY ALSO HAD CERTAIN THINGS IN COMMON.

THE SECRECY, THE OATH, AND THE LOYALTY TO THAT SECRET SOCIETY COULD HAVE BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

IT GOES ACROSS THE TRIBES.

INDEPENDENT OF -- Ndomahina: NO, NOT REALLY.

NOT THE AMISTAD STORY AS SUCH.

BUT IT IS KNOWN THAT THERE ARE WARRIORS THAT WERE CAPTURED AND CAME BACK.

[ BELL RINGING ] Rediker: WHEN OUR DISCUSSION IN FOLU BEGAN, WE KNEW WE WERE IN A VERY GOOD PLACE.

AND IN FACT, WE COULD HAVE PREDICTED THAT THIS WAS OUR MOST LIKELY SITE OF SUCCESS, BECAUSE WE HAD TWO PEOPLE WHO CAME FROM THIS VILLAGE, AND AT LEAST ONE, PROBABLY TWO, RETURNED AFTER THE AMISTAD AFRICANS CAME BACK TO SIERRA LEONE IN 1842.

SO, THAT MEANT THERE WAS A GREATER LIKELIHOOD THAT THERE WOULD BE SURVIVING STORIES.

TAZIFF ASKED THE QUESTION ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THIS VILLAGE.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] AND WE HAD IN THE RECORD THAT BOTH OF THE AMISTAD AFRICANS HAD SAID THAT THEIR KING WAS NAMED BOHBOH.

SO, AT THAT MOMENT, I KNEW WE WERE IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

NOW, WE HAD NOT YET TOLD THE PEOPLE THERE THAT THIS IS WHY WE WERE INTERESTED, NOR THAT WE HAD THIS PARTICULAR WARRIOR KING IN MIND.

TWO OF THE MEN WHO MADE THE REVOLT... [ SPEAKING MENDE ] ...WERE FROM THIS VILLAGE.

THE FIRST MAN NAMED GILAWARU.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] GLARU.

GLARU.

IT'S GLARU.

THE SECOND MAN'S NAME IS FABANA.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] FABA.

FABA.

A COUPLE MORE FACTS.

FIRST, WHEN THESE TWO MEN WERE ASKED WHO THEY WERE... [ SPEAKING MENDE ] ...THEY SAID -- BOTH SAID, "WE ARE FOLU... WE ARE FROM FOLU, AND OUR KING IS BOHBOH."

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] THIS IS WHAT THEY SAID IN AMERICA.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] Rediker: WHEN WE DID GET TO THAT POINT, IT WAS THIS ELECTRICAL CURRENT THROUGH THE ENTIRE GROUP, AND I WILL NEVER FORGET THE LOOK ON THAT ELDER'S FACE.

HIS FACE LIT UP WITH THE RECOGNITION THAT THIS WAS ONE OF THEIR PEOPLE.

BECAUSE THEY HAD A COMMON KING, AND THIS IS THE AFRICAN WAY OF RECKONING HISTORY, OF REMEMBERING THE HISTORY.

ALSO VERY IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT THESE MEN CAME BACK TO FREETOWN.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] AND THEN WE THINK THEY CAME BACK TO THIS VILLAGE AFTER THEY RETURNED TO SIERRA LEONE.

SO, WE WOULD LIKE TO KNOW... [ SPEAKING MENDE ] ...IF ANYTHING IS REMEMBERED ABOUT THEM FROM EITHER BEFORE THEY LEFT HERE OR AFTER THEY RETURNED.

OKAY.

CAN I GIVE THEM SOME MORE INFORMATION?

GLARU WAS A VERY IMPORTANT MAN AMONG THE AMISTAD AFRICANS.

SECOND MOST IMPORTANT AFTER SENGBE.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] [ CONVERSING IN MENDE ] HE HAD WORKED AS A TRADER AND TRAVELED VERY WIDELY AROUND THIS AREA.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] OKAY.

SPOKE GOLA, KISSI, VAI -- MANY LANGUAGES.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] KISSI, VAI.

ALL THE LANGUAGES OF THE REGION.

[ CONVERSING IN MENDE ] AH, HE REMEMBERS THAT HE CAME BACK.

THE WHITE MEN TOOK HIM A LONG TIME.

THEY SAID, "YOU NOW JOIN US."

THAT IS HIS PEOPLE, HIS FAMILY CALL HIM JOHNNY.

A NEW NAME.

WAS A TRADER.

HE TRAVELED WIDELY.

HE WOULD SPEAK KISSI, GOLA, VAI, EVEN ENGLISH.

BROKEN ENGLISH.

I HAD ASKED TAZIFF HOW DID IT HAPPEN THAT SOMEONE GOT A NEW NAME.

AND HE SAID THE COMMUNITY WILL GIVE SOMEONE A NEW NAME, ESPECIALLY AFTER A NEW SET OF EXPERIENCES BY WHICH HE SEEMS TO HAVE BEEN CHANGED.

SO, HAVING LIVED AMONG ENGLISH-SPEAKING PEOPLE, AN ENGLISH NAME WAS CHOSEN.

JOHNNY.

WOULD THE ELDER LADY LIKE TO SAY ANYTHING?

HAS SHE HEARD OF JOHNNY?

JOHNNY IS HER GRANDFATHER?

SHE IS DESCENDED FROM JOHNNY.

I CAN SHOW PEOPLE A PICTURE OF HIM.

[ CONVERSING IN MENDE ] I'M GOING TO SHOW THE -- LET ME SHOW THE -- WHICH ONE?

IN THE MIDDLE RIGHT HERE.

THIS IS THE MAN RIGHT HERE.

THIS IS THE MAN.

HE WAS SHORT, AND HE WAS VERY... LET ME SHOW EVERYBODY ELSE.

THIS MAN RIGHT HERE FROM THIS VILLAGE.

FROM THIS VILLAGE.

THIS WAY, THIS WAY!

Koroma: OKAY, OKAY, OKAY.

THIS MAN -- THIS RIGHT HERE.

THIS MAN FROM THIS VILLAGE.

Rediker: IN MENDE CULTURE, ANCESTORS LOOM VERY LARGE.

THE SPIRITS OF ANCESTORS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE ALIVE AND PRESENT, LITERALLY ON THE LANDSCAPE, PART OF EVERYDAY LIFE.

AND I REALIZED THAT IN TALKING ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THIS MAN WHO HAD BEEN PART OF THE VILLAGE, IN RECOUNTING HIS HISTORY FROM SOURCES THAT THEY COULD NOT HAVE KNOWN, WE WERE, IN A WAY, BRINGING AN ANCESTOR HOME.

OR AT LEAST WE WERE BRINGING THAT ANCESTOR'S HISTORY.

AND THIS WAS SOMETHING THEY SEEMED TO VALUE IN A VERY IMPORTANT WAY.

YOU ARE ALL PART OF OUR HISTORY.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] I DON'T UNDERSTAND.

Rediker: AND IN THAT MOMENT, I FELT THAT THE GHOST OF RACE AND SLAVERY AND COLONIALISM WAS LITERALLY HOVERING JUST ABOVE OUR HEADS.

NO, NO, NO.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] I'M A TEACHER.

Rediker: THAT HE WOULD WORRY ABOUT THIS EVENT THAT TOOK PLACE MORE THAN 170 YEARS AGO, THAT THERE MIGHT SOMEHOW BE CONSEQUENCES, NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES, PUNISHMENTS FOR HIM AND HIS VILLAGE IN THE PRESENT -- I THOUGHT THAT WAS A POWERFUL STATEMENT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF SIERRA LEONE.

[ CONVERSING IN MENDE ] [ LAUGHTER ] YES, BOHBOH.

IN MANY CASES, IT WAS DISAPPOINTING THAT THERE WASN'T MUCH MEMORY OF THE AMISTAD CASE OR EVEN OF WHAT THEY CALL SLAVERY TIMES.

DO YOU THINK CONTEMPORARY GENERATIONS KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT THE SLAVE TRADE?

THEY DON'T.

YOUR OWN GENERATION.

MY OWN GENERATION -- NO, THEY DON'T.

THAT HASN'T CONTINUED?

NO, NO, NO.

IT DOESN'T CONTINUE.

THERE'S A SAYING THAT, "IF YOU WANT TO HIDE SOMETHING FROM AN AFRICAN, PUT IT IN A BOOK."

[ CHUCKLES ] ARE THERE REASONS TO THINK THAT PEOPLE SHOULD BE STUDYING THE HISTORY OF THE SLAVE TRADE?

THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST EVENTS IN HUMAN HISTORY.

IT'S GREAT -- ITS LEGACY AND RAMIFICATIONS ARE WITH US AND ARE GOING TO BE AROUND FOR A VERY LONG TIME TO COME.

Rediker: THE BRITISH FORTRESS ON BUNCE ISLAND OFF SIERRA LEONE IS ONE OF MANY MONUMENTAL SLAVE-TRADING FORTRESSES THAT DOT THE COAST OF WEST AFRICA.

IT IS HAUNTED BY THE SPIRITS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO, IN UTTER TERROR, PASSED THROUGH.

FOR ALMOST ALL OF THEM, THIS WAS THE LAST PLACE THEY WOULD EVER STAND ON AFRICAN SOIL BEFORE THEY WERE LOADED ONTO SLAVE SHIPS AND CARRIED TO SOUTH CAROLINA, CUBA, OR BRAZIL.

THE FORTRESS ON BUNCE ISLAND SYMBOLIZES THE MOMENT WHEN THE SLAVE TRADE WAS A LEGAL, LUCRATIVE BUSINESS THAT ACTUALLY DROVE THE ATLANTIC ECONOMY FOR A COUPLE OF CENTURIES, PROVIDING THE BODIES WHOSE LABORS ON NEW WORLD PLANTATIONS WOULD CREATE UNIMAGINABLE WEALTH.

THE BASIS OF THE SLAVE TRADE WAS VIOLENCE AND TERROR, USED TO TRANSPORT PEOPLE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC AND LITERALLY TO DEHUMANIZE THEM, TO TRANSFORM THEM INTO PROPERTY AS SLAVES.

THE VIOLENCE IN AFRICA, ON THE MIDDLE PASSAGE, AND IN THE AMERICAS KILLED MILLIONS.

A MORAL RECKONING WITH THE SLAVE TRADE REQUIRES US TO THINK ABOUT THE MASS DEATH THAT CHARACTERIZED THIS PROLONGED AND HORRIFIC PHASE OF WORLD HISTORY.

WE WANTED TO FIND LOMBOKO, A SLAVE-TRADING FACTORY WHERE ALL THE REBELS WERE INCARCERATED BEFORE THEY WERE LOADED ONTO SLAVE SHIPS.

OTHER RESEARCHERS HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR IT FOR NEARLY HALF A CENTURY.

WE WANTED TO EXPERIENCE THAT PLACE.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] OKAY.

LET'S GO.

Rediker: WE SPENT THE DAYS IN SOUTHERN SIERRA LEONE HEARING FROM VARIOUS ELDERS THAT OUR HOPES OF FINDING LOMBOKO WERE FUTILE.

AND WE WERE DISCOURAGED.

WE STOPPED IN A SMALL VILLAGE, AND TAZIFF GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND BEGAN TO ASK PEOPLE...

...IF THEY'D HEARD OF THIS PLACE.

WHAT DID THEY FIND?

AND THEY LOOK AROUND.

AND THE ISLAND ITSELF IS CALLED LOMBOKO?

YOMBOKO.

JOMBOKO.

WELL, UM, CAN WE GO THERE?

[ CONVERSING IN MENDE ] [ LAUGHTER ] [ LAUGHTER ] Misevich: WELL, I DON'T THINK IT WAS WISE THAT THE THREE OF US CLIMBED IN THE SAME CANOE, GIVEN OUR COMBINED WEIGHT.

BUT WE MANAGED.

Rediker: THE PLACE WAS DESIGNED TO BE HARD TO FIND BY PEDRO BLANCO, BUT IT WAS THIS MAZE OF MANGROVE ROOTS.

AND YOU TURN HERE AND YOU TURN THERE.

Tuchscherer: IT WAS EXCITING.

WE WERE TAKING ON WATER AT ONE POINT.

WE DIDN'T ALMOST SINK, BUT WE DIDN'T QUITE FLOATT.

[ CHUCKLES ] [ INDISTINCT CONVERSATION ] Rediker: IT HAD TAKEN US ALMOST AN HOUR BY CANOE TO GET FROM THE RIVERBANK NEAR THE VILLAGE TO THE ACTUAL ISLAND.

Man: JOMBOKO.

THIS IS IT?

YES.

JOMBOKO.

TO CREATE A BEACH FOR LANDING.

Rediker: WHEN WE ARRIVED ON LOMBOKO, WE SAW IMMEDIATELY THAT THIS ISLAND HAD A SANDY BEACH UNLIKE ANY OTHER.

PEDRO BLANCO USED SLAVE LABOR TO BUILD A LANDING PLACE FOR THE CANOES OF AFRICAN TRADERS WHEN THEY ARRIVED WITH SLAVES TO SELL.

WE HAVE REACHED A MAJOR DESTINATION IN THIS TRIP.

WE CAME HERE HOPING TO FIND THE ELUSIVE AND IMPORTANT LOMBOKO.

LOMBOKO SYMBOLIZES THE ILLEGAL PHASE OF THE SLAVE TRADE.

GREAT BRITAIN ABOLISHED THE SLAVE TRADE IN 1807 AND THEREAFTER TURNED AGAINST IT, PATROLLING THE WEST AFRICAN COAST TO INTERCEPT SLAVE SHIPS AND TO PREVENT THEIR DELIVERY OF SLAVES ACROSS THE ATLANTIC.

LOMBOKO WAS THEREFORE NOT A HUGE BUILDING OF BRICK AND STONE, A MONUMENT, BUT RATHER A BUNCH OF HASTILY CONSTRUCTED SLAVE PENS THAT COULD BE ABANDONED VERY QUICKLY IF THE BRITISH SHOULD SHOW UP.

YEAH.

THERE'S SOME KIND OF ELEVATED GROUND.

PROBABLY A HUT WAS BUILT HERE.

YEAH, SO, LET'S GO.

THERE'S THREE MORE.

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] THIS PART OF THE LOMBOKO COMPLEX CONTAINED BARRACOONS, OR SLAVE HOLDING PENS.

THERE WAS NO OTHER REASON FOR ANY OTHER BUILDING TO BE ON THIS ISLAND.

Man: [ SPEAKING MENDE ] WHAT'S HE SAYING?

HE WOULD MEET KING SIAKA HERE?

Koroma: YES.

LOMBOKO WAS THE HEART OF DARKNESS.

TALES OF ITS HORRORS TRAVELED UP AND DOWN THE AFRICAN COAST.

CANOES FULL OF SLAVES BEING TRANSPORTED TO THE SLAVE SHIPS OVERSET IN THE ROUGH SURF, AND AS THE BODIES TUMBLED OUT INTO THE WATER, THEY WERE RIPPED APART BY SHARKS.

AFTER ONE SUCH INCIDENT, THE WATERS AROUND LOMBOKO GLOWED RED WITH BLOOD AS FAR AS THE EYE COULD SEE.

A FOUNDATION RIGHT HERE, ANOTHER RAISED UP.

YOU CAN SEE IT.

YOU CAN BASICALLY SEE IT'S LIKE ROTTED WOOD.

DOES THE CHIEF KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SENGBE PIEH?

[ SPEAKING MENDE ] YES, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE MISSIONARIES WERE PRODUCING AT THAT TIME.

THE MISSIONARIES CAME BACK HERE AND GAVE THE STORY OF THE AMISTAD TO THE PEOPLE.

YEAH.

AHH, FASCINATING.

AND THEN SHIPPED HIM... REBELLED HERE?

YES, INITIALLY.

ARE YOU GOING IN THE SAME BOAT?

WE PROBABLY SHOULDN'T PUT PHIL AND ME IN THE SAME BOAT.

YEAH.

SO, LET HIM GO THERE, AND LET YOU GO WHERE I WAS.

OKAY.

ONE, TWO... GO INSIDE.

Rediker: THE ISLAND WAS NOT A PLACE OF DEPARTURE FOR THE SHIPS.

THE WATER WAS TOO SHALLOW FOR A SHIP TO COME NEAR.

IT WAS A HOLDING SPOT, ACCESSIBLE BY CANOE ONLY, HARD TO FIND, AND AN EVEN HARDER PLACE TO ESCAPE.

WE'RE ON THE KEREFE RIVER.

IT'S LONG BEEN KNOWN TO BE A SLOW, SLUGGISH RIVER, AND WE'VE CAUGHT IT AT A VERY BEAUTIFUL TIME IN THE EVENING WHEN THE LANDSCAPE IS DARKER THAN THE SKY ABOVE.

WE'RE IN A LITTLE DUGOUT CANOE, ON THE KIND OF CANOE THAT'S PROBABLY BEEN USED ON THIS RIVER FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

SO, WE FEEL LIKE WE'VE TAPPED INTO A DEEP VEIN OF LOCAL KNOWLEDGE AS WE UNDERTOOK THIS PART OF OUR SEARCH FOR THE ROOTS -- THE AFRICAN ROOTS OF THE AMISTAD REBELLION.

WE FOLLOWED THE GHOSTLY SPIRITS OF THE AMISTAD REBELS TO THEIR VILLAGES, INTO THE CANOES AND WATERWAYS THAT CARRIED THEM FROM THE INTERIOR TO THE GALLINAS COAST, TO THE DREADED LOMBOKO, WHERE THEIR VOYAGE TO THE NEW WORLD BEGAN, ALL OF WHICH MADE THEIR LIVES, THEIR CHOICES, THEIR DETERMINED ACTIONS, AND ULTIMATELY THEIR HEROISM MORE REAL TO US.

WE HEARD STORIES ABOUT THE AMISTAD AFRICANS THAT WERE NEVER BEFORE KNOWN TO HISTORIANS.

FOR EXAMPLE, THAT SENGBE AND HIS COMRADES ROSE UP IN REBELLION ON LOMBOKO BEFORE THEY EVER LEFT THEIR NATIVE LAND.

THEIR HISTORY FROM BELOW, THEIR INSPIRING TALE OF RESISTANCE TO SLAVERY BEGAN IN AFRICA.

WHAT WE FOUND IN LOMBOKO AND FOLU AND THROUGHOUT SIERRA LEONE WAS LIVING MEMORY OF SLAVERY -- THE SLAVE TRADE IN GENERAL AND THE AMISTAD CASE IN PARTICULAR.

YOU KNOW, WE'RE DEALING WITH THE AMISTAD, WHICH OF COURSE -- IT'S BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT FOR DECADES.

AND HERE, IN A TRIP THAT TOOK ALL OF 10 DAYS, UP LINE, WE'VE UNCOVERED A NUMBER OF NEW AND REALLY SUGGESTIVE IDEAS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WHAT WE'VE LEARNED HAS COME FROM KNOWLEDGE ON THE GROUND, WHETHER IT'S COMING FROM THE FISHERMEN NEAR LOMBOKO OR IT'S COMING FROM LORRY DRIVERS IN KENEMA.

AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, CONSULTING THESE SOURCES THAT ENABLED US TO DO THE RESEARCH THAT WE'VE DONE.

Rediker: OUR TRIP ALLOWED US TO SPEAK TO PEOPLE, TO HEAR THEIR STORIES, TO ACCESS THEIR ORAL TRADITION AND LOCAL MEMORY, AND IN THE END, TO DEEPEN, ENRICH, AND MOST OF ALL HUMANIZE THE HISTORY OF THE AMISTAD REBELLION.

[ MEN SINGING "AMISTAD KATA KATA" ] [ APPLAUSE ]