Pride of Baltimore II
Stars In New Steven Spielberg Movie

La Amistad is the true story of a revolt on the Spanish schooner La Amistad in 1839. The Baltimore Clipper type topsail schooner was carrying 53 Africans, who had been purchased at a slave auction in Havana, Cuba, to the owner's plantation on the other end of the island. During that voyage, the Africans staged an uprising and took over the ship. During the melee, the captain, the cook, and one of the African captives were killed. Other members of the crew escaped in a life boat, leaving only the Africans and the owners aboard. The captives demanded that the owners sail La Amistad back to Africa. The Spaniards, however, secretly sailed the ship north, along the America coast line.

La Amistad was captured off the coast of Long Island, and the 53 African "cargo" were forced to stand trial in Connecticut for the murders of the captain and cook who had held them captive. To win their freedom, the Africans found themselves battling the Spanish crown and the American justice system. They were aided by American abolitionists and former President John Quincy Adams, who took their cause all the way to the Supreme Court.

Pride II will be one of two ships used to represent La Amistad in the movie. She is La Amistad's stand-in during the New England portion of the filming, as she closely resembles the original vessel which was like a Baltimore Clipper topsail schooner.

Scenes were shot on board and dockside in Newport, RI and Mystic, CT. To get her ready for her movie role, Pride II's crew carefully painted out the distinctive gold stripe just below port and starboard gunnels. Scene designers added a carved eagle as a figurehead to the bow and gave her a new name board. (The cosmetic changes were erased at the completion of the filming.)

Watch for release of this sure-to-be-a-blockbuster movie during the 1997 end-of-year holiday season. A gala Baltimore premier at the Senator Theater is being planned before general release of the film.